MyShopMate Adware (Mac)
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
(updated)
How to remove My ShopMate from Mac?
What is My ShopMate?
My ShopMate is a deceptive application identical to My WebEnhancer, ShoppyTool, SmartShoppy, and many other applications. By falsely claiming to save time and money whilst shopping online, My ShopMate often tricks users into believing that this application is legitimate and useful. In fact, My ShopMate usually infiltrates systems without users’ permission. Furthermore, this application delivers various intrusive online advertisements and collects information relating to Internet browsing activity. For these reasons, My ShopMate is categorized as adware and a potentially unwanted program (PUP).
My ShopMate employs a 'virtual layer' to generate pop-up, banner, coupon, and other similar advertisements. The virtual layer enables placement of third party graphical content on any site. The displayed ads often conceal underlying content of visited websites, thereby significantly diminishing the Internet browsing experience. Research also shows that ads displayed by adware-type applications can redirect to malicious websites containing infectious content. Clicking them risks further adware or malware infections. In addition, My ShopMate tracks Internet browsing activity by gathering IP addresses, websites visited, search queries, pages viewed, and other similar browsing-related data that might be personally identifiable. The data is shared with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who commonly misuse private data to generate revenue. Thus, the presence of an information-tracking app on your system can lead to serious privacy issues or even identity theft. We strongly recommend that you uninstall My ShopMate adware immediately.
Developers of My ShopMate have released a number of identical applications under different names. All offer time and money saving functionality, however, they are useless for regular users. My ShopMate, and the above apps, provide none of the features promised. They simply generate revenue for the developers. Claims to enhance the web browsing experience are attempts to trick users to install. These applications generate intrusive online advertisements and collect personally identifiable information.
How did My ShopMate install on my computer?
My ShopMate has an official download website, however, it is also distributed using a deceptive marketing method called "bundling" - stealth installation of potentially unwanted programs with regular software/apps. Research shows that many users do not pay enough attention during the download/installation processes. Aware of this, developers hide bundled programs within the "Custom/Advanced" settings of these procedures. Rushing and skipping this section, exposes systems to risk of various infections and compromises users' privacy.
How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?
To prevent installation of potentially unwanted programs, be cautious when downloading and installing software. Select the "Custom" or "Advanced" settings, closely analyze each step, opt-out additionally-included programs, and decline offers to download/install them. The key to computer safety is caution.
Deceptive application installer promoting My ShopMate adware:
My ShopMate website frequently asked questions (FAQ):
My ShopMate adware generating intrusive online ads (marked as "Powered by MyShopMate" or "Ad by MyShopMate"):
Instant automatic Mac malware removal:
Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced computer skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of Mac malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner for Mac
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Quick menu:
- What is My ShopMate?
- STEP 1. Remove My ShopMate related files and folders from OSX.
- STEP 2. Remove My ShopMate ads from Safari.
- STEP 3. Remove My ShopMate adware from Google Chrome.
- STEP 4. Remove My ShopMate ads from Mozilla Firefox.
Video showing how to remove adware and browser hijackers from a Mac computer:
My ShopMate adware removal:
Remove My ShopMate-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 myshopmate 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 MyShopMate homepage and default Internet search engine removal from Internet browsers:
Remove malicious extensions from Safari:
Remove ads by myshopmate 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 myshopmate 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 myshopmate 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.
Outstanding!
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