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chrise

31st January 2026, 09:08
For the last few day, whenever I open a new tab in Chrome a page with tacky adverts (some of which Norton says are actually dangerous) comes up. I think I have followed the instructions for "On startup" to set it to open in Google, but it hasn't worked. Does anyone have a solution?
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brendan

31st January 2026, 09:13
Chris, I use Chrome so can I ask if you have Malwarebytes and Adblock Plus installed (both have free versions (which I use) and run in the background without affecting performance)
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chrise

31st January 2026, 09:15
Yes, I do, brendan. The "rogue" page actually seems to be part of Chrome - it contains a search bar.
This doesn't happen (yet!) on the desktop that also ujses Chrome.
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brendan

31st January 2026, 09:26
Okay, thanks for that info Chris.

I also know you are a scientist so please don't be offended if these questions seem obvious.

Have you clicked on Extensions to see if there's anything you don't recognise.

I suggest you run a scan with firstly Malwarebytes and then Norton (I believe you said that's what you use)

If they don't find anything you could try opening Task Manager and look through the Processes tab and then the Startup tab and make sure only essential elements are enabled.

If all else fails you can go to Settings in Chrome and at the very bottom of the list on the left is "Reset Settings" - I'd try that.
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chrise

31st January 2026, 09:34
Thanks Brendan. I've done all that except Reset Settings. Here goes, then!
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chrise

31st January 2026, 09:37
Bingo!

Though I did have to reinstall AdBlock. Probably MalwareBytes as well.
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brendan

31st January 2026, 09:39
That's brilliant news Chris 😀
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chrise

31st January 2026, 09:42
Thanks again, Brendan. I wonder where the tacky adverts came from. They were mostly about how to stop car thieves or buy Valentine's gifts from Ann Summers!
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brendan

31st January 2026, 09:46
That's disturbing. Maybe I should investigate further - did you by any chance take screenshots of the Ann Summers pop-ups, I could examine them for clues - come on Bren, you're better than this mate - you know, I really don't think I am 😂
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chrise

31st January 2026, 09:50
Do you know, it never occurred to me to take a screen shot!
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