ShoppyTool Adware (Mac)

How to remove ShoppyTool from Mac?

What is ShoppyTool?

ShoppyTool is a dubious app identical to SmartShoppy, ShopTool, WebShoppers, and several other programs. All claim to save time and money while shopping online. Promises to provide coupons and notifications of special deals/discounts available on a variety of online stores often trick users into believing that ShoppyTool is a legitimate program. In fact, this program is classed as adware and a potentially unwanted program (PUP). One of the main reason for these negative associations is stealth installation - ShoppyTool is distributed using a deceptive marketing method called "bundling" and, thus, it often infiltrates systems without users' consent. Furthermore, ShoppyTool gathers various user/system information and delivers a variety of intrusive advertisements.

This PUP collects various data including IP addresses, website URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries, etc. These data types may seem insignificant, however, they will contain personal details that are shared with third parties who misuse private information to generate revenue. This behavior can lead to serious privacy issues or even identity theft. In addition, ShoppyTool delivers intrusive online advertisements that diminish the web browsing experience by concealing underlying content. These ads often redirect to untrustworthy websites containing malicious content - clicking them can result in high-risk adware or malware infections. ShoppyTool is a rogue application and a potential threat to your privacy and Internet browsing safety and, therefore, should be uninstalled immediately.

ShoppyTool is identical to the aforementioned apps, and also very similar to hundreds of other adware-type programs. In fact, research shows that many adware infections have identical behavior. By falsely claiming to provide so-called 'valuable functions', apps such as ShoppyTool trick users to install, however, their actual purpose is to generate revenue for the developers. Rather than enabling the functionality promised, ShoppyTool, and other similar applications, collect personally identifiable information and generate intrusive ads.

How did ShoppyTool install on my computer?

This PUP is mostly distributed using a deceptive marketing method called "bundling" - stealth installation of PUPs with regular (usually free) software. Free applications are monetized by proliferating third party software. Developers hide bundled programs within the "Custom/Advanced" settings of the download/installation processes. Unsuspecting users commonly skip this section. By rushing and skipping most/all steps, they expose their systems to risk of various infections and compromise their privacy.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Be aware that most PUPs are distributed using the bundling method. Therefore, analyze the download and installation processes. Select the "Custom/Advanced" settings, observe each step, and cancel all additional apps listed for download/installation.

Deceptive free software installer promoting installation of ShoppyTool adware:

ShoppyTool website frequently asked questions (FAQ):

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Quick menu:

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

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

ShoppyTool adware removal:

Remove ShoppyTool-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 ads by shoppytool 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.

Ads by ShoppyTool homepage and default Internet search engine removal from Internet browsers:

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Remove ads by shoppytool 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 ads by shoppytool 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 ads by shoppytool 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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