Sponsored Links Ads Removal Guide

When you notice an increase of annoying third-party ads in your browsers or even on your desktop labeled Sponsored Links Ads, it is quite likely that your computer has been infected with an adware application or a potentially unwanted program (PUP). These advertisements can be very annoying but if you click on them, you could also open new tabs or new windows and end up on questionable or downright malicious websites. In other words, you could be exposed to unreliable third-party web content and possibly be scammed by cyber criminals or drop further infections onto your machine. This is why it is important that you make sure you remove Sponsored Links Ads from your computer as soon as possible. Please read our full article to learn more about this threat and how you can protect your computer from similar ones.

We have found that ContentPush, a PUP that emerged last year, in 2016, could be one of the reasons why you see these advertisements. Of course, there could be other PUPs as well as adware programs out there responsible for such ads. You can infect your system with these threats when installing a freeware bundle. One of the most common ways to drop a bundle on your PC is to download free or cracked software and movies from shady torrent pages. Inexperienced users may not realize that they do not simply download their targeted file but a whole bundle instead. Such a package may contain several PUPs and malware infections, such as adware programs, browser hijackers, ransomware programs, Trojans, fake alerts, and more. Another option for you to end up with such a bundle on your computer is to click on questionable ads like the ones, for example, these ads represent. You may be introduced to such ads while visiting suspicious websites or when your computer is infected with adware. All in all, we strongly recommend that you use a reputable online malware scanner to identify all possible harmful programs after you delete Sponsored Links Ads from your computer.

These ads may start appearing every time you log in to your Windows since PUPs like ContentPush may autostart with Windows. This means constant exposure to questionable third-party advertising. This particular PUP seems to use revcontent.com, a content recommendation network, to display advertisements. You may see ads labeled "Sponsored by Content.Ad," "Sponsored links by Content.Ad," "Ads powered by Content.Ad," "Powered by Content.Ad," or something very similar. If you notice these ads, you should not engage with them because you might open new tabs and browser windows with fake websites or other unreliable content. If such a PUP is on board, it is also possible that you will be disturbed by advertising even on your desktop. If you do not want to let more infections onto your system or end up being scammed, we recommend that you remove Sponsored Links Ads from your system.

If you find out that ContentPush is on your system, first, you may want to kill the unwanted process via Task Manager, which is supposed to be called "nw.exe." Of course, if there is another PUP or adware responsible for these ads, you need to end their processes. Then, you can use the uninstaller via Control Panel to uninstall the undesirable application. However, there may be some mess left behind in the case of this PUP we mentioned. Please use our guide below to make sure that you eliminate all parts of these annoying ads. If you want to defend your PC against such and more serious threats, we suggest that you install a proper anti-malware program, such as SpyHunter.

How to kill the unwanted process

1. Open your Task Manager (press Ctrl+Shift+Esc).
2. Locate the process called "nw.exe" (or any other advertising application) and click on it.
3. Now, press End task.
4. Exit your Task Manager.

How to remove Sponsored Links Ads from Windows

Windows 8/Windows 8.1/Windows 10

1. Right-click on the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner and navigate to Control Panel.
2. Open Uninstall a program.
3. Click on the uninstaller and press Uninstall.

Windows Vista/Windows 7

1. Access the Start menu and go to Control Panel.
2. Select Uninstall a program.
3. Click on the uninstaller and press Uninstall.

Windows XP

1. Click the Start button and open Control Panel.
2. Pick Add or Remove Programs.
3. Click on the uninstaller and press Uninstall.

Remove leftovers

1. Press Win+R and type regedit. Click OK.
2. Check the following registry entries and delete them if found:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ContentPush
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ContentPush
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon | userinit | wscript C:\WINDOWS\run.vbs
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon | userinit | wscript C:\WINDOWS\run.vbs
3. Exit the editor.
4. Press Win+E.
5. Delete these files:
   %PROGRAMFILES%\ContentPush
   %PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\ContentPush
   %WINDIR%\run.vbs
6. Empty your Recycle Bin.
7. Restart your computer.