I wrote this article to help you remove Thepopularlinks.com. This Thepopularlinks.com removal guide works for Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer.

You are infected with a browser hijacker infection. How do we know? Well, you are reading this article which tells us that you are being harassed by the Thepopularlinks.com page. Are we right? Do you see this site all the time when you surf the web? If you do then there is no doubt your machine harbors a parasite. As we said, it is a browser hijacker. It has already managed to sneak into your system and the display of Thepopularlinks.com is its way of announcing its presence.

The threat uses the site as a front to lurk behind. A shield. Take it as the warning it actually is, and heed it before it is too late. Hijackers don’t make for pleasant companions. On the contrary. They bring along nothing but troubles, headaches, interruptions, and frustration. Do not wait long enough to see what else the pest can throw at you. As soon as you spot Thepopularlinks.com, take immediate actions against the intruder. Find exactly where it is lurking on your PC and delete it upon discovery. The sooner you do that, the better. If you procrastinate, it won`t be long before you regret that decision.

As the name of the infection implies, it hijacks your browsers. All of them. Once the hijacker enters your PC, all of your browsers receive a brand new malicious extension or a plugin. Thus, the pest takes control over them. You are no longer in charge and your opinion is irrelevant. Then, you start noticing some completely unauthorized changes in your default settings. For instance, your previous homepage and search engine are now gone and the Thepopularlinks.com site is in their places. Did you approve that switch? No. You weren’t even informed of the implementation. The hijacker makes reshuffles as it sees fit and it doesn’t need your consent. From now on, whenever you go online you are forced to use the Thepopularlinks.com page. It becomes your online shadow and you get redirected to it all the time. Yet, it is not the only dodgy site you are forced to visit. There are many more.

Because of the hijacker, your browsing experience becomes a nightmare. This is not all, though. This threat does not only annoy you. It also exposes you to daily malware risk. Nothing you see on your screen is reliable as most of it is generated by the virus. If you happen to click on the wrong link/ad/search result, you automatically download more infections on board. A single click is all it takes for you to worsen your predicament. The last thing you need it more parasites. Your PC is already struggling due to this single one. Delete it. Get rid of the hijacker ASAP. It causes nothing but problems. Use our removal guide below to help you clean your PC manually.

How did the hijacker enter? Usually, hijackers arrive at their destination bundled to another program. This is called the bundling technique and it is very popular among crooks as it is very efficient. And it is so efficient because of the users themselves. Do you pay attention when you are installing programs or do you rush the whole process? It is very important that you take your time to read what you are about to accept. We mean the Terms and Conditions/EULA.

Most people just skip them and press “I accept” which is a horrible tactic. Also, always opt for the Custom settings in the Setup Wizard as they allow you to see all additionally attached apps as well as deselect them, which we suggest you do. Usually, these extras are malicious and have been attached by hackers. Remove them. If you opt for the Standard settings, you won`t even see these “bonuses”. Be vigilant and don`t rush. This is the only way to protect your PC.

Thepopularlinks.com Uninstall

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.

Here are the steps you must follow to permanently remove from the browser:

Remove 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 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 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 Thepopularlinks.com from your browser? Please, leave a comment below, describing what steps you performed. I will answer promptly.