Gambling Site pops up in Opera as soon as I start Windows
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rmarinrojas last edited by
There is this gambling site which pops up everytime I start Windows.
I have tried a number of solutions; from blocking Opera at Start up to installing antimalware apps in my computer, but no good resuts have come up.
Can anybody help me?
Thank you all n advance. -
leocg Moderator Volunteer last edited by
@rmarinrojas If you set up a different browser as default one, what happens?
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blackbird71 last edited by blackbird71@rmarinrojas It sounds as if you've got something that has inserted itself to activate when you start your system, but that needs verification. As @leiocg suggests, try temporarily setting another browser as default and restart the system. If the gambling site still pops up right away in that browser, it verifies that you've got malware/adware that's installed itself at a system level so that it activates upon startup. If the problem disappears with an alternative default browser, then it implies something has gotten into just your Opera installation. The solution path forward depends on which situation has been verified to occur.
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rmarinrojas last edited by
@blackbird71 Thank you very much for your quick response. I did change the browser to Chrome, but ot still pops up in Opera once the system is started, Then I changed it to Edge with no different results; so I guess I have a malware rooted somewhere in there. I have tried a number of Malware and AntiSpy apps, but they either ask you to pay to have the fully functional app or simply are unabe to find that malware. Suggestions are gratefully accepted!
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sgunhouse Moderator Volunteer last edited by
@rmarinrojas You have adware somewhere in there, might even be one of your extensions if you've left Opera set to run on startup - but also might be some outside software you recently installed. Most malware scanners ignore adware, as it isn't dangerous - just annoying.
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blackbird71 last edited by
@rmarinrojas To be crystal clear, when you say you "changed" the browser to Chrome and Edge, do you mean you changed the system's default browser setting to each of those, not merely opened each after a restart? If so, do you also mean that after changing the default browser setting to one of those two and restarting the system, it nevertheless still auto-opened Opera to the gambling site?
Finally, do you have Opera intentionally installed or set to turn on and appear automatically when your system is powered up, regardless of the system's default browser setting?
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sgunhouse Moderator Volunteer last edited by sgunhouse
@blackbird71 There is a setting to autostart Opera (in the background) on Windows start, one of those "Quick Start" things. If enabled then any external adware might detect there is a browser running and use it. He should make sure that setting is disabled as well as changing the default browser if he really wants to try that.
Of course, he should try an adware remover like Ad Aware to find the responsible program, if it is a program and not one of his extensions.
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rmarinrojas last edited by
@blackbird71 Exactly, I set the Chrome as my default browser, and as nothing happened, I repeated the operation using Edge. I'm sorry I was not clear enough...it's been a while without using real English. Thank you for your response.
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blackbird71 last edited by blackbird71
@rmarinrojas If Opera is not set to autostart on your system whenever you power the system up, and if you've set the default browser to another non-Opera browser, and if a system restart immediately brings up Opera at the gambling website, you probably have adware present on the system which is triggering from one of the Windows startup folders - either at the system level or at the user account level.
As a simple first try at a fix, after restarting your computer, press Windows' Start button, and go to Settings. Then in the "Find a setting" box in the middle of the page that appears,, type: Startup. From the popup menu that then appears, click on Startup Apps. You should see a listing of apps or programs that the system and the user account activate at system startup. Scan the list for anything that you don't recognize as belonging there - especially something that may refer to Opera or the gambling website. If there is something alien there, use Windows' "Add or Remove Programs" function, locate the alien name again on that list, and uninstall it.
Then use Explorer to go to the folder at C:\users\<your username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\StartMenu\Programs\Startup and look at the filenames listed there... again, look for something that you don't recognize as belonging there. If there's something alien there, delete it.
Otherwise, you may want to want to download and try some reputable adware removal tools like AdwCleaner. For persistent adware problems, you may need to download and employ multiple cleanup programs as discussed at the Bleeping Computer website: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/how-to-remove-adware-on-a-pc
