If you’re reading this article, you might have faced a situation where a warning message pops up on your computer screen saying your system carries unwanted files and that it can help clean them up for you.
This is a convenient invitation for a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP) to cause you some headache later. One such PUP program is called Auto PC Cleaner 2019.
If you have mistakenly downloaded this program, you must have it removed as early as you can.
Here, we will briefly inform you about this PUP, its symptoms and how to remove it.
Auto PC Cleaner PUP: Signs & Symptoms
While many such innocuous programs are described as Potentially Unwanted Programs primarily because of the lack of any utility for that software, in the case of the Auto PC Cleaner 2019 PUP, it is one step more. It can lead to unwanted intrusion into your system by adware or malware, or other malicious programs.
Auto PC Cleaner 2019, like most freeware, sticks on to some other freeware you might download with a genuine purpose or need. Once it gets itself installed, it will try and show as if it is being useful to you by popping up messages. It will claim to have detected trash files and will offer to remove them.
The moment you agree, you may be in for trouble. It may ask you to pay an amount to get a premium version of the program to carry out this cleaning operation. Cybersecurity experts have done enough research to discover that in reality, Auto PC Cleaner 2019 does not do any cleaning. Instead, its purpose is to pave the way for even more risky programs to get installed on your system that could ultimately result in threatening your computer permanently.
Here are the different ways to uninstall the program from your system:
Removing Auto PC Cleaner from Different Windows Versions
Since there are many versions of the Windows OS being used on computers, it is essential to provide the steps to uninstall the PUP Auto PC Cleaner 2019.
On Windows 10:
- Click on the Windows key on your keyboard or just click on the Windows icon on the bottom left of your screen/monitor.
- Select Settings and click on it.
3. From the menu that appears, click on the choice Apps or Apps & features.
4. The Apps installed on your computer appear as a list in the alphabetical order in a column on the right of the window that appears on the screen. Scroll down and locate Auto PC Cleaner 2019.
5. Right-click on Auto PC Cleaner 2019 and then click on the Uninstall option.
This should have removed the PUP from your system. To be extra cautions, restart your computer after the process is finished.
On Windows 8/8.1:
- On Windows 8 or 8.1, the process starts from a click on Menu.
- The next step is to choose Search.
- On the Search option type Apps.
- Select the Control Panel on the next screen and click on it.
- You will find the option Uninstall a Program within the heading Programs.
From here on, there is not much difference in the steps to be followed from what has been suggested above for Windows 10. Steps 5 and 6 above will be the same in this Windows version too. Locate Auto PC Cleaner 2019 on the programs list, right click and Uninstall.
On Windows Vista/Windows 7:
- First, click on the Start button.
- Select Control Panel and click on it.
- You will notice Uninstall a Program. Click on it.
- Again, the process from here is the same as above—locate Auto PC Cleaner 2019 on the programs list, right click and Uninstall as above.
After the program is uninstalled, it is always recommended to restart the computer.
You can use the opportunity to go down the list of all the installed programs, and when you find you are not using an app or a program, you can uninstall all such programs.
These processes are not very different from the ones you find on your mobile phone, where you are prompted to remove unwanted apps, or the ones you are not using for very long periods.
Other Methods Available to Remove the PUP
Besides the manual removal of Potentially Unwanted Programs like the Auto PC Cleaner 2019 from your computer as explained above, you can also use antivirus/antimalware tools available online to get rid of this unwanted program as well.
There are many options—some may be free to download, others may want you to pay a small fee to download. The advantage with these is that not only will they remove the PUP present on your system now, but once installed, it will offer you extended permanent protection.
Important: Make sure you download the antivirus/antimalware program from a legitimate source. Check the company’s name and read reviews to verify the legitimacy of the service. Also, confirm that you’re downloading the software from the company’s official website before proceeding.
Taking the Steps Needed to Avoid Malware
Research has demonstrated that lack of awareness is one of the most frequently observed reasons for consumers’ computers being affected by viruses or malware. The first step you must take is to install a good anti-malware program, as mentioned above.
Other recommendations are to avoid clicking on every ad you see on your screen while browsing websites. When checking your emails, be extremely cautious in not opening messages from sources not known to you. And if there are email attachments, don’t click on them either. Only download attachments from trusted sources.
