If your computer’s web browser is redirecting to Traffic-media.co, it is likely doing so because you have adware on your PC. Traffic-media.co is a Russian advertising network that specializes in advertising but has not gotten a lot of customers, so it attempts to gain more traffic by forcing visitors to its business.

Tricks such as these are not new within the advertising industry. Some of the most successful gaming apps over the past decade cheated their way to the top: Game of War started as an advertising campaign that managed to take advantage of hacking the advertising networks is was signed up to use and then force browser redirects so it would gain all that traffic for free. Since the advertising networks that were showing these ads were independent and not anywhere near the size of Google, they knew about the redirects but did not have the security expertise to do anything about it.

Sadly, this type of advertising abuse has lead to an immense rise in ad blocking software being used, which hurts every good and honest publication that tries to run an online publication that is supported by advertising. Even though many suggest that advertising is not necessary, in reality, it would be tough to make a living from subscriptions alone in today’s day and age unless your audience immensely loved you; and since most traffic is coming from search engines where people want answers quick and fast, it does not seem as though subscriptions are going to be the best answer for a means of consuming content going forward.

Thankfully some applications exist that make it easier to remove malware from your computer. When it comes to adware, there are dedicated programs such as AdwCleaner that can remove just about anything that is considered adware. If you were to try running an antivirus scan with Windows Defender and you are using a version of the Windows 10 operating system, you still would not be likely to have it removed. One day, when Microsoft is ready, presumably they will begin including adware as malware that is detected and deleted during a standard Windows Defender scan.

The following tutorial demonstrates how to remove the malware from your computer.

Method One: How to Reset Browser to Default Settings and Clean Up Browser

Google Chrome offers buttons for resetting the web browser and also cleaning up the web browser. These two settings are beneficial for removing any malware that other scans from Windows Defender and other third-party software could not remove.

Google Chrome

Here is how you can reset the browser settings from the More menu in Google Chrome:

1. Click on the More button and then click on the Settings link from the menu.

2. Scroll down and then click on Advanced at the bottom of the page.

3. Under the Reset and cleanup heading, click on the Restore settings to their original defaults link.

4. From the Reset settings overlay, click on the Reset settings button.

5. Under the Reset and clean up heading once again, click on the Clean up computer link.

6. Next to where it says Find and remove harmful software, click on the Find button.



7. You can now close the Google Chrome web browser if you like.

Mozilla Firefox

Here is how you can reset the browser settings from the More menu in Firefox:

1. Click on the More button and then click on the Help link.

2. Click on the Troubleshooting Information link.

3. Click on the Refresh Firefox button.

4. Click on the Refresh Firefox button when you get the confirmation dialog box.


5. You can now close the Firefox browser if you like.

Microsoft Edge

Here is how you can reset the Microsoft Edge browser settings directly from the Settings application in Windows 10:

1. Open the Settings app.

2. Click on the Apps icon from the Windows Settings menu.

3. From Apps’ left side, click on Apps & features and then scroll down the right side until you get to Microsoft Edge, click on it once to reveal its menu and then click on the Advanced options link.

4. Click on the Reset button.

5. You can now close the web browser or Settings app if you like.

Method Two: How to Remove ShopAtHome.com Adware with AdwCleaner

1. Download the AdwCleaner program from the Malwarebytes website.

2. If you get a message from your web browser that says anything along the lines of “This type of file can harm your computer. Do you want to keep the adwcleaner.exe file anyway?” click on the Keep button.

3. Open the AdwCleaner program.

4. If you are prompted by User Account Control, click on the Yes button.

5. Select Dashboard from the menu and then click on Scan now. (click to enlarge screenshot below)

6. In a short while, the scan will be complete. (click to enlarge screenshot below)

7. Check all of the boxes next to the threats that you want removed from the computer, and then click on Clean & Repair. (click to enlarge screenshot below)

8. Malwayebytes Adwcleaner then gives you the chance to clean and restart later or now. Choose to clean and restart now to remove the adware immediately. The web browser will not open where you left off upon rebooting, so save any work you have open.

9. When the computer restarts, AdwCleaner automatically opens to show you the results. You can view the log file as well if you like. (click to enlarge screenshots below)

You can now close the AdwCleaner program and continue using your computer if you like.

Method Three: How to Remove Traffic-media.co Redirect Using Malwarebytes

Note: Malwarebytes also has an application for smartphones that run on Android and iOS.

The iOS version will be very similar, apart from needing to use the Apple App Store in place of the Google Play Store. You will not have any problems finding it because your iOS software only comes with the Apple App Store.

1. Visit the Malwarebytes website and then click on the Free Download link.

2. If your web browser shows a message that says this type of file can harm your computer. Do you want to keep the executable file anyway?, click on the Keep button.

3. If prompted by User Account Control and asked: Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?, click on the Yes button.

4. Select between Personal computer and Work computer for where you are installing Malwarebytes ad then click on the Continue button.

5. Click on the Agree and Install button to accept the license agreement.

6. Click on the Finish button when the Malwarebytes installation is complete.

7. The Malwarebytes interface should open on its own. If it doesn’t, click on its application that is now on your desktop.

8. Click on the Scan Now button to bring the scan.

9. Malwarebytes will then take a few moments to run a quick scan of the computer.

10. Place a tick on the boxes next to the malware threats and then click on the Quarantine Selected button.


11. If Malwarebytes hasn’t solved the malware on your computer, you can visit their website and contact them to let them know of the issue that their software is not yet fixing.

12. You can now close the Malwarebytes application if you like.

Method Four: How to Repair Browser Settings Using CCleaner

You can use third-party tools such as CCleaner to repair the web browser settings. This is optional but should be done if your redirect keeps coming back or isn’t yet completely fixed.

1. If your web browser shows a message that says “this type of file can harm your computer. Do you want to keep the executable file anyway?,” click on the Keep button.

2. If prompted by User Account Control and asked: “Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?,” click on the Yes button.

3. Click on the Install button.

Note: CCleaner may offer an additional program for you to install. Choose to check or uncheck the box for installing any additional programs.

4. Check or uncheck the box for viewing the release notes based on your preference, and then click on the Run CCleaner button.

5. Click on the Analyze button.

6. Click on the Run Cleaner button once the analysis is completed.

7. The scan is now complete.

8. Click on Tools from the left menu and then click on Startup and looks through the tabs for any startup programs that have the word “search” in the title or name.

9. If you find any, click on the Disable and then Delete buttons.

10. You can now close the CCleaner application if you like.

That’s all.