How to remove unwanted applications that open sites like purplemedia.biz?

Purplemedia[.]biz redirect removal instructions

What is purplemedia[.]biz?

It is very uncommon for websites like purplemedia[.]biz to be visited by users on purpose. In most cases such pages get opened via other shady websites, deceptive ads or by installed potentially unwanted applications (PUAs). More examples of pages like purplemedia[.]biz are fast2captcha[.]com, myniceposts[.]com, fastsolvecaptcha[.]com.

When a website like purplemedia[.]biz is visited, it either loads some shady content or opens a couple of other unreliable pages. It depends on visitor's geolocation. Like most other similar pages, purplemedia[.]biz uses a clickbait technique to trick a visitor into clicking the "Allow" button which, if clicked, would allow this page to show notifications. Purplemedia[.]biz suggests that a visitor needs to click the aforementioned button to play video. Websites like this one should never be allowed to show notifications because their notifications contain deceptive advertisements, links to unreliable pages, and so on.

It is important to mention that PUAs (apps that promote pages like purplemedia[.]biz) can be designed to generate coupons, banners, surveys, pop-ups and/or other types of advertisements as well. If clicked, those ads could open untrustworthy sites, or even execute scripts that would download or even install unwanted app. Moreover, PUAs can function as data collectors targeting IP addresses, URLs of visited pages, entered search queries, geolocations and other browsing data, or even sensitive information. The bigger problem is that collected data could be sold to third parties (potentially cyber criminals) or monetized in other ways, which means users may become victims of identity theft, encounter problems related to browsing safety, online privacy, etc.

Threat Summary:

Name	Ads by purplemedia.biz
Threat Type	Push notifications ads, Unwanted ads, Pop-up ads
Detection Names	Forcepoint ThreatSeeker (Malicious), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address	178.62.225.201
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. ▼ Download Malwarebytes To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Malwarebytes. 14 days free trial available.

If a browser opens pages like purplemedia[.]biz regularly, then it is very likely that it has some PUA installed on it. It is worthwhile to mention that in most cases users download and install apps of this type unknowingly, unintentionally. Typically, PUAs are designed to promote shady pages, generate ads and/or gather various data, in other words, they are useless to their users and can be the culprit of certain issues.

How did adware install on my computer?

It is common that developers distribute PUAs by including them in download and/or installation setups of other programs as extra offers. This distribution method is known as "bundling". Typically, user can decline unwanted offers via "Custom", "Advanced" or other settings of setups, or by unticking certain checkboxes before finishing downloads and/or installations. When users leave the aforementioned settings unchecked and unchanged, they allow for PUAs to be downloaded and/or installed alongside with desired apps. Also, sometimes users unintentionally download and/or install PUAs by clicking deceptive advertisements that are designed to execute certain scripts.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

It is advised not use third party downloaders (or installers), Peer-to-Peer networks (torrent clients, eMule etc.), questionable, unofficial websites, etc., as tools to download or install any applications. They should be downloaded only from official, trustworthy pages and via direct links. Also, it is recommended to check download and installation setups for "Advanced", "Custom" or other settings and see if they mention any unwanted offers. Additionally, it is advisable not to trust advertisements on questionable pages. It is because those ads could be designed to promote other sites of this kind or cause unwanted downloads, or even installations. Unwanted, unknown extensions, plug-ins or add-ons that are already installed on a browser should be removed. The same should be done with apps of this kind that are installed on the operating system. If your computer is already infected with rogue applications, we recommend running a scan with Malwarebytes for Windows to automatically eliminate them.

Appearance of purplemedia[.]biz 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:
▼ DOWNLOAD Malwarebytes By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Malwarebytes. 14 days free trial available.

Quick menu:

• What is purplemedia[.]biz?
• STEP 1. Uninstall adware applications using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove rogue plug-ins from Google Chrome.
• STEP 3. Remove adware-type extensions from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 4. Remove malicious extensions from Safari.
• STEP 5. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.
• STEP 6. Remove adware from Internet Explorer.

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 purplemedia[.]biz 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 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 ads by purplemedia.biz, 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 ads by purplemedia.biz 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 purplemedia.biz, 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.

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 ads by purplemedia.biz, 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.

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 purplemedia.biz from your computer, please ask for assistance in our malware support forum.

Post a comment:
If you have additional information on ads by purplemedia.biz or it's removal please share your knowledge in the comments section below.

Click to post a comment