This page is here to help you remove Ads by TornTV adware. This Ads by TornTV removal guide is suitable for Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer, as well as all Windows versions.
It is nothing new or sensational that cybercriminals try to tempt users into downloading suspicious software by promising them something desirable for free. As humans tend to quite often succumb to greedy impulses, it is not surprising this social engineering tactic is in great many cases successful.
What Is Ads by TornTV?
TornTV, widely known on the Internet as Ads by TornTV, is a Windows application which supposedly lets users “enjoy endless variey of worldwide sports, movies and news channels” for free by streaming television directly on their PCs. Unfortunately, entertaining the audience is by far not what the cybercriminals behind the program seek to achieve. In fact, its true purpose is to illicitly generate advertising revenue by displaying exorbitantly huge amounts of online ads on affected computers. Constructed to comply with all major browsers, this classic adware example attacks Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer at once, continuously injecting them with a frustrating plethora of banners, in-text ads, video ads, overlays, interstitials, pop-ups and pop-unders. For one, this makes browsing the Internet a difficult, irritating, and mostly fruitless task. Furthermore, a great number of the Ads by TornTV are malicious, designed to lure users onto websites which spread malware or serve online fraud schemes. Since selling personal data has turned into a blooming business, the adware additionally closely follows affected users’ online activities, recording information such as their IP, geographic location, visited websites, online searches, login credentials and even banking relevant details. Last but not least, the offensive program eats up computing resources and Internet bandwidth, thus having a strong negative impact on the whole performance of attacked computers and their Web connection speed.
How Is Ads by TornTV Distributed?
Following a pattern, well-established by numerous other so called “ad-supported applications”, Ads by TornTV is distributed employing underhanded techniques based on social engineering and the exploitation of software vulnerabilities.
1. Software Bundling
Software bundling is the practice of providing a set of computer programs as one software entity, packaged together and installable via a custom-built setup wizard, also known as a wrapper. Freeware developers often resort to bundling their creations with third party applications since adware operators usually offer a per-install pay for adware, browser hijackers and the like. Although not all freeware developers are willing to impose suspicious or unneeded software on users, nowadays one can hardly download a free video player, PDF creator or even an antivirus tool, without risking their PC to be infested with additional programs. It is so, because software download portals who by default promote their customized installers simply increase their monetezation by implementing additional, mostly unwanted features. For this reason, users should be very careful when working with software bundles. It is extremely important to always choose the custom / advanced setup method as it is the only way to opt out of the inevitably preselected “bonus offers”, which mainly consist of adware such as Ads by TornTV.
2. Drive-by Downloads
Although drive-by download attacks are more typical for the most malevolent types of malware (ransomware for example), Ads by TornTV and other adware also use it as a propagation vector. These attacks are based on the exploitation of software vulnerabilities on client’s side, with Flash, Java and Internet Explorer being among the most susceptible weak points. In order for a drive-by download to take place, the user is lured to a specially built or compromised website equipped with an exploit kit.
3. Spam E-mails
Spam e-mail campaigns are also among hackers’ most widely used means of attacking users, and adware operators don’t shy from employing them. There haven’t been reports yet that Ads by TornTV is broadly spread in this manner, nevertheless, you should be reminded to be extremely cautious when handling unsolicited e-mails. As a rule of a thumb, you should never follow hyperlinks or open file attachments within electronic post sent by not fully trusted parties.
Why Should You Remove Ads by TornTV Right Away?
Disguised as a program which lets users turn their PC into a free multi-channel television receiver, Ads by TornTV is in fact an adware program with surprisingly high damaging potential. From limiting your control over how your software functions to strongly interfering with your computer-based work, to compromising sensitive personal information, it is an offensive program which should be neutralized as soon as detected.
Ads by TornTV Impedes Working Online
Ads by TornTV is primarily designed to generate pay-per-click advertising revenue. This is why it literally slithers onto target computers and immediately overruns all local browsers. Consequently, whenever Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome or Internet Explorer are launched, the unwitting users is surprisingly overwhelmed with countless invasive advertisements in all annoying formats that can be imagined – banners, video ads, in-text ads, overlays, interstitials, pop-ups and pop-unders. Needless to say, this makes working online much harder, more frustrating and significantly slower a task.
Ads by TornTV Means Additional Risks
Unfortunately, interfering with users’ Internet activities is not the only way in which Ads by TornTV is harmful. It is very important to consider that a great portion of the adverts the adware forces into display are maliciously built, aiming to lure the user onto websites which host exploit kits or serve phishing and other types of online scams. This means, one single careless mouse click may easily trigger malware contamination or money loss.
Ads by TornTV Steals Data
Similarly to comparable adware applications, Ads by TornTV is additionally used to collect victims’ digital information. The program is known to closely follow users’ Internet activities, recording visited websites, searched terms, favorite online locations. Furthermore, the malware extracts data such as IP, geographic location, software setup, etc. More dangerously, however, it also steals login credentials, credit card numbers and other financial details.
Ads by TornTV Exhaust PC and Internet Bandwidth
Ads by TornTV doesn’t only damage users’ online experience and data security, but also heavily impacts the performance of their hardware too. Constantly running in the background, loading excessive amounts of mostly dynamic advertising items within all browsers, and sending information to its remote servers, the adware eats up significant computing resources and Internet connection bandwidth. As a result, affected computers show highly lowered overall performance, and may randomly experience system crashes, freezes or the inability to connect to the World Wide Web.
How To Remove Ads by TornTV – Malware Removal Guide
The sooner Ads by TornTV is removed from an affected PC, the lesser the damage it will be able to inflict. Below you will find an extensive malware removal guide which is purposed to help you delete the unwanted program from each major browser.
Ads by TornTV Removal Instructions
Navigation:
1: Enter Safe Mode.
2: Remove Ads by TornTV from Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer.
3: Remove malicious attachments to browser shortcuts.
4: Uninstall the malware from your Add/Remove Programs.
5: Permanently delete the virus from Task Manager’s processes.
6: Uninstall the threat from Regedit and Msconfig.
In order to get rid of Ads by TornTV, please refer to the following step-by-step removal instructions for each of your browsers. Please note that you also have to manually restore their desktop shortcuts to their original state.
Before starting the real removal process, you must reboot in Safe Mode. If you are familiar with this task, skip the instructions below and proceed to Step 2. If you do not know how to do it, here is how to reboot in Safe mode:
For Windows 98, XP, Millenium and 7:
Reboot your computer. When the first screen of information appears, start repeatedly pressing F8 key. Then choose Safe Mode With Networking from the options.
For Windows 8/8.1
Click the Start button, next click Control Panel —> System and Security —> Administrative Tools —> System Configuration.
Check the Safe Boot option and click OK. Click Restart when asked.
For Windows 10
Open the Start menu and click or tap on the Power button.
While keeping the Shift key pressed, click or tap on Restart.
Ads by TornTV displays ads on Chrome, Firefox and IE. Please, follow the guide precisely. If you miss some of the steps below, there is a chance that Ads by TornTV will come back at a later moment. Here are the steps you must follow to remove the adware from the browser:
Remove Ads by TornTV From Mozilla Firefox:
Open Firefox, click on top-right corner 
, click Add-ons, hit Extensions next.
Look for suspicious or unknown extensions, remove them all.
Remove Ads by TornTV From Chrome:
Open Chrome, click chrome menu icon at the top-right corner —>More Tools —> Extensions. There, identify the malware and select chrome-trash-icon(Remove).
Remove the Hijacker From Internet Explorer:
Open IE, then click IE gear icon on the top-right corner —> Manage Add-ons.
Find the malicious add-on. Remove it by pressing Disable.
Right click on the browser’s shortcut, then click Properties. Remove everything after the .exe” in the Target box.
Open Control Panel by holding the Win Key and R together. Write appwiz.cpl in the field, then click OK.
Here, find any program you had no intention to install and uninstall it.
Run the Task Manager by right clicking on the Taskbar and choosing Start Task Manager.
Look carefully at the file names and descriptions of the running processes. If you find any suspicious one, search on Google for its name, or contact me directly to identify it. If you find a malware process, right-click on it and choose End task.
Open MS Config by holding the Win Key and R together. Type msconfig and hit Enter.
Go in the Startup tab and Uncheck entries that have “Unknown” as Manufacturer.
Still can not remove Ads by TornTV from your browser? Please, leave a comment below, describing what steps you performed. I will answer promptly.
