MacBar Adware (Mac)

What is MacBar?

MacBar is a deceptive application that supposedly improves the web browsing experience by allowing users to search the Internet directly from the desktop - "We all use the web for our personal and professional lives, but clutter and distractions slow us down. MacBar solves this problem by letting you browse and search straight from your desktop - with one click of the mouse." 

This PUP specifically targets MacOS. On initial inspection, MacBar may seem legitimate and useful software, however, due to rogue behavior (stealth installation and tracking of users' web browsing activity), MacBar is classed as a potentially unwanted program (PUP).

Tracking of IP addresses, website URLs visited, search queries, pages viewed, browser types, and other similar data, may seem insignificant, however, this information can include personally identifiable details. In addition, developers of MacBar share this collected data with third parties who misuse private data to generate revenue.

Therefore, the presence of an information tracking app on your system can lead to serious privacy issues or even identity theft. We strongly advise you to uninstall MacBar PUP immediately.

Data tracking is common to adware-type applications, which often generate intrusive online advertisements that not only conceal underlying content of websites visited by the user, but also lead to malicious sites. Thus, by clicking them risks further adware or malware infections.

MacBac is identical to Web Bar, and very similar to MyOnlySearch, SuperPricer, TURBOMAC, and dozens of other potentially unwanted programs. All adware falsely claims to improve the web browsing experience by providing a number of 'useful features'.

These claims are simply attempts to trick users into believing that those apps are legitimate. In fact, adware is designed only to generate revenue only for the developers - none provide any real value for regular users. MacBar, and other similar applications, cause unwanted browser redirects, track private data, and deliver intrusive online advertisements.

How did MacBar install on my computer?

MacBar is free for anyone to download on its official website, however, it is also distributed using a deceptive software marketing method called 'bundling' (therefore, many users install this application inadvertently). 

Developers of MacBar know that many users do not express enough caution during the download/installation processes and, thus, intentionally conceal bogus applications within the 'Custom' or 'Advanced' settings of these processes. By skipping this section, they expose their systems to risk of various infections and put their privacy at risk.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

There are two main steps you should take to prevent PUPs from infiltrating your system. Firstly, analyze each step of the download/installation processes using the 'Custom' or 'Advanced' settings. Secondly, decline all offers to download/install additional applications and opt-out of those already included.

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Quick menu:

• What is MacBar?
• STEP 1. Remove MacBar related files and folders from OSX.
• STEP 2. Remove MacBar ads from Safari.
• STEP 3. Remove MacBar adware from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove MacBar ads from Mozilla Firefox.

Video showing how to remove adware and browser hijackers from a Mac computer:

MacBar adware removal:

Remove MacBar-related potentially unwanted applications from your "Applications" folder:

Click the Finder icon. In the Finder window, select “Applications”. In the applications folder, look for “MPlayerX”,“NicePlayer”, or other suspicious applications and drag them to the Trash. After removing the potentially unwanted application(s) that cause online ads, scan your Mac for any remaining unwanted components.

Remove macbar pup related files and folders:

Click the Finder icon, from the menu bar, choose Go, and click Go to Folder...

Check for adware-generated files in the /Library/LaunchAgents folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: /Library/LaunchAgents

In the “LaunchAgents” folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by adware - “installmac.AppRemoval.plist”, “myppes.download.plist”, “mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist”, “kuklorest.update.plist”, etc. Adware commonly installs several files with the same string.

Check for adware-generated files in the /Library/Application Support folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: /Library/Application Support

In the “Application Support” folder, look for any recently-added suspicious folders. For example, “MplayerX” or “NicePlayer”, and move these folders to the Trash.

Check for adware-generated files in the ~/Library/LaunchAgents folder:

In the Go to Folder bar, type: ~/Library/LaunchAgents

In the “LaunchAgents” folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by adware - “installmac.AppRemoval.plist”, “myppes.download.plist”, “mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist”, “kuklorest.update.plist”, etc. Adware commonly installs several files with the same string.

Check for adware-generated files in the /Library/LaunchDaemons folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: /Library/LaunchDaemons

In the “LaunchDaemons” folder, look for recently-added suspicious files. For example, “com.aoudad.net-preferences.plist”, “com.myppes.net-preferences.plist”, "com.kuklorest.net-preferences.plist”, “com.avickUpd.plist”, etc., and move them to the Trash.

 Scan your Mac with Combo Cleaner:

If you have followed all the steps in the correct order you Mac should be clean of infections. To be sure your system is not infected run a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus. Download it HERE. After downloading the file double click combocleaner.dmg installer, in the opened window drag and drop Combo Cleaner icon on top of the Applications icon. Now open your launchpad and click on the Combo Cleaner icon. Wait until Combo Cleaner updates it's virus definition database and click "Start Combo Scan" button.

Combo Cleaner will scan your Mac for malware infections. If the antivirus scan displays "no threats found" - this means that you can continue with the removal guide, otherwise it's recommended to remove any found infections before continuing.

After removing files and folders generated by the adware, continue to remove rogue extensions from your Internet browsers.

MacBar PUP homepage and default Internet search engine removal from Internet browsers:

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Remove macbar pup related Safari extensions:

Open Safari browser. From the menu bar, select "Safari" and click "Preferences...".

In the preferences window, select "Extensions" and look for any recently-installed suspicious extensions. When located, click the "Uninstall" button next to it/them. Note that you can safely uninstall all extensions from your Safari browser - none are crucial for normal browser operation.

Change your homepage:

In the "Preferences" window, select the "General" tab. To set your homepage, type the preferred website URL (for example: www.google.com) in the Homepage field. You can also click the “Set to Current Page” button if you wish to set your homepage to the website you are currently visiting.

Change your default search engine:

In the "Preferences" window, select the "Search" tab. Here you will find a drop-down menu labelled "Search engine:" Simply select your preferred search engine from the drop-down list.

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Safari.

Remove malicious plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox:

Remove macbar pup related Mozilla Firefox add-ons:

Open your Mozilla Firefox browser. At the top right corner of the screen, click the "Open Menu" (three horizontal lines) button. From the opened menu, choose "Add-ons".

Choose the "Extensions" tab and look for any recently-installed suspicious add-ons. When located, click the "Remove" button next to it/them. Note that you can safely uninstall all extensions from your Mozilla Firefox browser - none are crucial for normal browser operation.

Change your homepage:

To change your homepage, click the "Open Menu" (three horizontal lines) button and choose "Preferences" from the drop-down menu. To set your homepage, type the preferred website URL (for example: www.google.com) in the Homepage Page.

Change default search engine:

In the URL address bar, type "about:config" and click the "I'll be careful, I promise!" button.

In the "Search:" field, type the name of the browser hijacker. Right click on each of the found preferences and click "Reset" from the drop-down menu.

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Mozilla Firefox.

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Remove macbar pup related Google Chrome add-ons:

Open Google Chrome and click the "Chrome menu" (three horizontal lines) button located in the top-right corner of the browser window. From the drop-down menu, choose "More Tools" and select "Extensions".

In the "Extensions" window, look for any recently-installed suspicious add-ons. When located, click the "Trash" button next to it/them. Note that you can safely uninstall all extensions from your Google Chrome browser - none are crucial for normal browser operation.

Change your homepage:

Click the "Chrome menu" (three horizontal lines) button and choose "Settings". In the "On Startup" section, click the "Set pages" link near to the "Open a specific page or set of pages" option. Remove the URL of the browser hijacker (for example trovi.com) and enter your preferred URL (for example, google.com).

Change default search engine:

Click the "Chrome menu" (three horizontal lines) button and choose "Settings". In the "Search" section, click the "Manage search engines..." button. In the opened window, remove the unwanted Internet search engine by clicking the "X" button next to it. Select your preferred Internet search engine from the list and click the "Make default" button next to it.

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Google Chrome.

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