How to uninatall AddUpgrade adware?

How to remove AddUpgrade from Mac?

What is AddUpgrade?

AddUpgrade is program which is classified as adware and potentially unwanted application (PUA). After installation adware-type applications feed users with various forms of advertisements. Also, it is common that they are designed to collect various information. Applications like AddUpgrade are called PUAs because people often download and install them inadvertently (unknowingly).

Typically, software like AddUpgrade is designed to serve advertisements that are displayed in forms of banners, pop-ups, coupons, surveys, and so on. Users who click those ads tend to end up on various untrustworthy, potentially malicious websites or allow them to run scripts designed to cause download and/or installation of some PUA. AddUpgrade operas not only adware but also as a browser hijacker: it is designed to promote akamaihd.net address by changing browser's settings. Typically, apps of this type promote fake search engines by modifying settings such as address of a default search engine, homepage and new tab. Such search engines often provide results generated by some other search engine. Akamaihd.net redirects users to search.yahoo.com (or either to Safe Finder website which, in turn, redirects to Yahoo), it provides results generated by Yahoo. Quite often adware is designed to collect various information related to user's browsing habits as well. For example, details like geolocations, entered search queries, addresses of visited pages, IP addresses, etc. Research shows that AddUpgrade is designed to record personal, sensitive information such as passwords, credit card details, telephone numbers. It is very likely that its developers may attempt to generate revenue by selling gathered data to third parties (potentially cyber criminals) who could misuse it in other ways. Users who have AddUpgrade installed on a browser and operating system risk to become victims of identity theft, suffer monetary loss, experience problems related to browsing safety, privacy, and other serious issues. Therefore, if AddUpgrade or any other app of this type is installed on a browser and/or computer, then it should be uninstalled from it as soon as possible.

Threat Summary:

Name	Ads by AddUpgrade
Threat Type	Adware, Mac malware, Mac virus
Detection Names	Avast (MacOS:Adload-AB [Trj]), AVG (MacOS:Adload-AB [Trj]), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of OSX/Adware.Didnarbois.A), Sophos AV (Adloadr (PUA)), 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.
Removal	To eliminate malware infections our security researchers recommend scanning your Mac with Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner for Mac Free scanner checks if your computer is infected. To remove malware, you have to purchase the full version of Combo Cleaner.

ProcessLocator, SoloProcess, BrowserProduct are adware-type applications too. However, there are many other apps of this type. What most of them have in common is that they are designed to feed users with advertisements. Quite often they operate as information tracking tools as well. In one way or another, most oft them do not deliver any value and can lead to various problems. For these reasons adware should never be downloaded and installed.

How did AddUpgrade install on my computer?

It is common that developers distribute PUAs by including them in various download and/or installation setups of other software. In most cases offers to download and/or install potentially unwanted apps can be found in their "Advanced", "Custom" and other similar settings. The problem is that not all users check those settings. In other words, they leave them unchanged. By leaving default settings unchanged they often allow for included PUAs to be downloaded and/or installed alongside with other, intentionally downloaded and/or installed software. PUAs can get installed through deceptive ads that are designed to run certain scripts as well. However, such ads cannot cause that without being clicked.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Users who download and/or install software through untrustworthy sources such as third party downloaders, installers, Peer-to-Peer networks like torrent clients, eMule, unofficial pages, etc., often download and/or install PUAs as well. Therefore, all software should be downloaded from official pages and via direct download links. Furthermore, download and installation setups that contain settings like "Advanced", "Custom", "Manual" should be checked for offers to download and/or install additional, unwanted software. Those offers should be declined before finishing download and/or installation processes. Intrusive advertisements on shady pages often open potentially malicious pages. Also, they can cause unwanted downloads, installations. For these reasons such ads should not be clicked. And finally, if there are any unwanted extensions, add-ons or plug-ins already installed on a web browser, then they should be removed as soon as possible. The same should be done with programs of this kind that are installed on the operating system. If your computer is already infected with AddUpgrade, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate this adware.

AddUpgrade causing redirects to Safe Finder website (via akamaihd.net) which then redirects to search.yahoo.com:

Pop-up window displayed once AddUpgrade installation is over:

AddUpgrade installation folder and its contents:

AddUpgrade installed on Safari browser:

 

Instant automatic Mac malware removal: 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 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. 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 AddUpgrade?
• STEP 1. Remove AddUpgrade related files and folders from OSX.
• STEP 2. Remove AddUpgrade ads from Safari.
• STEP 3. Remove AddUpgrade adware from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove AddUpgrade ads from Mozilla Firefox.

Video showing how to remove AddUpgrade adware using Combo Cleaner:

AddUpgrade adware removal:

Remove AddUpgrade-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 ads by addupgrade 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.

Ads by AddUpgrade removal from Internet browsers:

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Remove ads by addupgrade 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 ads by addupgrade 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 ads by addupgrade 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.