How to Remove LuDaShi Adware and Stop MiniPopups Alerts

LuDaShi is a real Windows hardware utility, but an unexpected installation, repeated advertising pop-ups, or a PUAAdvertising:Win32/MiniPopups alert should be treated as an unwanted-software problem. Uninstall LuDaShi through Windows, remove other programs installed with it, reboot, and check startup entries, tasks, services, and browser changes. If the alert returns, use its exact affected-item path to find the component that is recreating it instead of deleting Defender history first.

Do not assume every file carrying the LuDaShi name is a Trojan. The source, digital signature, install path, companion apps, and post-reboot behavior decide whether you have the recognized utility, a bundled potentially unwanted app, or an unrelated lookalike.

Is LuDaShi a Virus or Adware?

LuDaShi describes its Windows product as a hardware-testing, authenticity-checking, temperature-monitoring, and performance utility. That establishes a legitimate product identity, but it does not authenticate the copy on your PC or make an unexpected bundle desirable. A familiar name can appear in an official signed installer, a third-party bundle, or a different executable using the same label.

Microsoft separates potentially unwanted applications (PUAs) from malware. A PUA can still show unwanted advertising, offer additional software, change the browsing experience, or make removal difficult. That distinction matters: a PUA alert is a reason to review and remove an unwanted installation, not proof that every LuDaShi build steals data or behaves like a Trojan.

What Does PUAAdvertising:Win32/MiniPopups Mean?

PUAAdvertising:Win32/MiniPopups is a Microsoft Defender-style label for advertising software. The useful evidence is not only the name: Windows Security also shows the affected file and its path. A path containing a LuDaShi setup folder can connect the detection to that installation, while a file elsewhere may belong to another bundle or a lookalike.

A public Microsoft Q&A case documents the same MiniPopups label under a LuDaShi setup path and a warning that appeared again after reboot. The case also illustrates an important diagnostic split: sometimes the original file is still being recreated, while in other cases the file is gone and only old protection history remains. Confirm which state you have before clearing anything.

• Active file: the affected path still exists or reappears after reboot. Find the owning app, task, service, or installer.
• Repeated creation: the file disappears after quarantine but returns at the same path. A launcher or bundled component is restoring it.
• History-only entry: the path no longer exists, a current full scan is clean, and no pop-up or process returns. The visible record may be stale protection history.

How to Remove LuDaShi and Stop It Coming Back

1. Record the alert before changing anything. Open Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Protection history. Note the exact detection, affected-item path, action status, and time. Take a screenshot for your own reference.
2. Close LuDaShi and any advertising windows. Do not approve an update, recommended download, browser extension, or additional cleaner. If the app appeared unexpectedly, disconnect from sensitive accounts until cleanup is complete.
3. Uninstall LuDaShi through Windows. Open Settings → Apps → Installed apps, locate LuDaShi, and choose Uninstall. Use Control Panel → Programs and Features on older Windows versions. Do not start by deleting its folder; the normal uninstaller should remove registered components first.
4. Review other apps installed on the same day. Sort Installed apps by date. Remove unfamiliar download managers, driver utilities, video helpers, coupon tools, optimizers, or Chinese-language companion software that arrived with the same package. Do not remove an app only because its interface language is unfamiliar—verify its name, publisher, and install date.
5. Restart Windows once. A reboot lets uninstallers finish and reveals whether a helper relaunches the program or recreates the detected file.
6. Check startup entries, tasks, and services. In Task Manager → Startup apps, disable entries tied to the recorded LuDaShi path. In Task Scheduler, inspect the Actions tab before disabling a task. In services.msc, verify the executable path and publisher before stopping a service. Do not delete generic Windows update or maintenance entries by guesswork.
7. Check browsers. Remove unknown extensions, restore the intended search engine and startup page, and revoke notification permissions from unfamiliar sites. If the browser says it is managed on a personal PC, inspect policies before resetting it.
8. Remove confirmed leftovers. Delete the remaining LuDaShi app folder and cached installer only after the process, task, and service that use it are gone. Check the exact locations recorded by Windows Security. Do not delete broad Registry branches, Windows system folders, or every file whose name contains update.
9. Update security intelligence and run a full scan. Apply the action offered for the PUA, update Microsoft Defender, and scan all drives. A second security scan is especially useful if LuDaShi arrived through a bundle, the executable ran from a user-writable folder, or multiple unwanted apps appeared.
10. Reboot and verify again. Confirm that LuDaShi no longer appears in Installed apps or Task Manager, the same affected file is not recreated, the pop-ups are gone, and a current full scan is clean.

If you see LuDaShi and bundled apps or other suspicious applications that you don't remember installing, you should remove them as well.

If the visible program is gone but MiniPopups activity returns, another launcher, scheduled task, service, browser change, or bundled module may remain. Run a full Gridinsoft Anti-Malware scan after the manual checklist, remove confirmed detections, reboot, and scan again if the symptom returns.

Remove LuDaShi-Related Browser Changes

Not every LuDaShi case changes a browser. Perform these steps only when the homepage, search engine, new tab, extensions, or notification behavior changed around the same time.

1. Open the browser’s extension manager and remove add-ons you did not choose.
2. Check the default search engine, startup pages, homepage, and new-tab behavior.
3. Open notification permissions and remove unfamiliar allowed sites.
4. Check chrome://policy or edge://policy on a personal computer. Unknown forced-extension or search-provider policies need investigation.
5. Pause browser sync temporarily if the same unwanted setting returns on multiple devices.

Open Extensions/Add-ons again and remove any entry linked to LuDaShi bundle or clearly out of place.

If LuDaShi pop-ups keeps showing unwanted pop-ups, you likely granted it permission to send notifications. To stop them, you need to revoke that permission in your browser settings.

Use the broader PUA and browser hijacker removal guide when redirects or managed policies remain after the desktop app is removed.

Could the LuDaShi Alert Be a False Positive or Stale History?

Possibly, but verify the file before restoring it. A clean decision needs more than an official-looking filename. Check that the installer came from the intended site, the digital signature names the expected publisher and validates correctly, the file hash is stable, the path belongs to the installed app, and no additional unwanted programs or symptoms appeared. The EXE safety checklist explains how to verify those properties.

If the affected file no longer exists, LuDaShi is uninstalled, a current full scan is clean, and nothing returns after reboot, the remaining entry may be historical. Update Defender and rescan before touching its history. Clearing history first can hide the path and time evidence needed to find an active launcher.

If you believe a current signed file is incorrectly classified, collect its SHA-256 hash, source URL, signature details, and detection name, then use the false-positive reporting process. Do not disable PUA protection or add a broad folder exclusion to keep one utility.

How to Confirm LuDaShi Is Completely Removed

• LuDaShi and its unwanted companion apps are absent from Installed apps.
• No LuDaShi process, startup entry, task, or service returns after reboot.
• The affected MiniPopups file is absent and is not recreated.
• Browser search, startup pages, extensions, policies, and notifications stay unchanged.
• A current full scan completes without the same PUA or related bundle detections.
• No new advertising window, optimizer prompt, or unexpected download appears.

If several unrelated apps, remote-access tools, account prompts, or security alerts appeared with LuDaShi, continue with a Windows security audit after malware. Removing one visible utility does not prove that an unrelated installer bundle is gone.

How to Avoid Another Unwanted Utility Bundle

• Download utilities from the publisher’s official site, not search ads, mirrors, repacks, or download portals.
• Choose custom installation and decline optional optimizers, browser helpers, extensions, and notification prompts.
• Check the publisher signature before running a system utility with administrator rights.
• Keep Microsoft Defender PUA blocking enabled and do not add exclusions to bypass a bundle warning.
• Prefer Windows Update and the PC maker’s support page for drivers instead of broad driver or performance bundles.

FAQ

References

1. LuDaShi. “PC Version of LuDaShi.” LuDaShi official website, product page last showing a November 29, 2019 update; accessed August 10, 2026. https://www.ludashi.com/en/
2. Microsoft Support. “Protect your PC from unwanted software.” Microsoft, current living document; accessed August 10, 2026. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-malware-protection/protect-your-pc-from-unwanted-software
3. Microsoft Q&A. “PUAAdvertising:Win32/MiniPopups (ludashi/setup/.dll).” Microsoft Community, July 28, 2024; accessed August 10, 2026. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/3997044/puaadvertising-win32-minipopups-(ludashi-setup-dll)