How to remove The Rocket Arcade adware and the ads it delivers?
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
(updated)
The Rocket Arcade adware removal instructions
What is The Rocket Arcade?
The Rocket Arcade (TheRocketArcade) is a piece of rogue software, categorized as adware. It delivers intrusive advertisement campaigns and collects data relating to browsing activity. Additionally, due to the dubious methods used to distribute The Rocket Arcade - it is deemed to be a PUA (Potentially Unwanted Application) as well.
Adware delivers pop-ups, banners, surveys, coupons, full-page and other intrusive advertisements - typically, by placing them on any visited website. Therefore, the ads do not originate from the sites themselves. The delivered adverts slow down the browsing speed and overlay webpage content. Aside from being a nuisance, these ads are also considered to be a threat to device and user safety. Upon being clicked, intrusive advertisements redirect to various promotional/sale-based, rogue, compromised, deceptive/scam and malicious webpages. Some of these adverts can even be triggered (by being clicked) to execute scripts, designed to stealthily download/install software (e.g. PUAs). Unwanted apps can have additional/other abilities, aside from running intrusive ad campaigns. PUAs can force-open dangerous sites as well. Another type of PUA called browser hijackers modify browser settings and restrict/deny access to them - in order to promote illegitimate search engines. As mentioned in the introduction, The Rocket Arcade can track data. It can monitor browsing activity (URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries typed, etc.) and gather sensitive information extracted from it (IP addresses, geolocations and other details). The collected data is highly likely to contain personally identifiable information. What is more, this information is then monetized by being shared with and/or sold to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals). To summarize, presence of unwanted software on devices can result in system infections, financial losses, serious privacy issues and even identity theft. To ensure device integrity and user privacy, all suspicious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins must be removed without delay.
| Name | Ads by The Rocket Arcade |
| Threat Type | Adware, Unwanted ads, Pop-up Virus |
| Browser Extension(s) | The Rocket Arcade |
| 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 Malwarebytes. |
Chrome Tools, OneUpdater, Easy Weather Today Promos - are a few examples of other adware-type apps. They appear ordinary and harmless. Users are enticed into download/installation with offers of various "handy" features. However, despite how good the functionalities may sound - they are rarely operational. This is common for practically all PUAs. The only goal of unwanted applications is to generate revenue at user expense. Therefore, instead of delivering on any promises, PUAs can run intrusive advert campaigns, force-open untrustworthy and malicious webpages, hijack browsers and collect private information.
How did The Rocket Arcade install on my computer?
Select PUAs (e.g. The Rocket Arcade) have "official" promotional sites, from which they can be downloaded. These apps can also be downloaded/installed alongside other products. This false marketing tactic of pre-packing regular software with unwanted or malicious additions - is called "bundling". Rushed download/installation processes (e.g. ignored terms, skipped steps and sections, etc.) - increase the risk of unintentionally allowing bundled content into the system. Upon being clicked, intrusive ads can execute scripts to download/install PUAs without user consent.
How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?
It is recommended to research products before download/installation. All downloads should be done only from official and verified sources. Since untrustworthy download channels, e.g. unofficial and free file-hosting (freeware) websites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks (BitTorrent, eMule, Gnutella, etc.) and other third party downloaders - often offer dubious and/or bundled content. When downloading/installing, it is advised to read terms, explore all possible options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and opt-out from supplementary apps, tools, features and other additions. Intrusive adverts appear legitimate, however they redirect to unreliable and questionable sites (e.g. pornography, adult-dating, gambling, and so on). Should users experience advertisements and/or redirects of this type, they much inspect their devices and immediately remove all suspect applications and browser extensions/plug-ins. If your computer is already infected with The Rocket Arcade, we recommend running a scan with Malwarebytes for Windows to automatically eliminate this adware.
Screenshot of The Rocket Arcade adware asking for data-related permissions:
Screenshots of the advertisements provided by The Rocket Arcade adware:
Screenshot of the website used to promote The Rocket Arcade adware:
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 The Rocket Arcade?
- STEP 1. Uninstall The Rocket Arcade application using Control Panel.
- STEP 2. Remove The Rocket Arcade adware from Internet Explorer.
- STEP 3. Remove The Rocket Arcade ads from Google Chrome.
- STEP 4. Remove 'Ads by The Rocket Arcade' from Mozilla Firefox.
- STEP 5. Remove The Rocket Arcade extension from Safari.
- STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.
The Rocket Arcade 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 "The Rocket Arcade", select this entry and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".
After uninstalling the potentially unwanted application (which causes The Rocket Arcade ads), scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components or possible malware infections. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.
Remove The Rocket Arcade 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 "The Rocket Arcade", select this entry and click "Remove".
Optional method:
If you continue to have problems with removal of the ads by the rocket arcade, 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 "The Rocket Arcade", select this entry and click the trash can icon.
Optional method:
If you continue to have problems with removal of the ads by the rocket arcade, 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 plugins 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 "The Rocket Arcade".
Optional method:
Computer users who have problems with ads by the rocket arcade 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 ads by the rocket arcade, 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 ads by the rocket arcade from your computer, please ask for assistance in our malware support forum.
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Outstanding!
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