Pokki Start Menu | What It Is, Is It Dangerous, How To Eliminate It

Pokki start menu It is a legitimate program created to improve the user experience of Windows 10, although it is considered to have some adware-like characteristics.

The program may seem like a useful tool for some Windows users, especially those who have difficulty adapting to new versions of this operating system.

While this software may seem harmless at first glance, there are some risks that should be taken into account, especially today when the most valuable resource is personal information.

Therefore, this article lists the potential threats that this program might pose and contains a guide on how to remove it.

Some users prefer the program because they allows you to recover old start menus, although the same result could be achieved by reverting to the previous version of Windows.

The program also provides the ability to install multiple apps and organize them in your preferred manner. However, that shouldn't be a deciding factor when considering whether to install/keep it or not, as there are plenty of other methods to organize your apps properly.

What you need to know (and what should be the deciding factors) are certain features of this software that make it potentially harmful to your system and privacy. The software is often called Pokki start menu virus, which might be a bit of a stretch to call it that way, as it belongs to the adware category.

Problems associated with Pokki start menu

Basically, this program is capable of using various tracking technologies, such as pixels, tags, LSOs (local shared objects, also known as flash cookies) to collect information from your PC.

Also, it is important to understand that these methods allow the program to collect various sensitive data. Such data includes IP addresses, browsing history, online searches, your online clicks, regularity of site visits, location and address.

What's more, there have been reports of malicious ads as a result of installing this program. In fact, there is no single answer as to why Pokki Start Menu collects your data.

Usually, that's due to the interest of other software platforms. To explain, this program mainly benefits from built-in third-party software, such as games and other things, and your data is shared with them, of course.

Furthermore, this is boldly stated in their Privacy Policy – ​​a reminder that you should always read the Terms and Conditions as well as the Privacy Policies before installing the software.

Additionally, along with the above-mentioned effects, there were some reports of the app possibly causing a decrease in PC performance.

Also Cases of theft of passwords and financial data were reportedIn short, your personal information is shared with third parties in numerous circumstances and there is no way to find out what it is used for. Therefore, you should think twice before downloading it.

How do users install Pokki start menu on their systems?

Apart from the Windows users who download it intentionally (which can be done on the developer's website), the best chance of getting this program is through the download package.

To explain, this scheme is used to target people who tend to download free software from shady websites and do such things irresponsibly.

For example, Pokki start menu could be included as an additional installation product along with a torrent downloader, free media player, etc. In this case, the advertisement for the package is included in one of the installation steps of the Custom or Advanced installation option.

In most cases, this option is automatically selected, so inattentive users can install it unintentionally.

How much does Pokki Adware affect you?

Apart from its main purpose – to show you various types of ads and collect your information, adware does not aim to show you that it is there. Usually, there can be several signs that the program is installed on your computer and these signs can be:

• Program name in the ads displayed.
• Pokki installed as a suspicious browser extension, pretending to be legitimate.
• If it is in your Windows Programs and Features.

Since detecting the Pokki Adware program can be a complicated process, due to the fact that Most of the files it creates are hidden in different Windows locations, removing it can be a complicated process.

You can try to locate the suspicious extensions of the Web navigator trust your Chrome, Firefox, Explorer or another browser and you can try to uninstall it from the Windows Programs and Features menu. However, this does not guarantee that the program will not return after this, as is often the case with such software.

This is the main reason why you should use a specific adware removal program to find and remove all Pokki Adware related objects from your computer system.

You may be interested in: lsass.exe | What It Is, What It Does, Errors and Solutions to Problems

How to remove Pokki start menu

Overall, we would like to state that although this issue is quite controversial (regarding the maliciousness of this program), many believe that it is better to remove Pokki start menu, as it poses quite a few risks for your system.

Terminating this program manually might not be enough because many users complain that Pokki will not uninstall so easily.

Since such applications tend to keep their roots inside your system for as long as possible, we highly recommend that you use a trusted anti-malware software to ensure complete removal.

To remove the unwanted program from your computer, use these instructions below to uninstall programs or associated applications on your Windows computer.

Then, scroll down for instructions on how to clean each affected web browser individually.

Remove Pokki start menu from Windows

Windows 10/8.1/8 users

• Click the Windows logo to open the Windows menu.
• In the search, type control Panel and select the matching result.
• Then go to Programs and Features.

Windows 7 users

• First, open the Windows menu by clicking on the icon in the bottom left corner of the screen.
• Then go to Control panel and look for the section called Programs.
• Click on the option Uninstall a program under it.

Windows XP Users

• In Windows XP, click Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs.

Next step in all versions:

• Once in Programs and Features, review the list of installed programs. You can click on the Installed tab in to sort programs by their installation date.
• Right-click on any suspicious programs you don't remember installing and select uninstall.
• Follow the instructions provided by the Uninstall Wizard
• Click on Next and finally in Finalize to uninstall the unwanted program from your PC.

Remove extensions from browsers

In addition to trying to remove this program from your system, it is important that you remove any extensions that may have been installed on your browser. Below are instructions for the most commonly used browsers:

Remove extensions from Chrome

• Open Chrome and type chrome://extensions in the address bar and press Enter.
• Here, look for suspicious extensions and remove them.
• Don't forget to confirm by pressing Delete in the confirmation pop-up.

Change the home page settings

• In Chrome's address bar, type chrome://settings and press Enter.
• Scroll down to the On startup section. Check for any suspicious extensions controlling these settings and disable them.
• Additionally, you can set the browser to open a specific page or set of pages through this setting. Simply choose this option, click Add a new page, enter your preferred URL and press Add.

Change default search settings

• In Chrome's URL bar, type chrome://settings/searchEngines and press Enter. Make sure to type search engines. Additionally, you can go to chrome://settings and find the Manage search engines option.
• First, look through the list of search engines and find the one you want to set as default. Click the three dots next to it and select Set as default.
• Finally, go through the list and delete any suspicious entries. Right-click on the three dots and select Remove from list.

Remove push notifications from Chrome

If you want to get rid of annoying ads and so-called push notification viruses, you need to identify their components and clean your browser. You can easily remove Chrome ads by following these steps:

• En Google Chrome, press Menu (up arrow) in the upper right corner of the window.
• Select settings
• Go to Privacy & Security > Site Settings
• Open notifications.
• Here, go to the Allow list and identify suspicious URLs. You can Block or Remove them by pressing the three vertical dots on the right side of the URL. However, we suggest the Block option, so the site won’t ask you to enable notifications if you ever visit it again.

Reset Google Chrome Browser

• The last option is to reset Google Chrome. Type chrome://settings In the URL bar, press Enter and then scroll down until you see the Advanced option. Click on it and scroll to the bottom of the settings.
• Click on Restore settings to their original default values.
• Click Restore Settings to confirm.

Remove Pokki start menu from Mozilla Firefox

Remove Unwanted Add-ons from Firefox

• Open Firefox and type about: addons in the URL bar. Press Enter.
• Now, click on Extensions (in the left section).
• Click Remove next to each suspicious browser add-on that you don't remember installing.

Change Firefox's home page

• In the Firefox address bar, type about: preferences and press Enter.
• Look to the left and click on the Home tab.
• Here, delete the suspicious URL and type or paste the URL of a website you would like to set as your homepage.

Modify preferences in Firefox

• Write about:config in the Firefox address bar and press Enter.
• Click I accept the risk! to continue.
• Here, type the URL that has taken over your browser without your knowledge. Right-click on each value that includes it and choose Reset.

Remove push notifications from Firefox

Shady sites that ask to enable push notifications gain access to Mozilla settings and can display intrusive ads when you browse the Internet, Pokki start menu can do this. Therefore, you should remove access to your browser by following these simple steps:

• In Mozilla Firefox, click Menu (the three horizontal bars) in the upper right corner of the window, then choose Options.
• Click on Privacy & Security, then scroll down to the Permissions section.
• Here, search Notifications and click the button Configuration together with him
• Identify all unknown URLs and choose to Block them. Then click Save Changes.

Reset Mozilla Firefox

• In Firefox, type about:support in the address bar and press Enter.
• Click on Update Firefox.
• Click Refresh Firefox again to confirm.

Remove Pokki start menu from Microsoft Edge

Remove suspicious extensions:

• Open MS Edge browser and click on the three dots button on the top right corner, then click on Extensions.
• Look through the list of installed extensions and look for any that you don't remember installing or just ones that look suspicious. Right-click on them and choose Uninstall. Then confirm by pressing Uninstall again.

Change MS Edge home page

• Click on the three dots again and go to Configuration. First, make sure you choose Open Microsoft Edge with a page or a specific page option. Then Click the X next to suspicious URLs and type the one you want to set as your home page. Click the Save icon to confirm.
• Click on the three dots > Settings. Scroll down and click on Show advanced settings. Then scroll down until you find the button Change search engine. Click it. Here, select the search engine you prefer to use and click Set as default.
• Additionally, we recommend selecting and removing suspicious search engines.

Disable Push Notifications in Edge

If you keep receiving pop-up ads or other promotional content while browsing in Microsoft Edge, your browser may be corrupted by a potentially unwanted program (PUP). You need to clean it, follow these simple instructions:

• In Microsoft Edge, open Menu (three horizontal dots) in the upper right corner of the screen and click Configuration;
• Click on Advanced settings.
• Scroll down to the Website Permissions section. Here, click on Manage permissions
• Find notifications and remove all suspicious websites.

Delete navigation data

• Click on the three dots in the top right corner again and click Configuration. Find the Clear browsing data section and click on the button Choose what to delete.
• In the next window, select all the options and click Delete

Final words

Although Pokki start menu is a legitimate program, many users have commented that they have problems with it and the way it behaves. This is why many people prefer to remove it from the system. If you want to do so, follow the instructions and do not forget to remove browser extensions.