Search.safefinderformac.com Redirect (Mac)
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
How to remove search.safefinderformac.com browser hijacker from Mac?
What is search.safefinderformac.com?
Search.safefinderformac.com is a fake Internet search engine similar to search.safefinder.com and isearch.safefinder.net. By offering improved search results, search.safefinderformac.com attempts to give the impression of legitimacy, however, this site is promoted via deceptive application downloaders/installers designed to modify web browser options without users' consent. Furthermore, search.safefinderformac.com gathers various data relating to the web browsing activity.
Rogue set-ups hijack Safari, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome, assigning the new tab URL, homepage, and default search engine browser options to search.safefinderformac.com. Set-ups infiltrate a number of "helper objects" (third party applications and/or browser plug-ins) to automatically reassign aforementioned these option when attempts are made to change them. Therefore, users are unable to return browsers to their previous states and continually encounter unwanted redirects to search.safefinderformac.com. This significantly diminishes the web browsing experience. In addition, helper objects (and search.safefinderformac.com) continually track the web browsing activity by gathering various data that might be personally identifiable. Examples include (but are not limited to) IP addresses, websites visited, pages viewed, search queries, and geo-locations. The data is shared with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who generate revenue by misusing personal details. Therefore, data tracking can lead to serious privacy issues or even identity theft. If you encounter unwanted redirects to search.safefinderformac.com, uninstall all suspicious applications and never visit this site again.
The Internet is full of fake search engines, all of which are virtually identical. Be aware that websites such as search.safefinderformac.com are designed only to generate revenue for the developers and merely cause unwanted redirects and collect personal information. Fake search engines are useless for regular users. Furthermore, some generate results leading to malicious websites. Therefore, using them is risky and can lead to various computer infections.
How did search.safefinderformac.com install on my computer?
Developers promote search.safefinderformac.com via a deceptive marketing method called "bundling" and hide all information regarding modification of browser options within the the "Custom/Advanced" settings of the download or installation processes. Users often rush these processes and skip most steps, thereby granting set-ups permission to modify various options, exposing the system to risk of various infections and compromising users' privacy.
How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?
There are two simple steps you should take to prevent this situation. Firstly, potentially unwanted programs are distributed using the bundling method and, therefore, you should closely analyze each download/installation step using the "Custom" or "Advanced" settings. Secondly, decline offers to download/install additional applications and opt-out of those already included.
Deceptive application installer promoting search.safefinderformac.com:
Another sample of a deceptive free software (in this case Flash Player) installer promoting installation of SafeFinder.com browser hijacker:
Website promoting search.safefinderformac.com browser hijacker:
Quick menu:
- What is search.safefinderformac.com?
- STEP 1. Remove search.safefinderformac.com related files and folders from OSX.
- STEP 2. Remove search.safefinderformac.com redirect from Safari.
- STEP 3. Remove search.safefinderformac.com browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
- STEP 4. Remove search.safefinderformac.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
Video showing how to remove adware and browser hijackers from a Mac computer:
search.safefinderformac.com redirect removal:
Remove search.safefinderformac.com-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.
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Remove search.safefinderformac.com browser hijacker 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.
After removing files and folders generated by the adware, continue to remove rogue extensions from your Internet browsers.
search.safefinderformac.com browser hijacker homepage and default Internet search engine removal from Internet browsers:
Remove malicious extensions from Safari:
Remove search.safefinderformac.com browser hijacker 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 search.safefinderformac.com browser hijacker 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 search.safefinderformac.com browser hijacker 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.