CompariShop Adware (Mac)

What is CompariShop?

CompariShop is a rogue application identical to LiveShoppers, ShoppyTool, MyCouponize, and many others. By offering functionality to save time and money (coupons, notifications about special deals/discounts on various online shops, etc.), CompariShop attempts to give the impression of legitimacy.

Be aware, however, that this app is categorized as adware and a potentially unwanted program (PUP). There are three reasons for these negative associations: 1) display of 'malvertising' ads; 2) information tracking, and; 3) stealth installation without users' consent.

Immediately after installation, CompariShop delivers coupons, banners, pop-ups, and other intrusive ads. These are displayed using tools that enable placement of third party graphical content on any site. The ads often conceal underlying content of visited websites, significantly diminishing the browsing experience.

Furthermore, some redirect to various websites and/or run scripts that download/install malware or other PUPs. Therefore, even accidental clicks can result in high-risk adware or malware infections. This program is essentially used to generate 'malvertising' revenue.

As mentioned above, CompariShop also records sensitive data. Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, keystrokes, website URLs visited, pages viewed, queries entered into search engines, and other collected data, is later sold to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals). Thus, the presence of an information-tracking app can lead to serious privacy issues or even identity theft.

Potentially unwanted programs often misuse system resources to run unwanted processes (e.g., to mine cryptocurrency) without users' consent. This behavior results in a significant reduction in overall system performance. For these reasons, apps such as CompariShop should be eliminated immediately.

Threat Summary:

Name	Ads by CompariShop
Threat Type	Mac malware, Mac virus
Symptoms	Your Mac became slower than normal, you see unwanted pop-up ads, you get redirected to shady websites.
Distribution methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake flash player installers, torrent file downloads.
Damage	Internet browsing tracking (potential privacy issues), displaying of unwanted ads, redirects to shady websites, loss of private information.
Malware Removal (Mac)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your Mac with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner for Mac To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited seven days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

All adware-type programs are very similar. By offering various useful features (e.g., system performance optimization, download performance increase, anti-virus, etc.), PUPs aim to trick users to install. In fact, only a small percentage of adware-type apps give any real value for regular users - most are useless.

In fact, they are designed only to generate revenue for the developers (via the "Pay Per Click" [PPC] advertising model, information sale, mining cryptocurrency, etc.) Therefore, rather than (or, in some cases, together with) enabling the functions promised, potentially unwanted programs pose a direct threat to your privacy and Internet browsing safety.

How did CompariShop install on my computer?

This adware has an official download website, however, as with most other PUPs, CompariShop is also distributed using 'malvertising' ads and a deceptive marketing method called "bundling" (stealth installation of third party software together with regular apps).

Therefore, due to careless behavior by many users and lack of knowledge, CompariShop infiltrates systems without permission. Developers do not properly disclose installation of "bundled" software - they conceal such information within the "Custom/Advanced" settings or other sections of the download/installation processes.

Rushing these processes, skipping steps, and clicking ads, often leads to inadvertent installation of potentially unwanted programs thus exposing the system to risk of various infections and compromising your privacy.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

The key to computer safety is caution. Pay close attention when downloading/installing software and browsing the Internet in general. As mentioned above, PUPs are distributed using the "bundling" method.

Therefore, carefully analyze each window (especially the "Custom/Advanced" settings) of the download/installation dialogues and cancel all additionally-included programs. "Bundling" is also used to monetize third party download/installation tools (they promote malicious apps). Therefore, these tools should never be used.

Note that criminals invest a great deal of resources into malicious ad design. Therefore, these ads usually appear legitimate - determining if they originate from the visited (legitimate) website is difficult.

In fact, these ads are notable since they redirect to survey, gambling, adult dating, pornography, and other rogue websites. If you are redirected to such websites, uninstall all suspicious applications and browser plug-ins.

CompariShop adware End User License Agreement (EULA):

Instant automatic Mac malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT 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 By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited seven days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

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

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

CompariShop adware removal:

Remove CompariShop-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 adware-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 exact 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 exact 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 correctly, your Mac should be clean of infections. To ensure 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 the 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 its virus definition database and click the "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.

Remove malicious extensions from Internet browsers

Remove malicious Safari extensions:

Open the 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 regular browser operation.

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

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "More Tools" and click "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".

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

Remove malicious extensions from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window) and select "Add-ons and themes". Click "Extensions", in the opened window locate all recently-installed suspicious extensions, click on the three dots and then click "Remove".

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

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