How to remove PC Accelerate

Have you ever encountered an unknown program installing on your device and causing unwanted pop-up ads, bundling, or fake Flash Player installers? If your answer is yes, your PC may have been infected with PC Accelerate.

PC Accelerate is a system optimizer that is often classified as a potentially unwanted program (PUP). Unfortunately, it causes monetary loss via scam subscriptions, unwanted pop-ups, and even slower computer performance. In order to remove it, you first need to scan your PC with a legit antivirus software.

But this is just a hint of what we’ll discuss in this guide. More precisely, we’ll explain what PC Accelerate is, why you are seeing it, what its symptoms are, how to remove PC Accelerate, and how you can protect your devices from it.

What is PC Accelerate?

PC Accelerate or PC Accelerate Pro is recognized as PUP (potentially unwanted program) or PUA (potentially unwanted application), whose supposed functionality is system optimization. In other words, this software scans your device and shows allegedly detected issues.

But these errors are usually fake and can lead to real system issues if you follow through. Furthermore, the main goal of this software is to make you buy the premium version (PC Accelerate Pro) because it claims there is no other way to remove the “detected threats.”

Unfortunately, suppose you proceed with the installation of the premium version. In that case, you will install a potentially unwanted program, lose money, and get overwhelmed by disruptive pop-ups about fake errors. On top of this, PC Accelerate will also slow down the performance of your PC.

Threat name	PC Accelerate, PC Accelerate Pro
Threat type	PUP (potentially unwanted program), PUA (potentially unwanted application)
Affected devices	PC (Windows devices)
Symptoms	Unknown software installed without user knowledge; software scans user device and shows fake threats and prompts; software constantly urges users to upgrade to premium to eliminate these fake errors;
Damage	Slower computer performance; tiresome unwanted pop-ups; potential financial loss (if a user purchases the premium version of this PUP);

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Similar scam/malware examples

Now that you know what PC Accelerate is, you must wonder whether there are similar PUA examples. Well, unfortunately, there are. Similar PUAs are RocketFixio, Perfect Optimizer, ScanUtilities, and Advanced SystemCare.

These potentially unwanted applications are very similar to PC Accelerate because of their supposed functionality. All these malware PUAs advertise that they are legit optimization tools. On top of that, all of them force users to go for their premium version.

How to tell if your device is infected with PC Accelerate?

Sometimes, PC Accelerate can get around your antivirus protection (if you’re using free software or a weaker one). But don’t worry! Even if you’ve accidentally let PC Accelerate on your PC, you will quickly notice that you’ve installed it. Let’s have a look at the main signs of PC Accelerate:

• PC Accelerate usually overwhelms you with intrusive pop-up ads, notifications, or banners. Each element shows up to promote the premium version of PC Accelerate. But although there is no other damage from the ads than installing PC Accelerate Pro, they can disrupt your browsing experience.
• Software like PC Accelerate may automatically run system scans without your consent and alert you for fake errors. Such errors result in additional issues with your computer to push you to purchase the premium version.
• Instead of improving your system performance as they claim, these kinds of PUPs and PUAs use many PC resources. As a result, your computer will slow down significantly, not speed up.
• PUAs like PC Accelerate may modify your browser’s homepage, search engine, or new tab page settings without your consent. Due to this, it will redirect all of your searches to its preferred search engine or website.

How to get rid of PC Accelerate

Removing PC Accelerate from your Windows PC requires completing three simple steps. Usually, the most used one is by utilizing a reliable antivirus software, but you can also do it manually. But don’t worry. We’ve prepared separate step-by-step guides to help you go through the procedure without issues.

Step 1: Remove PUA automatically with antivirus software

As we mentioned, the most frequent and easiest way to get rid of PC Accelerate is with antivirus software. People prefer this process because it consists of 3-4 steps you should follow. Here is what you need to do:

1. Choose a reliable antivirus program and subscribe to a plan that suits you best. Our top choice for this is TotalAV
2. Download and install the antivirus software on your Windows device
3. Run a full system scan
4. Follow the additional steps that the antivirus program provides

Step 2: Uninstall the suspicious application

If you decide to uninstall the potentially unwanted application from your PC, you must do it manually. However, this doesn’t require much knowledge or complex steps. Still, we decided to make it easier for you, and we’ve put up a short guide with the needed steps:

1. Open the Control Panel on your Windows PC
2. Under Programs, click on Uninstall a program
3. Search for PC Accelerate or Onrym Speedup, YixSpeedUp, AesteriusAPCP, HogoSpeedup, and Chrono SpeedUp (the name sometimes can be different but often includes words related to system optimization)
4. Right-click on it and select Uninstall

Step 3: Reset your browser’s settings

The last step you can implement for getting rid of PC Accelerate is to reset your browser settings. However, this procedure may be slightly different depending on the browser you’re using. So, let’s overview the guides for various PC browsers!

Google Chrome:

1. Open Google Chrome, and in the upper right corner, click on the three vertical dots
2. Find Settings in the drop-down menu and click on it
3. On the left, go to Reset settings and select it
4. Choose Restore settings to their original defaults
5. Confirm by clicking Reset settings

Mozilla Firefox:

1. Go to Mozilla Firefox and click the three horizontal lines in the upper right corner
2. In the drop-down menu, select Help, then More troubleshooting information
3. In the newly opened window, click on Refresh Firefox
4. Confirm the process by clicking on Refresh Firefox

How can I protect my device against PC Accelerate?

PC Accelerate is more than software. It can slow down your computer, make you buy unnecessary extras, and bombard you with pop-up ads. That’s why you must understand how to protect your device from malware like PC Accelerate. Let’s explore some effective prevention measures:

• Use trustworthy antivirus or anti-malware software. You need to find a reliable antivirus program and update it regularly. It’s always important to keep it up to date because you will be sure that the antivirus software will perform real-time scans of files, downloads, and your whole system so it can detect threats before they do damage to your device. One of the best is TotalAV.
• Regularly update your operating system, web browsers, and all installed software. Do this to prevent security vulnerabilities, which can become gateways to cyberattacks.
• Only download software from reputable sources. Be careful when downloading files from an unknown origin, and avoid clicking on pop-up ads that capture your attention. Everything that seems too good to be true may significantly harm your device.
• Check user reviews and ratings of anything you consider downloading on your PC.
• When installing any software, choose a custom installation option if available. As a result, you will be able to review and deselect any additional software that comes with the one you’re downloading.
• Configure your web browser’s security settings. This is crucial to block pop-ups, turn off automatic downloads, and warn you about potentially harmful websites.

Conclusion

Potentially unwanted apps or programs like PC Accelerate have a hidden malicious purpose behind their supposed functionality. While PC Accelerate promotes system optimization, it makes you purchase its premium version, bombards you with pop-up ads, and slows your computer’s performance.

Luckily, you can easily recognize the PC Accelerate symptoms and remove the app in a few simple steps. You can do it with a reliable antivirus program like TotalAV or manually uninstall the app.

But if you go for the antivirus software, you will be protected from similar threats, such as RocketFixio, Perfect Optimizer, ScanUtilities, and Advanced SystemCare.

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