How to uninstall NetDataSearch adware from the Mac operating system

What is NetDataSearch?

Part of the AdLoad malware family, NetDataSearch is classified as adware and possesses browser hijacker capabilities. It delivers intrusive, annoying, untrusted and even harmful advertisements.

NetDataSearch browser hijacking characteristics include browser modification and promotion of fake search engines. Furthermore, adware and browser hijackers usually have data tracking capabilities, which are employed to monitor users' browsing activity.

Most users install this application unintentionally, and therefore it is also classified as a Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA). NetDataSearch is known to proliferate through bogus Flash Player updates.

Note that fake updaters can spread Trojans, ransomware and other malware.

NetDataSearch adware delivers a wide variety of intrusive ads such as pop-ups, banners, coupons, surveys and so on. These significantly diminish the browsing experience, since they reduce browsing speed and limit website visibility (by overlaying page content).

When clicked, intrusive advertisements redirect to sale-based, untrusted, rogue, deceptive, compromised, scam and malicious web pages. They can even be triggered (when clicked) to execute scripts designed to download/install software (e.g. PUAs) without users' permission.

Browser hijackers (with which NetDataSearch shares qualities) modify browser settings: they reassign the default search engine, homepage, and new tab/window URLs to the addresses of their fake search engines. Therefore, each new browser tab/window opened and each search query typed into the URL bar redirects to the fake search engine.

These bogus search engines are useless, as they are usually unable to generate unique results, and so they redirect to (or cause redirection chains ending with) Google, Bing, Yahoo and other genuine sites. Furthermore, these alterations are not easy to undo, since any changes users attempt to make are automatically rest, if access to the settings is allowed at all.

Therefore, it is necessary to remove the app responsible for the hijacking to recover the affected browser. PUAs can also track data. They monitor users' browsing habits (URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries typed, etc.) and gather personal information (IP addresses, geolocations and other sensitive details).

This vulnerable data is often shared with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) seeking to misuse it for financial gain. To summarize, the presence of PUAs on devices can lead to various infiltration and infections, serious privacy issues, financial loss and even identity theft.

To ensure browser and system, and user safety, remove all suspect applications and browser extensions/plug-ins without delay.

Threat Summary:

Name	Ads by NetDataSearch
Threat Type	Adware, Mac malware, Mac virus.
Detection Names	Avast (MacOS:Adload-AD [Trj]), BitDefender (Gen:Variant.Adware.MAC.AdLoad.1), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of OSX/TrojanDownloader.Adloa), 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.

SmartToolboxSearch, ProcessLocator, and AphroditeResults are some examples of software classified as adware. It may seem legitimate and useful, and users are often tempted into download/installation with offers of various "useful" features, however, these are rarely operational.

In fact, this extends to most PUAs. The only purpose of these unwanted apps is to generate revenue for the developers.

Rather than working as promised, PUAs run intrusive ad campaigns, hijack browsers, cause redirects to untrusted/malicious websites and collect private data.

How did NetDataSearch install on my computer?

Infiltrating systems via fake updaters is just one way that PUAs proliferate. They are also downloaded/installed with other software.

"Bundling" is the term used to define this deceptive marketing technique of pre-packing normal products with unwanted or malicious additions. Rushing download/installation processes (e.g. using pre-sets, skipping steps and sections, etc.) increases the risk of inadvertently allowing bundled content onto devices.

Some PUAs have "official" promotional web pages, from which they can be downloaded. When intrusive ads are clicked, they can execute scripts to stealthily download/install PUAs.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

You are strongly advised to research all products before download/installation or purchase. Use only official and verified download channels.

Untrustworthy sites such as free file-hosting sites, P2P sharing networks (BitTorrent, eMule, Gnutella, etc.) and other third party downloaders can offer deceptive or bundled content. When downloading/installing, read the terms, study all available options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and opt-out of additional apps, tools, features and so on. Intrusive ads may seem legitimate and innocuous, however, they can redirect to highly dubious pages (e.g. pornography, adult-dating, gambling and others).

If you encounter these advertisements/redirects, check the system and immediately remove all dubious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins. If your computer is already infected with NetDataSearch, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate this adware.

Files related to NetDataSearch adware that need to be removed:

• ~/Library/Application Support/com.NetDataSearch/NetDataSearch
• ~/Library/Application Support/com.NetDataSearchDaemon/NetDataSearch
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.NetDataSearch.plist
• ~/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.NetDataSearchDaemon.plis

IMPORTANT NOTE! Rogue setups/apps that promote NetDataSearch 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 "NetDataSearch" 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 NetDataSearch?
• STEP 1. Remove NetDataSearch related files and folders from OSX.
• STEP 2. Remove NetDataSearch ads from Safari.
• STEP 3. Remove NetDataSearch adware from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove NetDataSearch ads from Mozilla Firefox.

Video showing how to remove NetDataSearch adware using Combo Cleaner:

NetDataSearch adware removal:

Remove NetDataSearch-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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