How to remove redirects to and from zmusic-online.com
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
(updated)
zmusic-online[.]com redirect removal instructions
What is zmusic-online[.]com?
Sharing many similarities with routemob.com, rministencew.club, news-back.best and thousands of others, zmusic-online[.]com is a rogue website that redirects visitors to other untrusted/malicious sites and/or contains dubious content. Most users access zmusic-online[.]com (and similar pages) when they are redirected to it by intrusive ad campaigns or Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUAs) already installed on the system. These apps do not need express user permission to infiltrate devices. PUAs operate by causing redirects, running intrusive ad campaigns and collecting browsing-related information.
The behavior of zmusic-online[.]com is dictated by visitors' geolocations. The site learns this information by checking their IP addresses. Therefore, whether visitors are redirected elsewhere or are presented with dubious material, depends on their geolocations. Furthermore, zmusic-online[.]com attempts to trick users into allowing browser notifications. The website instructs them to "Press 'Allow' to verify that you are not [a] robot". If this is done, zmusic-online[.]com starts running intrusive advertisement campaigns. As well as being a nuisance, these ads redirect to untrusted/rogue, sale-oriented, compromised, deceptive/scam and malicious web pages. Some intrusive ads can even be triggered (when clicked) to execute scripts designed to stealthily download/install rogue software. PUAs are a prime example of content that these ads can infiltrate into systems. These applications can force-open similarly harmful sites and deliver intrusive ad campaigns. Furthermore, most PUAs have data tracking capabilities. They can record users' browsing activity (URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries typed, etc.) and collect personal information extracted from it (IP addresses, geolocations and other details). The gathered data is typically monetized by sharing with and/or selling to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals). To summarize, the presence of PUAs on devices can result in system infections, financial loss, serious privacy issues and even identity theft. To protect device integrity and user safety, you are strongly advised to eliminate all suspicious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins immediately upon detection.
Name | zmusic-online.com pop-up |
Threat Type | Push notifications ads, Unwanted ads, Pop-up ads. |
Detection Names | Yandex Safebrowsing (Malicious), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal). |
Serving IP Address | 178.128.142.109 |
Observed Domains | 4.zmusic-online[.]com; 7.zmusic-online[.]com; 8.zmusic-online[.]com; 10.zmusic-online[.]com; 1.zmusic-online[.]com; 2.zmusic-online[.]com; 0.zmusic-online[.]com; 3.zmusic-online[.]com |
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, potentially unwanted applications (adware). |
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 Malwarebytes. |
PUAs may seem legitimate and harmless, and users are often tempted into download/installation with offers of "useful" features, however, these functionalities rarely operate as promised and, in most cases, do not work at all. The sole purpose of these unwanted apps is to generate revenue for the developers. Rather than delivering any real value, PUAs force-open untrusted/malicious web pages, run intrusive ad campaigns and gather private data.
How did adware install on my computer?
Some PUAs have "official" promotional sites from which they can be downloaded. They can also be downloaded/installed with other programs. This deceptive marketing method of pre-packing regular software with unwanted or malicious additions is termed "bundling". By rushing through download/installation processes (e.g. ignoring terms, skipping steps and sections, etc.), many users risk intentionally allowing bundled content into their devices. Intrusive ads proliferate these applications as well. Once clicked, they can execute scripts to download/install PUAs without users' permission.
How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications
You are advised to research all products before download/installation or purchase. All downloads must be done from official and verified sources. Untrusted channels such as unofficial and free file-hosting (freeware), Peer-to-Peer sharing networks (BitTorrent, eMule, Gnutella, etc.) and other third party downloaders commonly offer dubious and/or bundled content, and should therefore be avoided. When downloading/installing, it is important to read the terms, explore all possible options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and opt-out of supplementary apps, tools, functions and other additions. Intrusive advertisements typically seem legitimate and innocuous, however, they can redirect to dubious websites (e.g. gambling, pornography, adult-dating, and so on). If you experience ads/redirects of this kind, check the system and immediately remove all suspect applications and browser extensions/plug-ins. If your computer is already infected with rogue applications, we recommend running a scan with Malwarebytes for Windows to automatically eliminate them.
Appearance of zmusic-online[.]com website (GIF):
IMPORTANT NOTE! This deceptive site asks to enable web browser notifications.
Therefore, before commencing, perform these steps:
Google Chrome (PC):
- Click the Menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the screen
- Select "Settings", scroll down to the bottom and click "Advanced"
- Scroll down to the "Privacy and security" section, select "Content settings" and then "Notifications"
- Click three dots on the right hand side of each suspicious URL and click "Block" or "Remove" (if you click "Remove" and visit the malicious site once more, it will ask to enable notifications again)
Google Chrome (Android):
- Click on the Menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the screen and click "Settings"
- Scroll down, click on "Site settings" and then "Notifications"
- In the opened window, locate all suspicious URLs and click on them one-by-one
- Select "Notifications" in the "Permissions" section and set the toggle button to "OFF"
Mozilla Firefox:
- Click the Menu button (three bars) on the right upper corner of the screen
- Select "Options" and click on "Privacy & Security" in the toolbar on the left hand side of the screen
- Scroll down to the "Permissions" section and click the "Settings" button next to "Notifications"
- In the opened window, locate all suspicious URLs, click the drop-down menu and select "Block"
Internet Explorer:
- Click the Gear button on the right upper corner of the IE window
- Select "Internet options"
- Select the "Privacy" tab and click "Settings" under "Pop-up Blocker" section
- Select suspicious URLs under and remove them one by one by clicking the "Remove" button
Microsoft Edge:
- Click the menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the Edge window
- Scroll down, find and click "Settings"
- Scroll down again and click "View advanced settings"
- Click "Manage" under "Website permissions"
- Click the switch under each suspicious website
Safari (Mac):
- Click "Safari" button on the left upper corner of the screen and select "Preferences..."
- Select the "Websites" tab and then select "Notifications" section on the left pane
- Check for suspicious URLs and apply the "Deny" option for each
Instant automatic malware removal:
Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced computer skills. Malwarebytes is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
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Quick menu:
- What is zmusic-online[.]com?
- STEP 1. Uninstall adware applications using Control Panel.
- STEP 2. Remove adware from Internet Explorer.
- STEP 3. Remove rogue plug-ins from Google Chrome.
- STEP 4. Remove adware-type extensions from Mozilla Firefox.
- STEP 5. Remove malicious extensions from Safari.
- STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.
Adware removal:
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.
Windows XP users:
Click Start, choose Settings and click Control Panel. Locate and click Add or Remove Programs.
Windows 10 and Windows 8 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.
Mac 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 any potentially unwanted applications, select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".
After uninstalling the potentially unwanted application that causes zmusic-online[.]com redirects, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components or possible malware infections. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.
Remove adware from 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 zmusic-online.com pop-up, 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 and remove them.
Optional method:
If you continue to have problems with removal of the zmusic-online.com pop-up, 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 zmusic-online.com pop-up 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 zmusic-online.com pop-up, 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.
Removal assistance:
If you are experiencing problems while trying to remove zmusic-online.com pop-up from your computer, please ask for assistance in our malware support forum.
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