Navigatebuddy Pop-up Virus — How to Remove Unwanted Ads?

Written by Wilbur Woodham

Navigatebuddy.com pop-ups that you can see while surfing the Web are the outcome of a malicious software activity that resides inside your web browser. Such pop-ups emerge in abundant quantities, distracting and bothering you.

The majority of the pop-ups from Navigatebuddy.com site are irrelevant to your choices, as it presents any promotional content it gets a contract for. Given that a lot of websites promoted in this fashion are not legit, it is obvious to expect them to contain dangerous components. In particular, they can throw you into diverse varieties of online deceptions.

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What are Navigatebuddy push notifications?

By some of the attributes, Navigatebuddy.com pop-ups are to normal pop-ups you may come across on regular sites. However, all the distinction – and detriment – arises from this exact website. Pages like Navigatebuddy are frequently created with just one objective – to offer unsuspecting individuals to enable pop-ups and then begin spamming them.

Brief description of the Navigatebuddy.com pop-ups:

Name Navigatebuddy.com
Hosting AS13335 Cloudflare, Inc.
United States, San Francisco
IP Address 104.21.20.103
Malware type Adware1
Effect Unwanted pop-up advertisements
Hazard level Medium
Malware source Apps from third-party websites, ads on dubious websites
Similar behavior Networkrush, Securepcshields, Notifbestnews
Removal method
To remove possible virus infections, try to scan your PC

Ads by the Navigatebuddy.com site are not legitimate either. At best, those will be entirely unrelated ads, that will still be annoying considering the frequency. Though, more common scenarios include advertisements of enigmatic deals with 90% off, adult web pages ads or phishing attempts. Here are some of the traditional patterns for pop-up spam:

  • Visit this new, totally legitimate shopping site and claim your discount coupon.
  • Your system is infected with 15 viruses. Contact our tech support or perform an immediate scan.
  • Speed up your computer with an incredibly effective system cleaner.
  • Discover 5, 10, 20, or even 50 women near you who are eager to chat.
  • Sign in on this new crypto exchange website and receive a substantial crypto bonus.
  • You’ve received a new message on Facebook, Twitter, or WhatsApp. Beware of phishing links.
  • Due to the illegal advertising model of Navigatebuddy.com, no legitimate enterprises will really use their promotion services. Instead, the entire spectrum of subjects I’ve named above is controlled by the same deceitful persons as those who are behind Navigatebuddy. Sometimes, upon clicking to the pop-up ad, you might be redirected to another page that proposes activating pop-up advertisements. The activity of numerous sources of pop-ups can transform your browser into an avenue of a pop-up surge.

    Navigatebuddy push notification

    Navigatebuddy push notification.

    Where did Navigatebuddy pop-ups come from?

    The main and most prevalent method to access the pop-up spamming site is to explore content on warez sites, pages containing pirated content, and the like. The individuals responsible for such dubious venues aim to counterbalance expenses via redirects, often as a promotional strategy. This type of redirection is commonly known as an “anti-bot verification”.

    An extra plausible cause of pop-up advertisements is adware, currently active within your system. It changes browser settings in a way so it starts displaying Navigatebuddy pop-ups without your knowledge. However, this scenario is relatively uncommon, as such malware employs its own, more effective approach to showcasing advertisements.

    Are Navigatebuddy pop-up ads dangerous?

    Yes, they are. At the surface, they may look harmless – just a blinking pop-up that appears a couple times in an hour. However, the contents of this window differ drastically from what you generally see in push notifications. Navigatebuddy.com site is ruled by fraudsters, who intendedly spread tons of malicious ads in pop-ups. They also don’t follow any manners of advertising and can launch sporadic pop-up notifications into a hurricane of ads. For weak computers, that may be enough to make the system slower. But that is not all problems these pop-up advertisements carry.

    Why people dislike popups

    As with any other thing that touches illegal ads, Navigatebuddy pop-up notifications do not contain any legit deals to offer. Even though hackers make the ads similar to ones from Amazon, Walmart or Ebay, the web page these ads will throw you to are completely different. And these pages can offer you to turn on other pop-ups, install a “useful” program, or pay for a thing at a big discount and never receive it. Let’s leave aside the cases when pop-up ads promote phishing pages or straightforward malware. There’s no way these pages will bring you any good, thus interacting with them is a very bad idea. For the same reason, Navigatebuddy push notifications are not recommended to click on either, and the best solution is to disable them as soon as possible.

    How to remove Navigatebuddy pop-ups?

    Fortunately, Navigatebuddy push notifications removal is pretty easy. They parasite in the web browser and cannot conceal themselves on a disk. Nonetheless, as I told before, some pop-up advertisements can deliver malicious software to your system. It is nearly impossible to describe all of the cases, and manual attempts to remove malware is a bad idea. For that reason, after getting rid of the pop-up advertisements it is recommended to use anti-malware software. I’d especially recommend that if you have never clicked “Allow” to push notifications, but they still appeared. That can point at adware activity. GridinSoft Anti-Malware will perfectly fit both system recovery and malware removal purposes, thanks to its abilities of system recovery and superb detection system.

    Remove Navigatebuddy.com with Gridinsoft Anti-Malware

    We have also been using this software on our systems ever since, and it has always been successful in detecting viruses. It has blocked the most common malicious pop-ups as shown from our tests with the software, and we assure you that it can remove Navigatebuddy.com as well as other malware hiding on your computer.

    Gridinsoft Anti-Malware - Main Screen

    To use Gridinsoft for remove malicious threats, follow the steps below:

    1. Begin by downloading Gridinsoft Anti-Malware, accessible via the blue button below or directly from the official website gridinsoft.com.

    2.Once the Gridinsoft setup file (setup-gridinsoft-fix.exe) is downloaded, execute it by clicking on the file.

    setup-gridinsoft-fix.exe

    3.Follow the installation setup wizard's instructions diligently.

    Gridinsoft Setup Wizard

    4. Access the "Scan Tab" on the application's start screen and launch a comprehensive "Full Scan" to examine your entire computer. This inclusive scan encompasses the memory, startup items, the registry, services, drivers, and all files, ensuring that it detects malware hidden in all possible locations.

    Scan for Navigatebuddy.com malicious pop-ups

    Be patient, as the scan duration depends on the number of files and your computer's hardware capabilities. Use this time to relax or attend to other tasks.

    5. Upon completion, Anti-Malware will present a detailed report containing all the detected malicious items and threats on your PC.

    The Navigatebuddy.com was Found

    6. Select all the identified items from the report and confidently click the "Clean Now" button. This action will safely remove the malicious files from your computer, transferring them to the secure quarantine zone of the anti-malware program to prevent any further harmful actions.

    The Navigatebuddy.com has been removed

    8. If prompted, restart your computer to finalize the full system scan procedure. This step is crucial to ensure thorough removal of any remaining threats. After the restart, Gridinsoft Anti-Malware will open and display a message confirming the completion of the scan.

    Remember Gridinsoft offers a 6-day free trial. This means you can take advantage of the trial period at no cost to experience the full benefits of the software and prevent any future malware infections on your system. Embrace this opportunity to fortify your computer's security without any financial commitment.

    Trojan Killer for “Navigatebuddy.com” removal on locked PC

    In situations where it becomes impossible to download antivirus applications directly onto the infected computer due to malware blocking access to websites, an alternative solution is to utilize the Trojan Killer application.

    Trojan Killer - Main View

    There is a really little number of security tools that are able to be set up on the USB drives, and antiviruses that can do so in most cases require to obtain quite an expensive license. For this instance, I can recommend you to use another solution of GridinSoft - Trojan Killer Portable. It has a 14-days cost-free trial mode that offers the entire features of the paid version. This term will definitely be 100% enough to wipe malware out.

    Trojan Killer is a valuable tool in your cybersecurity arsenal, helping you to effectively remove malware from infected computers. Now, we will walk you through the process of using Trojan Killer from a USB flash drive to scan and remove malware on an infected PC. Remember, always obtain permission to scan and remove malware from a computer that you do not own.

    Step 1: Download & Install Trojan Killer on a Clean Computer:

    1. Go to the official GridinSoft website (gridinsoft.com) and download Trojan Killer to a computer that is not infected.

    Download Trojan Killer

    2. Insert a USB flash drive into this computer.

    3. Install Trojan Killer to the "removable drive" following the on-screen instructions.

    Install Trojan Killer to Removable Drive

    4. Once the installation is complete, launch Trojan Killer.

    Step 2: Update Signature Databases:

    5. After launching Trojan Killer, ensure that your computer is connected to the Internet.

    6. Click "Update" icon to download the latest signature databases, which will ensure the tool can detect the most recent threats.

    Click Update Button

    Step 3: Scan the Infected PC:

    7. Safely eject the USB flash drive from the clean computer.

    8. Boot the infected computer to the Safe Mode.

    9. Insert the USB flash drive.

    10. Run tk.exe

    11. Once the program is open, click on "Full Scan" to begin the malware scanning process.

    Searching Navigatebuddy.com Virus

    Step 4: Remove Found Threats:

    12. After the scan is complete, Trojan Killer will display a list of detected threats.

    Searching Navigatebuddy.com Finished

    13. Click on "Cure PC!" to remove the identified malware from the infected PC.

    14. Follow any additional on-screen prompts to complete the removal process.

    Restart needed

    Step 5: Restart Your Computer:

    15. Once the threats are removed, click on "Restart PC" to reboot your computer.

    16. Remove the USB flash drive from the infected computer.

    Congratulations on effectively removing Navigatebuddy.com and the concealed threats from your computer! You can now have peace of mind, knowing that they won't resurface again. Thanks to Gridinsoft's capabilities and commitment to cybersecurity, your system is now protected.

    Now, you should reset your browser settings. It is possible to do in both manual and automatic manner. The former, obviously, requires more time to complete and may be somewhat complicated if you have never done that. Automated supposes the use of anti-malware programs that can reset all browser settings at once.

    Reset your browsers with GridinSoft Anti-Malware

    To reset your browser with GridinSoft Anti-Malware, open the Tools tab, and click the “Reset browser settings” button.

    Tools tab in GridinSoft Anti-Malware

    You can see the list of options for each browser. By default, they are set up in a manner that fits the majority of users. Press the “Reset” button (lower right corner). In a minute your browser will be as good as new.

    Reset Browser Settings tab in GridinSoft Anti-Malware

    The browser reset is recommended to perform through the antivirus tool by GridinSoft, because the latter is also able to reset the HOSTS file without any additional commands.

    Reset your browsers manually

    Manual method of browser reset

    To reset Edge, do the following steps:
    1. Open “Settings and more” tab in upper right corner, then find here “Settings” button. In the appeared menu, choose “Reset settings” option:
    2. Reseting the Edge browser

    3. After picking the Reset Settings option, you will see the following menu, stating about the settings which will be reverted to original:
    For Mozilla Firefox, do the next actions:
    1. Open Menu tab (three strips in upper right corner) and click the “Help” button. In the appeared menu choose “troubleshooting information”:
    2. The first step to revert Mozilla Firefox

    3. In the next screen, find the “Refresh Firefox” option:
    4. The second step of Firefox restoration
      After choosing this option, you will see the next message:
      The last step for Firefox
    If you use Google Chrome
    1. Open Settings tab, find the “Advanced” button. In the extended tab choose the “Reset and clean up” button:
    2. In the appeared list, click on the “Restore settings to their original defaults”:
    3. Finally, you will see the window, where you can see all the settings which will be reset to default:
    Opera can be reset in the next way
    1. Open Settings menu by pressing the gear icon in the toolbar (left side of the browser window), then click “Advanced” option, and choose “Browser” button in the drop-down list. Scroll down, to the bottom of the settings menu. Find there “Restore settings to their original defaults” option:

    2. After clicking the “Restore settings…” button, you will see the window, where all settings, which will be reset, are shown:

    When the browsers are reset, you need to ensure that your browser will connect the right DNS while connecting to the site you need. Create a text file titled “hosts” on your pc’s desktop, then open it and fill it with the following lines2:


    # Copyright (c) 1993-2006 Microsoft Corp.
    #
    # This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
    #
    # This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
    # entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
    # be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
    # The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
    # space.
    #
    # Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
    # lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
    #
    # For example:
    #
    # 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
    # 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host
    # localhost name resolution is handle within DNS itself.
    # 127.0.0.1 localhost
    # ::1 localhost

    Find the hosts.txt file in C:/Windows/System32/drivers/etc directory. Rename this file to “hosts.old.txt” (to distinguish it from the new one), and then move the file you created on the desktop to this folder. Remove the hosts.old from this folder. Now you have your hosts file as good as new.

    Scan your system for possible viruses

    After removing the Navigatebuddy push notifications, it’s time to see if these pop-ups brought any threat to your system. Launch GridinSoft Anti-Malware, and then click on Standard scan. It will be enough in most cases to find and remove malware. The scan will last 5-10 minutes; you are free to use your system during that process.

    GridinSoft Anti-Malware during the scan process

    Once the scan is complete, you will see the detections or a notification about a clean system. Proceed with pressing the Clean Up button (or OK when nothing is detected).

    GridinSoft scan finished

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    References

    1. More about this malware type on GridinSoft Encyclopedia.
    2. Official Microsoft guide for hosts file reset.

About the author

Wilbur Woodham

I was a technical writer from early in my career, and consider IT Security one of my foundational skills. I’m sharing my experience here, and I hope you find it useful.

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