How to remove MajorSignalSearch adware

What is MajorSignalSearch?

MajorSignalSearch is another potentially unwanted application (PUA), which belongs to the AdLoad adware family. Adware serves various advertisements. In addition, this particular case, MajorSignalSearch is designed to promote searchpulse.net and akamaihd.net (addresses of fake search engines).

Note that people often download and install adware unintentionally. Research shows that MajorSignalSearch is distributed through various fake Adobe Flash Player installers.

Adware feeds users with ads that are displayed in the form of coupons, banners, surveys, pop-ups, etc. When clicked, these open various untrusted or even malicious websites. In some cases, they cause unwanted downloads and installations by executing certain scripts.

As mentioned, MajorSignalSearch promotes the searchpulse.net and akamaihd.net sites. It also operates as adware and a browser hijacker. It detects when users enter search queries into the browser URL bar and redirects them to searchpulse.net or akamaihd.net.

To redirect users’ traffic, apps such as MajorSignalSearch use mitmproxy’s code (the developers include this code in their software). Note that most fake search engines do not generate any unique results and can provide misleading information. Furthermore, there is a possibility that MajorSignalSearch will gather various information.

For example, addresses of visited pages, entered search queries, IP addresses, geolocations, and other browsing data. It might also collect private, sensitive details. Developers of apps such as MajorSignalSearch use recorded data to generate revenue by selling it to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who misuse it in other ways.

In summary, MajorSignalSearch and other apps of this type might cause monetary loss, identity theft, problems relating to privacy, browsing safety and other issues. Therefore, remove MajorSignalSearch and similar software from the operating system immediately.

Threat Summary:

Name	Ads by MajorSignalSearch
Threat Type	Adware, Mac malware, Mac virus.
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.

MajorChannelSearch, ExploreSearchResults and SmartWebSearch are other apps categorized as adware. They are advertised as delivering various features, improving the browsing experience and so on, however, they do not operate as promised and simply cause problems.

How did MajorSignalSearch install on my computer?

MajorSignalSearch is distributed through various fake Adobe Flash Player installers. Therefore, people who use such tools to update Adobe Flash Player usually install unwanted software - in this case, MajorSignalSearch. PUAs are often downloaded/installed together with other, regular software - the unwanted apps are included in set-ups as "additional offers".

This distribution method is known as "bundling". Developers use it to trick people into downloading and installing unwanted software with the required software.

In most cases, offers to download and install PUAs can be declined through settings such as "Custom", "Advanced", however, many people fail to check and change these settings, thereby agreeing by default with offers to download and install unwanted apps.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

Do not download or install software or files through third party downloaders, installers, untrusted websites, Peer-to-Peer networks (e.g., torrent clients, eMule) or other such tools. Files and programs should be downloaded from official websites and via direct download links.

Check all "Custom", "Advanced" and other settings that are included in the set-ups and decline offers to download or install unwanted software. Intrusive ads that are displayed on dubious websites (e.g., those relating to gambling, pornography, adult dating) can open potentially malicious websites or cause unwanted downloads and installations.

Therefore, do not click these ads. Remove any unwanted, unknown, suspicious extensions, plug-ins and add-ons that are already installed on the browser.

Also remove programs of this kind that are installed on the operating system. If your computer is already infected with MajorSignalSearch, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate this adware.

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

• ~/Library/Application Support/com.MajorSignalSearch/MajorSignalSearch
• ~/Library/Application Support/com.MajorSignalSearchDaemon/MajorSignalSearch
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.MajorSignalSearch.plist
• ~/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.MajorSignalSearchDaemon.plist
• ~/var/root/.MajorSignalSearch

IMPORTANT NOTE! Rogue setups/apps that promote MajorSignalSearch 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 "MajorSignalSearch" 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 adware.

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

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

MajorSignalSearch adware removal:

Remove MajorSignalSearch-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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