How to uninstall MajorChannelSearch adware

What is MajorChannelSearch?

MajorChannelSearch is a potentially unwanted applications (PUA) and part of the AdLoad adware family. Like most adware-type applications, it is designed to display various intrusive advertisements. Additionally, this application promotes a fake search engine.

Be aware that MajorChannelSearch is distributed and installed through fake Adobe Flash Player installers. People do not generally download or install these apps intentionally.

Typically, adware-type software feeds users with advertisements that are displayed in the form of banners, pop-ups, coupons, surveys, and so on. People who click these ads arrive at various untrusted, potentially malicious pages, or they allow them to execute scripts that cause download/installation of PUAs.

Furthermore, MajorChannelSearch promotes a fake search engine, serves ads and operates as a browser hijacker. Typically, these apps promote fake search engines by assigning associated URLs as the address of the default search engine, homepage, and new tab.

In most cases, these settings cannot be undone or modified in any other way unless users uninstall the hijacking app that altered them. Note that fake search engines provide misleading results or results generated by other, legitimate search engines (hence their classification as fake).

MajorChannelSearch is also likely to collect information relating to users' browsing habits including geolocations, entered search queries, addresses of visited pages, IP addresses, etc. They might also record personal, sensitive information. The developers generate revenue by selling the data to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who misuse it in other ways.

People who have MajorChannelSearch installed on their browsers or operating systems risk becoming victims of identity theft, suffer monetary loss, experience problems relating to browsing safety, privacy, and so on. Therefore, never download or install any PUAs.

Threat Summary:

Name	Ads by MajorChannelSearch
Threat Type	Adware, Mac malware, Mac virus.
Detection Names	Avast (MacOS:Adload-M [Trj]), BitDefender (Gen:Variant.Adware.MAC.Adload.4), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of OSX/TrojanDownloader.Adload.AE), Kaspersky (Not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.OSX.Cimpli.k), Full List (VirusTotal)
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.
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.

Examples of other adware-type applications are ExploreSearchResults, SmartWebSearch and MainSignalSearch. They serve various advertisements and often record information. Adware-type apps are useless, deliver no valid features, and simply cause problems. They are designed only to generate revenue for the developers.

How did MajorChannelSearch install on my computer?

Research shows that MajorChannelSearch is distributed through fake Adobe Flash Player installers. Therefore, it is installed when users expect to update or install Adobe Flash Player. Most PUAs are downloaded or installed through the set-ups of other, regular programs.

I.e., when they are included into set-ups as "additional offers". This distribution method is known as "bundling" and is used to trick people into downloading and installing PUAs through the set-ups of other, required programs.

In most cases, information about these additional downloads/installations can be found in settings such as "Custom", "Advanced", and other similar sections.

Unfortunately, many people fail to check and change the settings, thereby allowing PUAs to be downloaded and installed together with regular software. In some cases, PUAs can be downloaded and installed by clicking deceptive advertisements that run certain scripts.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

Do not use unofficial websites, Peer-to-Peer networks (e.g., torrent clients, eMule), third party downloaders, installers or other sources of this kind to download or install software. Use official websites and direct links. Check "Custom", "Advanced" and other similar options of the download or installation setup.

Dismiss any offers to download or install unwanted software before completing the process. Intrusive advertisements that are shown on dubious web pages often lead untrusted websites or cause download/installation of unwanted apps. Therefore, do not trust or click these ads.

Remove any unwanted, suspicious extensions, add-ons and plug-ins installed on the browser, and programs of this kind installed on the operating system/computer. If your computer is already infected with MajorChannelSearch, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate this adware.

Files related to the MajorChannelSearch adware that need to be removed:

• ~/Library/Application Support/com.MajorChannelSearch/MajorChannelSearch
• ~/Library/Application Support/com.MajorChannelSearchDaemon/MajorChannelSearch
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.MajorChannelSearch.plist
• ~/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.MajorChannelSearchDaemon.plist

IMPORTANT NOTE! Rogue setups/apps that promote the MajorChannelSearch adware are designed to create a new device profile. Therefore, before taking any further removal steps, perform these actions:

1) Click the "Preferences" icon in the menu bar and select "Profiles".

2) Select the "MajorChannelSearch" profile and delete it.

3) Perform a full system scan with Combo Cleaner anti-virus suite.

After performing these actions, you can proceed with further removal steps for this browser hijacker.

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

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

MajorChannelSearch adware removal:

Remove MajorChannelSearch-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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