How to Remove Big Picture Pop “Virus”

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Welcome to our Big Picture Pop “Virus” removal guide. The following instructions will aid you in removing the unwanted software from your PC.

If you have recently found out that your system has been invaded by a program called Big Picture Pop, then stick around. This is a browser hijacker program, which is called that way because of the numerous changes that it implements in your browser settings. These are, for example, changing your prior homepage to a new one and setting a different search engine as your default one, which on top of it all also tends to redirect your searches to various unnecessary sponsored sites that you don’t care two peanuts about. In addition to all that, browser hijackers also tend to install an ad-generating component in your Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera or other popular browser, which ends up harassing you with popups, banners, in-text links, box messages and various other online advertising products. The only way to restore your browser settings to their previous state and stop the flow of endless ads is to remove Big Picture Pop from your system. That may not always prove as simple as with regular programs, but luckily we have a detailed removal guide below just for that very purpose. Please refer to it after you are finished reading this article, in order to locate and delete all the browser hijacker files from your PC.

The purpose of Big Picture Pop “Virus” and why it’s really so aggressive

As any browser hijacker, the aim of Big Picture Pop is to generate as many ads as it possibly can and ensure the effective promotion of numerous products, services and websites. Hence, the change in your browser’s default homepage and search engine – the browser hijacker wants you to be looking at the ones it has set, and not whatever it was you had there before. And, likewise, the many popups, banners, box messages and other online ads are meant to promote certain products and services. The developers, in turn, are just as invested in this process as the distributors and the providers of those products and services. They actually profit from every click that you or any other user makes on the said ads thanks to remuneration models like the infamous Pay Per Click system. However, there are certain hidden aspects to this method of doing business.

The main issue that both regular users and security experts are concerned with is the practice of gathering browsing data from each separate user’s browser. This does not include any sensitive information, such as passwords or login details or anything of the sort. It does involve things like the websites you spend the most times on, as well as the kind of content you tend to like and share on social media. Other examples are your latest online search queries. All of this information combined can provide the browser hijacker or other similar program with an idea of which ads you will be more likely to click on. After it’s gathered a sufficient amount of data on each separate user, the hijacker will then proceed to match its ad flow to your estimated preferences and interests, so as to maximize the amount of clicks on its ads that it can gain from you.

The problem with the above practice is the fact that it is, in fact, a violation of your privacy. Furthermore, it’s often the case that the collected data is later sold to third parties for an additional profit. This can open the doors for being further targeted with various ads and online promotional materials, which an educated guess would be is not your intention. Unfortunately, though, that’s not the worst you can expect from a program like Big Picture Pop. Now, many users make the mistake of referring to browser hijackers like this one as adware. That definition is inaccurate and hijackers have no intention or capacity of inflicting harm to you or your system.

But their many ads, as well as the changes they may introduce to your system’s Registry, may actually make your computer more vulnerable to various outside threats. The many ads that you constantly see on your screen can actually expose you to malware of the worst kind, such as ransomware and Trojan horses. This can happen because hackers widely use online ads as transmitters for their viruses. With this in mind, please try to avoid interacting with online ads as much as possible.

Big Picture Pop “Virus” Removal

I – Safe mode and revealing hidden files

1. Boot your PC into Safe Mode /link/
2. Reveal hidden files and folders /link/

II – Uninstallation

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1. Use the Winkey+R keyboard combination, write Control Panel in the search field and hit enter.
   
2. Go to Uninstall a program under Programs.
   
3. Seek the unwanted software, select it and then click on Uninstall

If you are unable to spot Big Picture Pop, search for any unrecognized programs that you do not remember installing on your PC – the unwanted software might disguise itself by going under a different name.

III – Cleaning all your browsers

1. Go to your browser’s icon, right-click on it and select Properties.
   
2. Go to the Shortcut tab and in the Target make sure to delete anything written after “.exe”.
   
3. Now, open your browser and follow the instructions below depending on whether you are using Chrome, Mozilla or IE.

• Chrome users:

1. Go to your browser’s main menu located in the top-right corner of the screen and select Settings.
   
2. Scroll down, click on Show Advanced Settings and then select Clear browsing data. Just to be sure, tick everything and clear the data.
   
3. Now, in the left pane, go to Extensions and look through all extensions that are integrated within your browser. If you notice any suspicious add-on, disable it and then remove it.
   

• Firefox users:

1. Similarly to Chrome, go to the main menu and select Add-ons and then Extensions.
2. Remove any suspicious browser extensions that you may have even if they do not have the name Big Picture Pop on them.

• IE users:

1. Go to Tools and select Manage add-ons.
   
2. Click on all add-on types from the left pane and check if there is anything suspicious in the right panel. In case you find anything shade, make sure to remove it.

IV – Removing Shady processes

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1. Go to your start menu, type Task Manager in the search field and from the results open View running processes with Task Manager.
   
2. Thoroughly look through all processes. The name Big Picture Pop might not be there, but if you notice any shady looking process that consumes high amounts of memory it might be ran by the unwanted program.
3. If you spot the process ran by Big Picture Pop, right-click on it, open its file location and delete everything in there. Then go back to the Task Manager and end the process.
   

V – DNS check

1. In the start menu search box write View Network Connections and open the first result.
   
2. Right-click on the network connection you are using and go to Properties.
   
3. Select Internet Protocol Version (TCP/IPv4) and click on Properties.
   
4. If Obtain DNS server addresses automatically is not checked, check it.
   
5. Go to Advanced and select the DNS If there is anything in the DNS server addresses field, remove it and click OK.
   
6. Click OK on the rest of the opened windows.