WebShoppers Adware (Mac)

How to remove WebShoppers from Mac?

What is WebShoppers?

WebShoppers is a dubious application identical to CoolShopper, HotShoppy, EasyShopper, and several others. By falsely claiming to save time and money, WebShoppers often trick users to install. Although this application may seem legitimate, it is classed as a potentially unwanted program (PUP) and adware. Be aware that this application often infiltrates computers without users’ permission. Furthermore, it collects various user/system information and delivers intrusive online advertisements.

Following infiltration, WebShoppers records IP addresses, search queries entered into search engines, URLs visited, pages viewed, and other similar information relating to browsing activity. This collected data often contains personally identifiable details that are shared with third parties (who misuse private information to generate revenue). Thus, data tracking can lead to serious privacy issues. Be aware that WebShoppers employs a 'virtual layer' to generate coupon, pop-up, banner, and other similar advertisements. None are derived from users' visited websites and often conceal underlying content, significantly diminishing the Internet browsing experience. Clicking these ads is risky and might result in further computer infections, since some redirect to malicious websites. If WebShoppers has infiltrated your system without consent and you continually encounter third party advertisements, remove this application immediately.

Research shows that there are hundreds of adware-type applications sharing similarities with WebShoppers. All offer 'valuable features' to supposedly improve the Internet browsing experience, however, these apps are designed only to generate revenue for the developers - virtually none provide any real value for regular users. Rather, applications such as WebShoppers deliver intrusive online advertisements (using the 'Pay Per Click' [PPC] advertising model), and continually gather various information (which is later sold to third parties).

How did WebShoppers install on my computer?

WebShoppers has an official download website and is also distributed using a deceptive software marketing method called 'bundling'. Developers know that many users do not express enough caution when downloading and installing software and, thus, conceal bogus apps (including WebShoppers) within the 'Custom/Advanced' settings. By skipping this section, users expose their systems to risk of various infections and threaten their privacy.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

There are two simple steps you should take to prevent this situation. Firstly, never rush when downloading and installing software - select the 'Custom/Advanced' settings and analyze each step. Secondly, never accept offers to download/install third party applications and opt-out of those already included.

WebShoppers website frequently asked questions (FAQ):

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Quick menu:

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

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

WebShoppers adware removal:

Remove WebShoppers-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 webshoppers ads 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.

WebShoppers ads homepage and default Internet search engine removal from Internet browsers:

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Remove webshoppers ads 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 webshoppers ads 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 webshoppers ads 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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