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This help content & informationGeneral Help Center experience
If you're seeing some of these problems with Chrome, you might have unwanted software or malware installed on your computer:
- Pop-up ads and new tabs that won't go away
- Your Chrome homepage or search engine keeps changing without your permission
- Unwanted Chrome extensions or toolbars keep coming back
- Your browsing is hijacked, and redirects to unfamiliar pages or ads
- Alerts about a virus or an infected device
In the future, avoid unwanted software by only downloading files or visiting sites that you know are secure.
Learn how to block or allow pop-ups in Chrome.
Step 1: Remove problem apps
- On an Android phone or tablet, press and hold your device's power button.
- On your screen, touch and hold Power off
. Your device starts in safe mode. You'll see "Safe mode" at the bottom of your screen
- One by one, remove recently downloaded apps. Learn how to delete apps.
- Tip: To remember the apps that you remove so that you can add them back, make a list.
- After each removal, restart your device normally. See whether removing that app solved the problem.
- After you remove the app that caused the problem, you can add back the other apps that you removed. Learn how to reinstall apps.
. Your device starts in safe mode. You'll see "Safe mode" at the bottom of your screenStep 2: Protect your device from problem apps
- Make sure Play Protect is on:
- Open your Android device's Google Play Store app
.
- Tap Menu
Play Protect.
- Turn on Scan device for security threats.
- Open your Android device's Google Play Store app
- Consider purchasing and downloading an anti-malware app, like Malwarebytes.
.
Play Protect.Step 3: Stop notifications from a certain website
If you're seeing annoying notifications from a website, turn off the permission:
- On your Android phone or tablet, open the Chrome app
.
- Go to a webpage.
- To the right of the address bar, tap More
.
- Tap Site settings.
- Under "Permissions," tap Notifications.
- If you don't see "Permissions" or "Notifications," the site doesn't have notifications turned on.
- Turn the setting off.
.
.More info about malware
How to avoid malware in the future
- Watch out for things that look too good to be true. Winning a contest or getting expensive copyrighted content for free is sometimes a trick to get you to download malware.
- If you haven't recently run a virus scanner, be wary of warnings about viruses or infected devices. The site might be trying to scare you into downloading unwanted software.
- Only download files or visit sites that you know are secure. Learn more about healthy browsing.
If a popup about updating or downloading a program looks suspicious, don't click on it. Instead, go to the program's official website to download it.
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