What is PopStop?
Did you download PopStop onto your Google Chrome browser already, or are you still thinking about doing that? We hope that you are in the latter position because we can help you understand this PUP (potentially unwanted program) better before you get involved with it. Of course, if you have this extension installed already, we can still help you remove it from the browser. But should you do it? The answer is yes because the Anti-Spyware-101.com research team has tested this extension, and we have found that it does not work. Not only that, it also has suspicious functionality, which might be the biggest reason to delete PopStop as soon as possible. Before you continue reading, we advise implementing a legitimate malware scanner to help you inspect your system. It is possible that the PUP was installed along with other unwanted programs or even threats, and it is important that, if they exist, you are able to identify and address them all.
How does PopStop work?
PopStop, according to our research team, is a completely fake ad-blocker. At the time of research, its official website – popstop.safepage.website – did not work, but it was still presented via the Chrome Web Store, at chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/popstop/dpnebmclcgcbggnhicpocghdhjmdgklf. The information presented along with this installer suggests that the PUP works as “a free popup ad blocker built to block and auto-close annoying ads while you are browsing the Web.” We already know that that is not the case. However, 20,000+ users have downloaded it already. Strangely, there are no ratings or reviews, which is a red flag. Another red flag is the lack of necessary information. The installer does not offer a link to the PUP’s privacy policy, and so it is impossible to fully know how it works. All that you get from the description are two email addresses. If you click the ‘Add to Chrome’ button, you are shown a pop-up that declares this: “It can: Read your browsing history.” Without a privacy policy, you cannot fully know how it is read, what other information is collected, who has access to it, or how it is used.
Even if you do not care that you have little information about PopStop or that it reads your browsing history, it is clear that this extension is useless. Once you install it, ads continue to show up in a normal way, which means that it does not have the ad-blocking abilities it boasts about. Perhaps, the tool is just running disorderly at this time, and perhaps it will be able to block ads in the future. Even if that happens, if users are not given access to a privacy policy, we will continue recommending the removal of PopStop. Normal ad-blockers are able to identify and block ads on the different websites and platforms you visit and use. Of course, because ad-blocking services are very popular, it might be hard to find a tool that is legitimate and harmless. One that would not perform strange tasks in the background. You want an ad-blocker that actually blocks ads. If you choose to replace the PUP with something else, make sure that the tool is legitimate and harmless before installing it.
How to delete PopStop
If you were happy to find PopStop because it promises to block ads for free, we have to disappoint you by declaring this tool to be useless. Our research team analyzed it, and it definitely did not block ads while running. On top of that, it could read browsing history, and there was no way of accessing its privacy policy, which made it impossible for users to learn how this PUP records information, what kinds of information is recorded, or how it might be used. Needless to say, we believe that it is a good idea to remove PopStop from Google Chrome, which, at the time of research, was the only browser that the PUP was compatible with. The manual removal guide below can help you get rid of the extension manually, but if you know that other threats exist, or if you want to take this opportunity to secure your operating system, we advise employing the help of legitimate anti-malware software.
Removal Guide
- Launch Google Chrome.
- Simultaneously tap Alt+F keys.
- Click More tools and then Extensions.
- Remove the PUP.
- Simultaneously tap Ctrl+Shift+Delete keys.
- Click the Advanced tab.
- Pick a time range and boxes.
- Click Clear data.
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