Nix Player Adware

What is Nix Player?

Identical to KOOL Player, Nix Player is a rogue application that claims to be a high-quality media player. Judging on appearance alone, Nix Player may appear legitimate and useful, however, this potentially unwanted program (PUP) proliferates other dubious applications.

Furthermore, there is a high probability that this PUP will deliver intrusive advertisements, record user-system information, and/or run unwanted processes.

Nix Player is designed to stealthily install along with a number of other potentially unwanted programs. This deceptive marketing method is called "bundling".

As with proliferated PUPs, Nix Player might deliver various intrusive advertisements (such as coupons, banners, pop-ups, etc.) PUPs typically deliver these using tools that enable placement of third party graphical content on any site. Therefore, the ads often conceal underlying website content, thereby significantly diminishing users' Internet browsing experience.

In addition, they often lead to malicious websites and/or execute scripts that stealthily download/install malware. Thus, even accidental clicks can result in high-risk computer infections. Another downside is information tracking.

Potentially unwanted programs gather various information (e.g., geo-locations, website URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries, keystrokes, etc.) that is likely to contain personal details. Developers usually sell collected data to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals). Therefore, information tracking might lead to serious privacy issues or even identity theft.

Some PUPs are also known to mine cryptocurrencies or run other unwanted processes in the background. In doing so, they diminish overall system performance. Therefore, we strongly advise you to uninstall Nix Player and other PUPs immediately. 

Threat Summary:

Name	Nix Player PUP
Threat Type	Adware, Unwanted ads, Pop-up Virus
Symptoms	Seeing advertisements not originating from the sites you are browsing. Intrusive pop-up ads. Decreased Internet browsing speed.
Distribution methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake flash player installers.
Damage	Decreased computer performance, browser tracking - privacy issues, possible additional malware infections.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

There are hundreds of potentially unwanted programs, all of which are virtually identical. These programs offer various "useful features" (e.g., high-performance download, file format conversion, system optimization, and so on), however, the only purpose of all PUPs is to generate revenue for the developers.

Claims to provide various features are merely attempts to give the impression of legitimacy. In fact, PUPs provide no real value for regular users and pose a direct threat to users' privacy and Internet browsing safety.

How did Nix Player install on my computer?

Nix Player is promoted using malicious websites that display a message claiming that downloading and installing Nix Player PUP is highly recommended to play all media files (AVI, MOV, MP4, etc.) properly. Many users click various advertisements and download applications without considering the consequences.

This behavior often leads to inadvertent installation of potentially unwanted programs (such as Nix Player). Nix Player promotes other PUPs using a deceptive marketing method called "bundling" - stealth installation of third party apps. Developers know that many users rush download/installation processes and skip steps.

Therefore, they hide "bundled" apps within various sections of these processes. By skipping these procedure steps, users expose their systems to risk of various infections.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

To prevent system infiltration by PUPs, be very cautious when browsing the Internet, and, especially when downloading/installing software. Intrusive ads typically appear legitimate, since criminals invest many resources into their design.

Note, however, that most lead to dubious websites (gambling, survey, adult dating, etc.) Therefore, if you encounter these ads, immediately eliminate all suspicious apps/browser plug-ins. Furthermore, carefully analyze each step of the download/installation processes and opt-out of all additionally-included programs.

We also strongly advise you to avoid using any third party downloaders/installers, since criminals monetize them using the "bundling" method (these tools include unwanted programs). The key to computer safety is caution.

Screenshot of potentially unwanted program Nix Player:

Nix Player adware installers "bundling" potentially unwanted programs:

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Quick menu:

• What is Nix Player?
• STEP 1. Uninstall Nix Player application using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove Nix Player adware from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove Nix Player ads from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove 'Ads by Nix Player' from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove Nix Player extension from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

Nix Player adware removal:

Windows 11 users:

Right-click on the Start icon, select Apps and Features. In the opened window search for the application you want to uninstall, after locating it, click on the three vertical dots and select Uninstall.

Windows 10 users:

Right-click in the lower left corner of the screen, in the Quick Access Menu select Control Panel. In the opened window choose Programs and Features.

Windows 7 users:

Click Start (Windows Logo at the bottom left corner of your desktop), choose Control Panel. Locate Programs and click Uninstall a program.

macOS (OSX) users:

Click Finder, in the opened screen select Applications. Drag the app from the Applications folder to the Trash (located in your Dock), then right click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash.

In the uninstall programs window, look for "Nix Player", select this entry and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

After uninstalling the potentially unwanted program that causes Nix Player ads, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components or possible malware infections. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.

Remove Nix Player adware from Internet browsers:

At time of research, Nix Player did not install its browser plug-ins on Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox, however, it was bundled with other adware. Therefore, you are advised to remove all potentially unwanted browser add-ons from your Internet browsers.

Video showing how to remove potentially unwanted browser add-ons:

Remove malicious add-ons from Internet Explorer:

Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons". Look for any recently-installed suspicious browser extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the nix player pup, reset your Internet Explorer settings to default.

Windows XP users: Click Start, click Run, in the opened window type inetcpl.cpl In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 users: Click the Windows logo, in the start search box type inetcpl.cpl and click enter. In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows 8 users: Open Internet Explorer and click the gear icon. Select Internet Options.

In the opened window, select the Advanced tab.

Click the Reset button.

Confirm that you wish to reset Internet Explorer settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "More tools" and click "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons, select these entries and click the trash can icon.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the nix player pup, reset your Google Chrome browser settings. Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) and select Settings. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen. Click the Advanced… link.

After scrolling to the bottom of the screen, click the Reset (Restore settings to their original defaults) button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Google Chrome settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), select "Add-ons". Click "Extensions", in the opened window, remove all recently-installed suspicious browser plug-ins.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with nix player pup removal can reset their Mozilla Firefox settings.

Open Mozilla Firefox, at the top right corner of the main window, click the Firefox menu, in the opened menu, click Help.

Select Troubleshooting Information.

In the opened window, click the Refresh Firefox button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Mozilla Firefox settings to default by clicking the Refresh Firefox button.

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Make sure your Safari browser is active, click Safari menu, and select Preferences....

In the opened window click Extensions, locate any recently installed suspicious extension, select it and click Uninstall.

Optional method:

Make sure your Safari browser is active and click on Safari menu. From the drop down menu select Clear History and Website Data...

In the opened window select all history and click the Clear History button.

Remove malicious extensions from Microsoft Edge:

Click the Edge menu icon  (at the upper-right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons and click "Remove" below their names.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the nix player pup, reset your Microsoft Edge browser settings. Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge) and select Settings.

In the opened settings menu select Reset settings.

Select Restore settings to their default values. In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Microsoft Edge settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

• If this did not help, follow these alternative instructions explaining how to reset the Microsoft Edge browser.

Summary:

Commonly, adware or potentially unwanted applications infiltrate Internet browsers through free software downloads. Note that the safest source for downloading free software is via developers' websites only. To avoid installation of adware, be very attentive when downloading and installing free software. When installing previously-downloaded free programs, choose the custom or advanced installation options – this step will reveal any potentially unwanted applications listed for installation together with your chosen free program.

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