Do not trust Install-plug-s3.com and other similar websites

How to remove apps downloaded from install-plug-s3[.]com on Mac?

What is install-plug-s3[.]com?

Install-plug-s3[.]com is a website that is designed by scammers who seek to deceive unsuspecting visitors into installing some potentially unwanted application (PUA) like a browser hijacker, adware or other apps of this kind through a fake Adobe Flash Player installer. In some cases websites like install-plug-s3[.]com are used to spread malicious programs like ransomware, Trojans, and other malware as well. In one way or another, neither install-plug-s3[.]com or other similar websites (there are many of them) can be trusted. Typically, websites of this kind get opened through other untrustworthy websites, deceptive advertisements and/or PUAs that are already installed on browsers and/or operating systems. Simply said, most of the times people end up on pages like install-plug-s3[.]com unintentionally.

When visited, install-plug-s3[.]com displays a pop-up window suggesting that the installed version of Adobe Flash Player is out of date and there is a new version available for download. However, this website has nothing to do with the actual Adobe Flash Player and it downloads a file (AdobeFlashPlayer.dmg) that is designed to install some potentially unwanted application. Typically, websites like install-plug-s3[.]com are designed to trick people into installing adware, browser hijackers or other PUAs. Adware is a type of software that serves intrusive advertisements. Quite often those ads lead people who click them to various untrustworthy websites, in some cases they execute scripts that cause download and/or installation of some unwanted application. Also, adware could be designed to gather various information, for example, addresses of visited websites, entered search queries, geolocations, IP addresses, and other browsing data. However, some apps of this type can access (and collect) personal, sensitive information as well. Their developers tend to misuse gathered data to generate revenue, they might sell it to third parties (potentially cyber criminals) who would misuse it as well. Browser hijackers often are designed to operate as information tracking tools too. Additionally, most of them promote various fake search engines by changing certain browser's settings. As we mentioned in the introduction, fake Adobe Flash Players can be used to distribute malware (like ransomware, Trojans) as well. If used, they could lead to installation of software that would cause data, financial loss, installation of other malware, lead to identity theft, problems related to browsing safety, privacy, and so on. That is why it is never safe to open files that get downloaded through websites like install-plug-s3[.]com.

Threat Summary:

Name	install-plug-s3.com pop-up
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Mac malware, Mac virus
Fake Claim	This website suggests that Adobe Flash Player is out of date and encourages to download a fake installer.
Detection Names (AdobeFlashPlayer.dmg)	Avast (MacOS:Bundlore-CJ [Adw]), BitDefender (Adware.MAC.Bundlore.DXI), Emsisoft (Adware.MAC.Bundlore.DXI (B)), Kaspersky (Not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.OSX.Bnodlero.x), Full List (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address	34.237.153.102
Symptoms	Your Mac becomes slower than normal, you see unwanted pop-up ads, you are redirected to dubious websites.
Distribution methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake Flash Player installers, torrent file downloads.
Damage	Internet browser tracking (potential privacy issues), display of unwanted ads, redirects to dubious websites, loss of private information.
Removal	To eliminate install-plug-s3.com pop-up our malware researchers recommend scanning your computer with Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner Free scanner checks if your computer is infected. To remove malware, you have to purchase the full version of Combo Cleaner.

Here are more examples of websites that are designed to trick people into using fake installers that supposed to update/install Adobe Flash Player: managervanilla[.]pw, startnewestmostprogram[.]icu and fineplayerreliablenew[.]best. What all these pages have in common is that they do not download files that would update or install Adobe Flash Player. They download files that are designed to infect systems with malware or install some potentially unwanted application (or multiple PUAs). As we mentioned in the introduction, browsers often open pages install-plug-s3[.]com because some installed PUA forces them to.

How did potentially unwanted applications install on my computer?

In most cases people download and/or install PUAs when they are distributed by including them in download and/or installation setups of other software. This distribution method of potentially unwanted software is called "bundling". As a rule, offers to download and/or install additional apps usually can be found in "Custom", "Advanced" and other similar settings of setups. Unfortunately, quite often people leave those settings unchanged. It means that they agree with offers to download and/or install any additionally included apps. Sometimes PUAs can be downloaded and/or installed by clicking deceptive ads that are designed to run certain scripts.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Software should not be downloaded (and installed) through third party downloaders, installers, Peer-to-Peer networks like eMule, torrent clients, unofficial pages, and so on. The safest way to do it is to use official websites and direct download links. Furthermore, download and/or installation setups often contain "Custom", "Advanced" and other similar settings. They should not be left unchecked because they may contain offers to download or install unwanted software that can always be dismissed before completing download or installation process. Ads that are displayed on shady pages tend to redirect people to potentially untrustworthy sites or cause downloads, installations of unwanted apps. Therefore, those ads should not be clicked. If some unwanted, suspicious extensions, plug-ins or add-ons are already installed on a browser (and/or programs of this kind on a computer), then they should be uninstalled as soon as possible. If your computer is already infected with PUAs, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate them.

Text in a pop-up window that is displayed by this website:

Software Update

 

Flash Player Update
Download new version

 

Update now

 

Flash Player is essential plugin for your browser that allows you to view everything from video to games and animation on the web.

 

Flash Player supports several data formats including AMF, SWF, XML and JSON. The multimedia formats which are supported by Flash Player include .MP3, .FLV, .JPEG, .GIF, .PNG and .RTMP.

 

Other supported features include accelerated graphics rendering, multi-thread video decoding and webcam support.

 

Later Install

Screenshot of a fake Adobe Flash Player installer:

Another screenshot of a fake Adobe Flash Player installer:

Appearance of install-plug-s3[.]com scam (GIF):

Instant automatic removal of install-plug-s3.com pop-up: 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 install-plug-s3.com pop-up. 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. Free scanner checks if your computer is infected. To remove malware, you have to purchase the full version of Combo Cleaner.

Quick menu:

• What is "install-plug-s3[.]com"?
• STEP 1. Remove PUA related files and folders from OSX.
• STEP 2. Remove rogue extensions from Safari.
• STEP 3. Remove rogue add-ons from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove potentially unwanted plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox.

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

Potentially unwanted applications removal:

Remove 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 install-plug-s3.com pop-up 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.

install-plug-s3.com pop-up removal from Internet browsers:

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Remove install-plug-s3.com pop-up 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.

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

Remove malicious plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox:

Remove install-plug-s3.com pop-up 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.

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

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Remove install-plug-s3.com pop-up 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.

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