wafflesatnoon.com » Consumers » Seeing Unwanted Text Enhance Ads?
Seeing Unwanted Text Enhance Ads?
The problem: Seeing certain words on web pages – maybe even on your own site – with unwanted green, double-underlined contextual ads. These links point to (or are at least powered by) such sites as text-enhance.com. The problem is you don’t want these text ads, nor did you give permission for them to appear on your computer. You’ll see some places that offer to remove it if you download their software, but typically downloading and running this software is an unnecessary step.
What I found alarming at first was that I was seeing these links on multiple browsers, which at first led me to believe that the code was on my site, and not on my computer. But alas, it was just malware on my computer, installed as an add-on to multiple browsers, and quite easy to remove. There are at least 3 simple ways to remove it.
• Removing Add-Ons/Extensions
In Chrome, click on the wrench at the top right, then select Tools->Extensions and remove something called “Facetheme” or “Better Links” there. The add-on called “Facetheme” was the one on my comptuer that was directly linked to text-enhance.com. “Better Links” was a similar add-on I found on a different computer, but worked essentially the same as text enhance. Other users have reported one called “Vid Save” or “Vidsaver” as well. (In IE, go into Tools->Manage Add-Ons to remove it there. In Firefox, go into Tools->Add Ons.) While you’re in there, remove any unwanted add-ons. There’s a good chance you’ll see some you don’t recognize or want.
• Add/Remove Programs
I actually found “Facetheme” in my add/remove programs section of Windows. (In XP, go into Control Panel->Add/Remove Programs.. in Windows 7 go into Control Panel->Programs & Features). The removal process seemed to work this way as well.
• Run Superantispyware or other existing spyware removal
If the above techniques don’t work (though they should), and you already use Superantispyware (or a similar product), a “complete” scan of your system should locate such malware and prompt you to get rid of it.
So what about this text-enhance.com website anyway? Visiting their site, we see the following message:
Text-Enhance links are designed to create meaningful relationships between advertisers and consumers. If you are seeing these links, then a web publisher has decided to offer them to you. If you would like to opt-out of seeing these links, click here.
This explanation is completely bogus. You shouldn’t have to ask permission for someone to remove malware off of your computer that was put there without your permission in the first place. They didn’t play by the rules in putting the malware on your computer, so do you really think they’ll play by the rules in removing it? Don’t use this bogus opt-out tool and don’t trust them. Reading further about their bogus removal tool, they state:
Remember: Our opt-out service is cookie based. This means that if you clear your cookies (or use software to “speed up your computer”, which clears cookies for you), then Text-Enhance links will show up again. To prevent this from happening, you will need to add the domain: textsrv.com to your softwares exclusion list for cookie removal.
They have the nerve to warn you like a child that if you remove cookies, you’ll see these malware links again, and suggest adding their domain to your exclusion list! DON’T DO THIS. This is essentially allowing a criminal to hijack your computer and then tell you to play by their rules.
Try the removal techniques above instead of playing by their rules.
Update:
Be sure to read the comments below, as several users have listed variants that worked for them.
Further Reading:
Filed under: Consumers
Thank you I managed to get rid of a bucket load of adware, malware, bugs
using different removal programmes but these underlined text and pop up boxes would not go I thought it was a stubborn virus, I found it in my firefox extensions called vidsaver, clicked remove and its gone THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!
Ahh thank you so so so much I deleted some stuff and now its gone
Yep, that was the one – VidSaver. Thanks for the tips guys!
Thanks so much for the helpful tips. It is utterly despicable for advertising providers like text-enhance.com to use these methods, which should be illegal. So many sites hosting games, plugins, software downloaders, and all sorts of other content, enable adware trojan distributors like this. Innocent users are understandably fooled and taken advantage of.
Software Assist is the name it came onto my computer as. For anyone also looking for it
Thanks for your tips. Text Enhance is the kind of thing for which there should be heavy penalties. I use Firefox and identified the malware as an add-on called “I Want This” (is there an add-on “I do not want this”?)
I have the Text Enhance crap on my computer, but apparently it doesn’t exist anywhere on my computer. I can’t find anything listed under any of the names you’ve given us and I’ve checked all my browsers and my programs list. It’s not anywhere, yet I still get the obnoxious ads. I have an ad blocker and it does nothing…I’ve also been to the TE website and clicked on their “Opt Out” option, which brought me to a page that tells me to fill out a form (that won’t load…? ) and gives a link with information on how to uninstall TE (which I apparently don’t have because none of their options help in any way, shape or form). I don’t get it. I guess it’s somehow hidden away or something? How the heck do I get rid of this thing?
This is exactly what is happening to me…
- None of the mentioned programs or Firefox add-ons are on my laptop.
- Spybot Search and Destroy, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, and AVG don’t pick anything up (anything they do pick up isn’t related to this).
- Even if I delete all my cookies, it’s back within a minute or two…
I also have Adblock Plus installed for Firefox, and I still get Text-Enhance on almost all websites…
To be clear, as annoying as T/E is, it’s not exactly malware. Authors of plugins/extensions or other types of addons that you install intentionally (i.e., to enhance your browser’s capabilities) include Text Enhance capabilities into their plugins as a means of monetizing their software. While it’s a little subversive, the plug-ing author intentionally adds the Text Enhance capabilities to their code, and you intentionally add their plugin to your browser (even if you’re unaware of the Text Enhance part). My wife just ran into a situation where a plug-in she has used for months was suddenly updated (allow updates was turned on), and the new version she received added the Text Enhance functionality. This was very frustrating but in the end, we voted with our feet, and removed the plugin.
I went through my programs from control panel, programs, “uninstall a program” and removed programs where there was a no name (just a blank space) in the “publisher” column. The program responsible for introducing text enhance appeared to be called “Mighty Magoo” on my computer (apologies if I am mistaken abbout this, and have maligned an innocent piece of software). I suspect that text enhance follows the virus practice of installing itself under a variety of names so it is harder to detect: anyway, that seems to have got rid of it.
I try to find out what in the hell I have the text enhancer crap then I found out it was a Facebook dislike extension on Google Chrome.
I also found this to be the case.
Boo Facebook Dislike – you where fun for a minute…
Thanks so much for telling me that. I’ve been trying for ages to remove this crap.
I cannot find anything to remove, I’ve gone through my programs a hundred times and through the ad-ons. I cannot find anything by the names above, nor anything that looks like it shouldn’t be there. Text-Enhance drives me absolutely crazy. I don’t know how to get rid of the damn thing!!!
I found a program zoomex. When i removed it it seemed to take away my problem with text-Enhance.
same here, zoomex was the problem.
I’ve tried 100 different ways to get rid of the Text-Enhance thing and nothing worked. I checked my downloaded programs and my browser extensions and all that junk, but nothing seemed out of place or weird.
On a whim, I disabled a codec called Codec-V. That did the trick!
Just because it doesn’t look suspicious doesn’t mean it isn’t suspicious. I removed the coded-v thing, refreshed the page, and all the text enhanced links are gone.
Thanks for the update! Glad you found it!!
‘Software Assist’ was the extension that removed text enhance. Nothing showed up in programs and features. Thanks for the help!
For Firefox. I went into add ons and disabled shockwave flash. All text enhancers are gone.
Thank you! That worked for me.
Yes, thank you! It also worked for me.
yo for chrome it’s built into “software assist”, a plug-in that scans ur downloaded files for viruses and malicious stuff. well turn out the malicious stuff is built right into the plug-in. tho u kinda have use for soft assist so i deleted it and just was more careful about wat i downloaded.
I followed the steps listed above most of which I had done already, I went into my programs section and deleted anything not needed that’s been updated/installed since this started to happen. There is a good chance that I got the text ads though the Snapple Facts calendar. Once I removed that they disappeared, thought you guys might want to know.
Thank you! I fixed the problem with your advice about disabling add ons in Google Chrome. This one was called Save As 2.0
Was a Firefox addon called download and save..which I did not download myself that fixed it. Had to disable the extension in Firefox and delete the program from my pc.
That worked for me too…thanks for sharing!
It was some application called yontoo 1.10.02 on my system. Beware
Thanks that worked i have chrome and it got rid of everything, cheers!!!
Vid-Saver extension in Chrome and I downloaded it by myself.
Yeah it was Yontoo for me aswell!
i think mine was something like “pic enhancer for facebook”
could’ve also been a youtube downloader too. look out for them too!!
Mine was a Firefox Add-on called Incredi-bar.
I have hunted all over the computer, disabled the few extensions in Chrome I had running – no luck! I have been using FB photozoom for a while with no issues. It was the only extension I hadn’t tried to disable. The links disappeared the moment I disabled that!! Nasty!
there is no real way to stop this other than getting all your websites users to disable this nonsense, which lets admit.. they probably are not going to do, this is an extremely abusive company textenhance.com
I urge everyone who is experiencing this problem to email an abuse report to their hosting company.. the email is abuse@webnx.com
Further more if you are a big company and have the funds to sue these obvious malicious hackers! if many companies file court cases against this company we can hopefully get them shutdown entirely!
We have lost business because of these disgusting ads, we run a family friendly site and even innocent words like “dughter” have a link to a sex site or other things.. THEY MUST BE STOPPED!!!!
Argh! I cant find it anywhere!
Mine was called Yontoo layers run time.
I disabled “one click download” in Firefox and Chrome. That solved the problem for me.
- tools – add-ons – disable
The latest manifestation on 26/11/2012 was “StartNow Tool” published by StartNow.com.
I removed through tools -> extension in Chrome and through Control Pannel in windows (sorting by date helped me find it)
The addon that caused unwanted links and link boxes for me was Sociablepics, an addon that allegedly would let me share pictures found on the web by clicking on logos to various social network that appeared on the pictures but I never actually tried this. I felt that after a while, these buttons got a little too intrusive by appearing on almost every single picture I saw and as I got more annoyed by the unwanted links appearing on words that shouldn’t be linked, I thought it was time to completely remove Sociablepics. And it worked! So DO NOT install Sociablepics as this will most likely happen to others as well!
Removing the flash shockware worked for Firefox! Thank you.
Yea it works when I stop Shockware flash in google chrome, but then obviously youtube vids etc don’t work anymore, should I then download another kind of flash?
Omg thank you so much, tried the google extension trick, and there it was. Problem immediately solved. Thank you for taking the time to explain, I couldn’t believe it when I checked my website and there were horrible adlinks everywhere!
Chrome, for me it was Zoomex 3.2..
fu#% theese people!
thx for putting me towards this!
This morning I woke up and wanted to check my website (www.iraqzone.com) and I saw the Sign Up word hyperlink coloured I said ‘WTF’ and when I moved the mouse toward it an ad appears and I thought straight away, someone hacked my website and placed the ad code there. Then I spent over and hour checking my website codes where the heck is the ads code I couldn’t find it til, I searched on Google and found your blog…Ooo Now i am relaxed and my heart slowed down in beating lol..I found it on my Chrome browser is called “Academy Coupe Coupon” I removed it from my Chrome Browser and from the Program Features on the Control Panel..
Thank you for your help!!
In my case it was Unity Player 4.0.1.62093, next line there was written unity player 4.0.1f1 that seemed to be fishi so i deleted that one and these nasty links seems to be gone
Thank you! So much! “Into Now” was causing the problem for me. And it was driving me nuts!!!Thanks again!
On my computer this was a program called wxdownload and associated files called sprotector.
All gone now, thank you. Was tearing my hair out as anti-virus and anti-malware weren’t picking it up…
Extension: GoPhoto It and Torrent Handler
Payed a fortune to Norton, they just slowed my mac…..
thanks guys
Disabled an add-on called Add Lyrics 1.0 …. this got rid of the text-enhanced nonsense!
Went to uninstall programs, uninstalled an unfamiliar program called Vaudix. Was also in my add-ons for firefox. All the links have disappeared thus far.
Hi,
Thanks for the tips, worked for me. I removed Vaudix from Chrome extensions.
I tested my upload/download speed at TestMy.net and ended up downloading a little programme that was a scam called PC Speed Up.
Deleted it as soon as I realised but it left “PC Speed Up Extension” deleted that and problem went.
Simple defrag cured first problem, Doh….
Browser Companion 1.0.5 was the malware on my comp.
Both an addon and on the computer (don’t know what installed it, I didn’t) and the uninstaller contained a virus, so use the removal tool in your extension list.
“Select Link” was the culprit for my Win7 laptop.
I had the programs I Want This and Browse to Save. Deleted both of them and hopefully it’ll solve the problem.
I have tried all of the above and it seems to be no where. Text enhancer is present but not in any programs and file, in add on’s and extensions etc I have done everything and it does not work. I need help as my computer is becoming slow and the websites I am building are infected with it as well.
Mine was ONE CLIK DOWNLOAD extension of chrome that is doing it.
I too had this mess. Mine was an addendum to Coupon Printer, called “COUPON Compatibility Add On”. I want thru all steps to remove and found out that REVO INSTALLER FREE did a superbe job, set on Advanced setting for after the uninstall cleanup.
I Love Revo and need to buy it for my 64bit system. I did have a paid-for Pro Version, but when my computer acted up I had to do a complete re-install of my OS Win7, and lost the numbers. Now I have to buy it. I had gotten a promo free copy of pro from Raymond some years ago and it was great. Do any of you know of a freebie for pro Revo Uninstall?
I would greatly appreciate this as I have not been physically able to work in 19 years due to car wreck from a drunk driver on drugs.
S
Mine was called Bcool
thankyou and keep up the great work.
Mine was inside an extension on chrome for “Free HD Sport TV”…
I had first found the Yontoo extension and it had tons of little critters in there, so I deleted it. Then I found some of them in my programs. So I deleted them and they were gone for only a few minutes. Now they are… bye-bye