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

The website gstatic.com has been cited as dangerous. Researchers have discovered that the domain is exploited by an adware program. The secluded tool uses the website as an advertising platform. The adware displays pop-up windows. They can be shopping ads, update requests or security alerts. There is no merit to the notifications, brought by Gstatic. The shopping advertisements are risky and should not be trusted, either. In addition, the adware poses a threat to your personal security.

What are the consequences of having the Gstatic adware running on my system?

The adware will try to trick you into following its misleading pop-up windows. For starters, it shows enticing advertisements. Gstatic promotes deals for a variety of items, such as technological devices, furniture, garments, accessories, games, decorations, toys and many others. The adware generates ads in various formats, like banners, coupon boxes, in-text links, comparison, transitional, inline, floating, contextual, interstitial and full-page ads. Be advised that the advertisements may redirect to corrupted websites. You should disregard them.

The same applies for the rest of the messages the Gstatic adware displays. The rogue program shows security alerts which often pertain to an unidentified problem. If a security warning does not list the name of the infection, the message is bogus. To set the record straight, we must highlight on the fact that antivirus programs are the only software you can rely on. Other than a specialized utility, you can only trust your Windows Security Center. If you receive an alert from an unknown source, the actual threat would be the program behind it.

The situation is similar as it pertains to updates. The adware behind Gstatic shows update requests for reliable programs and system components. It can ask you to upgrade to the latest version of a media player, a reader or another kind of program. Fake system notifications can point to a plugin, a script or the registries. Regardless what the request is for, you should check to make sure it is legit. Launch a program to see if it has a new version available. Consult your update center for system requests.

The threat of having your activity monitored should not be disregarded, either. The insidious tool can track your browsing sessions and access information from your entries. The people behind the Gstatic adware can obtain your IP address, geographic location, zip code, email, user names, passwords, PIN codes and other sensitive details. They can sell your data on the darknet without even informing you.

How did the Gstatic adware penetrate my system?

The adware behind Gstatic can get installed to your computer with the help of another program. The host is referred to as a download client. Freeware, shareware and pirated utilities can be used for the purpose. The adware is included as a bonus tool with the main program. You have to locate the option for it and uncheck it. Failing to do so would get you stuck with the rogue tool. It is imperative to read the terms and conditions of all programs you add to your system.

Spam emails are another propagation vector, used by the Gstatic adware. The secluded program hides behind attachments, included as an appendix with the email. The sender of the bogus message will try to make you believe the attached file is an important document of some kind, like a receipt, a bill, an invoice, a fine or a legal notice. You can check if a given message is genuine by tracing it back to the sender. Look up the email account he has used and the contacts he has provided.

Another possible explanation for the presence of the Gstatic adware is a drive-by installation. This can happen when you visit a corrupted website or follow a compromised link. To stay safe, do research on unfamiliar websites whose security status you are uncertain about. Be sure the links you follow come from reliable sources.

Gstatic Removal

Before starting the real removal process, you must reboot in Safe Mode. If you know how to do this, 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.

Please, follow the steps precisely to remove Gstatic 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.