Pokki Start Menu raises questions for computer users: is it a virus?Issues associated with the softwareThreat SummaryHow users install this software on their systems?How to remove Pokki Start Menu
Some users favor the program because it allows them to have old start menus back – although the same result could be achieved by reverting to older version of Windows. The program also provides the ability to install various applications and organize them in a preferred way. However, that should not be a deciding factor when considering whether to install/keep it or not, since there are plenty of other methods how to organize your apps properly. What you need to know (and what should be the deciding factors) are the certain characteristics of this software which make it potentially harmful to your system and privacy. The software is often called Pokki virus, which might be a bit of a stretch to call it that way as it belongs to adware category.
Issues associated with the software
Mainly, this program is capable of using several tracking technologies such as Pixels, Tags, LSOs (Local Shared Objects a.k.a. flash cookies) in order to gather information from your PC. In addition, it is important to understand that these methods let the program collect various sensitive data. Such data includes IP addresses, browsing history, online searches, your online clicks, site visiting regularity, location and MAC address. What is more, there were reported instances about malicious ads as a result of the installation of this program. In fact, there is no single answer on why Pokki Start Menu gathers your data. Usually, that is due to the interest of other software platforms. To explain, this program mainly benefits from third-party software embedded in it, like games and other things and your data is shared with them, of course. Furthermore, this is boldly stated in their Privacy Policy – a reminder, that you should always read Terms and Conditions as well as Privacy Policies before installing software. Moreover, alongside previously mentioned effects, there were some reports on the application possibly causing decline in PC performance. Also, there were reported instances of password and financial data theft. To sum up, your personal information is shared with third parties under numerous circumstances and there is no way to find out what it’s used for. Therefore, you should think twice before downloading it. If you’re wondering “how do I get rid of Pokki on Windows 10” or any other Windows versions, you should check the Pokki removal guide we provide below.
Threat Summary
How users install this software on their systems?
Aside from Windows users who download it intentionally (that can be done on deeveloper’s website), the biggest chance of getting this program is through download bundling. To explain, this scheme is used to target people who tend to download free software from suspicious websites and do these kinds of things irresponsibly. For example, Pokki might be included as an additional install product alongside your Torrent downloader program, free media player, etc. In this case, the bundle ad is included in one of the installation steps of Custom or Advanced installation option. In most cases, this option is selected automatically, so inattentive users might install it unintentionally.
How to remove Pokki Start Menu
All in all, we’d like to state, that even though this topic is quite controversial (regarding the maliciousness of this program), many believe that it is best to remove Pokki Virus as it poses quite a few risks to your system. Terminating this program manually might not be enough because many users complain that Pokki won’t uninstall that easily. Since these kinds of apps tend to keep their roots inside your system for as long as possible, we highly recommend you to use trustworthy anti-malware software to ensure complete removal. In order to achieve that, we’ve already reviewed most of them on our website, in the hope that you could choose one easily. This article continues with complete Pokki removal guide – to remove it completely, follow the steps below: OUR GEEKS RECOMMEND Our team recommends a two-step rescue plan to remove ransomware and other remaining malware from your computer, plus repair caused virus damage to the system: GeeksAdvice.com editors select recommended products based on their effectiveness. We may earn a commission from affiliate links, at no additional cost to you. Learn more. Get INTEGO ANTIVIRUS for Windows to remove ransomware, Trojans, adware and other spyware and malware variants and protect your PC and network drives 24/7. This VB100-certified security software uses state-of-art technology to provide protection against ransomware, Zero-Day attacks and advanced threats, Intego Web Shield blocks dangerous websites, phishing attacks, malicious downloads and installation of potentially unwanted programs. Use INTEGO Antivirus to remove detected threats from your computer. Read full review here. RESTORO provides a free scan that helps to identify hardware, security and stability issues and presents a comprehensive report which can help you to locate and fix detected issues manually. It is a great PC repair software to use after you remove malware with professional antivirus. The full version of software will fix detected issues and repair virus damage caused to your Windows OS files automatically. RESTORO uses AVIRA scanning engine to detect existing spyware and malware. If any are found, the software will eliminate them. Read full review here. To remove the unwanted program from your computer, use these instructions below to uninstall associated programs or apps from your Windows or Mac computer. Then scroll down for instructions how to clean each affected web browser individually.
Remove Pokki from Windows
Windows 10/8.1/8 users Click on the Windows logo to open Windows menu. In search, type control panel and select the matching result. Then go to Programs and Features. Windows 7 users First, open Windows menu by clicking on the icon in the lower left corner of the screen. Then go to Control Panel and find section called Programs. Click on the Uninstall a program option under it. Windows XP users In Windows XP, click Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs. Uninstall unwanted programs Once in Programs and Features, look through the list of installed programs. You can click on Installed on tab to sort the programs by their installation date. Right-click on suspicious programs you can’t remember installing and choose Uninstall. Follow instructions provided by the Uninstall Wizard, click Next and finally Finish to uninstall the unwanted program from your PC.
Remove Pokki from Google Chrome Remove suspicious Chrome extensions Change Start Page settings Change default search settings Remove push notifications from Chrome If you want to get rid of the annoying ads and so-called push-notifications viruses, you must identify their components and clean your browser. You can easily remove ads from Chrome by following these steps: Reset Google Chrome browser
Remove Pokki from Mozilla Firefox Remove unwanted add-ons from Firefox Change Firefox Homepage Alter preferences in Firefox Remove annoying push notifications from Firefox Suspicious sites that ask to enable push notifications gain access to Mozilla’s settings and can deliver intrusive advertisements when browsing the Internet. Therefore, you should remove access to your browser by following these simple steps: Reset Mozilla Firefox
Remove Pokki from Microsoft Edge Remove suspicious extensions: Change MS Edge Start Page and default search engine: Turn off push notifications in Edge If you keep receiving pop-up ads or other promotional content while browsing on Microsoft Edge, your browser might be corrupted by a potentially unwanted program (PUP). You have to clean it — follow these easy instructions: Clear browsing data
Remove Pokki from Safari Uninstall suspicious Safari extensions Change Safari Homepage and default search engine Remove push notifications on Safari Some suspicious websites can try to corrupt your Safari by asking to enable push notifications. If you have accidentally agreed, your browser will be flooded with various intrusive advertisements and pop-ups. You can get rid of them by following this quick guide: Reset Safari
Remove Pokki from Internet Explorer TIP: If you are still using IE, we strongly advise using Microsoft Edge or a different browser because Microsoft is no longer providing technical or security support for IE browser. Remove suspicious extensions from IE Change default search provider and remove suspicious ones Change IE Home Page Block pop-up notifications on Internet Explorer Suspicious websites can gain access to your Internet Explorer browser through push notifications. If you enable them even by accident, you will start receiving numerous annoying ads and other advertising content while browsing. The easiest way to remove push-notification viruses is by performing the following steps: Reset Internet Explorer
Alternative software recommendations
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