We’ve written this material because we encountered a serious issue in Google Ads involving malicious software. If you’re reading this, you’re likely familiar with the situation where your ads are rejected in Google Ads with the error "Malicious Software", without any clear explanation.
In June 2018, we faced the same problem in two projects. Clients’ hosting accounts were hacked, ads were blocked, and Google practically started ignoring us. Of course, we immediately cleaned the sites, changed all the passwords, and went through the unblocking process in Search Console, but this didn’t help. Google Ads (AdWords) still considered the sites malicious. We had to dig deeper because these were long-term clients of our agency.
We went through all the antivirus databases online, contacted top antivirus developers globally, but were met with silence. We even deleted the folders Google pointed out. But still - "Your site is malicious, errors in these files," even though we’d deleted them. It was absurd!
During the troubleshooting process, our clients didn’t lose site visitors from Google Ads. We found ways to work around and tackle the "Malicious Software" problem. This solution is now part of our toolkit.
If you’ve tried everything, followed Google’s instructions to the letter, reached a point of frustration, and tech support keeps giving you standard replies like "Your site is still malicious," then this checklist is for you.
10 tips to solve the malicious software problem in Google Ads:
- change all passwords for your site - admin panel, FTP, hosting;
- check the status in Search Console;
- read Search Console messages to identify the source of the malicious code;
- run an antivirus scan on your hosting and clean up anything suspicious;
- submit the site for review in Search Console;
- wait 2-3 days;
- if the site is unblocked in SEO, go to Google Ads and request a review of the ads;
- if approved - celebrate! If not - keep pushing forward;
- Call support and explain that Search Console no longer flags the site as malicious, and ask them to manually review the site;
- Wait about 7 days for a response:
"Sorry, due to a technical issue, our system was providing incorrect data. Your site is no longer malicious. You can resume your ads on Google Ads within 24 hours."
Celebrate life. No need to change domains or shut down the business. Many people switched domains, but we held our ground and kept fighting. Wishing everyone success and good luck!
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