Computer users who are fond of playing online games and downloading similar application may find Play Game Now as valuable internet add-on. But to ordinary web users that are not affectionate to that kind of online amusement thing, they may find Play Game Now unnecessary. Play Game Now framework builds in the same scheme as most browser hijackers that undertake unusual changes on the browser to dominate its homepage and search provider. As a result, start-up page and search engine will contain Search.playgamenowtab1.com as the new default.
The homepage of Play Game Now was designed to be neat-looking that compose of search bar and a few quick links buttons to easily access online games retailers, gaming platforms, and recent news. Overall, it appears as very unsuspecting homepage and resembles to that of Google. However, makers of Play Game Now purposely made it appealing to overshadow its shady intention of executing several corrupt practices including the following:
- Modify homepage and start-up settings
- Display unnecessary and intrusive advertisements
- Redirect browser pages to malicious sites
- Reroute web user’s online search to Search.playgamenowtab1.com
- Collect browsing information like search keywords, favorite websites, and visited pages
- Gather personal browsing data including username, password, and IP address
- Promote similar questionable browser extension by displaying misleading advertisements
It is a fact that presence of Play Game Now is the basis for many annoyances on the computer. Its excessive display of advertisements literally distracts web user’s browsing activities especially when it exhibits an ads that overlays the page content. In addition, the series of redirects happening on the browser drives the browser away from the web page that online user intends to visit.
There is only one way to restore order, safety, and privacy on internet browser program and user must focus on cleaning the computer. The process should start with the removal of Play Game Now by scanning the computer with effective anti-virus tools as recommended on the guide below.
Play Game Now Removal Procedure
Below is a systematic instruction that is very useful in getting rid of the potentially unwanted program (PUP) from compromised Windows computer. Aside from removing the malicious browser extension, this guide is also helpful in deleting Playgamenowtab1.com hijacker and pop-ups.
In order to totally eliminate the threat, it is vital to follow the process in exact manner.
Step 1 : Delete Play Game Now Browser Extension
Most adware and unwanted programs use an application called a "browser extension" to be able to take over the settings of internet applications. Therefore, we highly recommend checking and removing the extension that is closely related to Play Game Now. If it is not present, look for and delete any suspicious browser extension.
Remove the Play Game Now Extension from Google Chrome
1. Open your Google Chrome browser.
2. Type chrome://extensions/ in the address bar and press Enter on the keyboard.
3. Find Play Game Now or any relevant entry and remove it from the Google Chrome browser.
Uninstall the Play Game Now Extension from Mozilla Firefox
1. Open the Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. Type about:addons in the address bar and press Enter on the keyboard.
3. Choose Extensions from the sidebar menu.
4. Look for an object that pertains to Play Game Now and remove it from the browser.
After deleting the malicious browser extension, it is expected that pop-ups and other troubles will be gone from the internet browser.
Remove Play Game Now from Microsoft Windows and Edge Browser
1. On your keyboard, press Windows Key + R and then, type the appwiz.cpl command.
2. The Program and Features window will open. Arrange the list in a chronological manner, with recently installed applications on top. To do this, click on the 'Installed On' column.
3. Select Play Game Now or a recently installed unwanted entry. Then, click on Uninstall to remove it from the Windows system.
If Play Game Now is still present on the browser and there are still homepage and pop-ups, another option is to remove the adware from the browser settings.
4. Open the Microsoft Edge program.
5. Input edge://extensions/ in the URL bar and press Enter on the keyboard.
6. Look for and Remove or Disable entries for Play Game Now from the Installed Extensions area. Additionally, delete the same object from the Search Providers section by executing the Hijacker Removal Procedure for Edge.
7. Close the window and restart Microsoft Edge.
Step 2 : Scan the computer with Sophos Antivirus
To remove Play Game Now automatically, checking the computer with this powerful malware scanner recommended. This security application does not just uncover known threats like viruses or malware, it is also effective in discovering browser hijacker that assigns Playgamenowtab1.com as the homepage URL.
1. Download Sophos Virus Removal Tool from the link below. Save the file on your computer where you can easily access it.
2. Once the download completes, browse the location of the file. Double-click to run the program and begin the install process.
3. On first windows of installation wizard, click Next to continue. Then, it will display the program’s License Agreement. You need to Accept the terms in order to proceed. If Windows prompts for User Account Control, please click Yes to proceed.
4. On succeeding windows, click Next or Continue to carry on with the installation. After completing the installation process, Launch Sophos Virus Removal Tool.
5. Internet connection is required when running this scanner in order to download important updates. Make sure that everything is up-to-date to effectively remove malicious program like Play Game Now.
6. Click the button to carry out the Scan. This will check the system for presence of malicious objects, malware, and viruses. The tool reveals items that were found linked to Play Game Now and other suspicious entities. Be sure to remove all identified threats.
The above procedures should have totally eliminated the Play Game Now browser hijacker. However, if you found that there are still remnants of the threat and Playgamenowtab1.com still exists on internet application, please proceed to manual removal of associated objects as outlined below.
Step 3 : Scan and Delete Adware with AdwCleaner
In addition to the procedure, we suggest scanning the computer with AdwCleaner tool. Possibly, there are some traces of Play Game Now on the browser that was not deleted during the preceding steps. This tool will scan the computer and check for presence of malicious applications as well as invalid browser entries that produces Playgamenowtab1.com pop-ups.
1. Follow the link below to download the tool called AdwCleaner.
2. When the download has completed, please close all running programs on the computer especially browsers affected by Play Game Now.
3. Browse the location of the downloaded file and double-click on adwcleaner_Ver.exe to start running the tool. Then, click on Scan button.
4. AdwCleaner searches the computer for malicious programs, extensions, plug-ins, adware, and any items that may be associated to Play Game Now. It will also check for suspicious entries on browser settings that is associated with Playgamenowtab1.com.
5. Clean or Remove all suspicious and harmful items identified after the thorough scan.
6. After the cleanup procedure, rebooting the computer is required to finalize the removal of detected threats.
Check if your internet browser application is no longer being bothered by Playgamenowtab1.com. If the browser hijacker still persists, please continue with the steps below to reset internet programs to default settings.
Optional : Reset Internet Browser Program
Cleaning your internet browser from clutter and unwanted add-on/extension is a must when dealing with Play Game Now. The procedure below discusses on resetting various browsers to their default state.
Restore Google Chrome to Default Settings
Resetting Google Chrome to its default settings is helpful in deleting hard-to-remove extensions, such as Play Game Now. This method is highly advisable to perform if you have difficulty removing unwanted extensions.
1. Open the Google Chrome internet browser.
2. On the address bar, type chrome://settings/reset and press the Enter key.
3. Click on Reset Settings on the sidebar and choose Restore settings to their original defaults.
4. On the confirmation window, click the Reset settings button to clear all entries for Play Game Now.
5. Close the existing tab and restart Google Chrome. That should have removed the Play Game Now extension and associated objects.
Reset Mozilla Firefox to Default
This section describes how to remove unwanted extensions from Firefox that may be related to Play Game Now. This process can fix many browser issues by restoring Firefox to factory settings without affecting your essential information (bookmarks, browsing history, passwords, and Internet cookies) on the browser. If you desire to remove only a specific extension, please see the manual removal of add-ons from Firefox.
1. Input the string about:support on the Firefox web address and press Enter on the keyboard.
2. You will now see the Troubleshooting Information page of Mozilla Firefox.
3. You will notice a section in the upper-right corner of the screen stating, Give Firefox a tune-up. Click the Refresh Firefox button.
4. If a confirmation window appears, click Refresh Firefox to continue.
5. Firefox browser will close and start the resetting process. When done, it will display a list of restored data. Play Game Now should be gone by now. Click Finish to open a fresh version of Firefox.
Restore Microsoft Edge to Default Settings
1. Open the Microsoft Edge browser.
2. On the address bar, please input edge://settings/reset and press Enter on the keyboard.
3. Once you are on the Reset Settings page, click on Restore settings to their default values.
4. A confirmation window will appear; click on the Reset button to continue.
Your data, like favorites, bookmarks, and history, will remain in the browser. However, this process will delete add-ons by Play Game Now and other unknown objects.
How to remove Playgamenowtab1.com Pop-ups (Notification)
Most of the time, browser hijackers are combined with intrusive pop-up ads originating from the source website Playgamenowtab1.com. It is taking advantage of push notification feature of popular internet programs like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, or Edge. These pop-up ads from Playgamenowtab1.com are extra ordinary as it exceeds the normal display volume and they are certainly annoying.
Normally, Playgamenowtab1.com pop-ups will start to bombard internet browser screen with pop-ups if web user was deceived to click “Allow” button that triggers the said website to send push notification. To stop Playgamenowtab1.com from showing the pop-ups, please execute the procedures below. Remember, these steps may only be successful after the removal of the main component or dubious browser extension.
Google Chrome
1. On Google Chrome browser, input the following in the address bar and press Enter:
chrome://settings/content/notifications
2. Navigate to the list under "Allow" section and look for Playgamenowtab1.com.
3. Click the ellipses (3 dots) beside Playgamenowtab1.com list to reveal the options.
4. Click on Block or Remove to stop Playgamenowtab1.com from displaying pop-up ads on Google Chrome browser.
6. Please restart Google Chrome browser.
Mozilla Firefox
1. On Mozilla Firefox browser, type the following in the address bar and press Enter key:
about:preferences#privacy
2. Navigate below to Permission area and look for Notifications.
3. Click the Settings button aligned with the Notifications.
4. Look for Playgamenowtab1.com entry and change the Status to Block.
5. Click on Save Changes and restart Mozilla Firefox and check if Playgamenowtab1.com pop-up is gone.
Safari (Mac)
1. On top menu, click on Safari and then, select Preferences from the drop-down list.
2. Click on Websites tab to open its settings.
3. Select Notifications from the left sidebar.
4. On right panel, it will display a list of websites with "Allow" attribute.
5. Find and click on Playgamenowtab1.com.
6. You may choose to Deny or Remove it from the notification list.
7. You may now restart Safari browser and see if Playgamenowtab1.com pop-up is gone.
Microsoft Edge
1. Assuming that Edge browser is open, click on the ellipses (3 dots) on upper right corner to open the Settings. Alternatively, you can press Alt + X on the keyboard.
2. Select Settings from the drop-down list.
3. Click on Advanced.
4. Under Website Permissions area, click on Manage Permissions button.
4. Find and select Playgamenowtab1.com from the list. Click on X button to stop it from showing pop-up ads or notifications.
5. You may now restart Edge browser.
