How to uninstall HermesLookup adware from operating systems

What is HermesLookup?

HermesLookup is a rogue application categorized as adware, which also possesses browser hijacker traits. Following successful infiltration, this app runs intrusive advertisement campaigns (i.e., delivers unwanted and harmful ads), modifies browsers and promotes fake search engines.

Additionally, HermesLookup is likely to have data tracking capabilities, which are employed to monitor users' browsing activity. Due to the dubious methods used to proliferate HermesLookup, it is also classified as a Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA). One of the dubious techniques used to proliferate this application is via fake Adobe Flash Player updates.

Note that bogus updaters/installers commonly distribute Trojans, ransomware and other malware.

Adware-type apps enable the placement of pop-ups, banners, coupons, surveys and other intrusive ads - typically, on any visited website. These ads significantly diminish the browsing experience, as they overlay web page content and reduce browsing speed.

When clicked, intrusive advertisements redirect to sale-oriented, untrusted/rogue, compromised, deceptive/scam and malicious sites. Clicking can also trigger them to execute scripts designed to stealthily download/install rogue software (e.g. PUAs).

Browser hijacker operate by reassigning the homepage, default search engine and new browser tab/window URLs to the addresses of bogus search engines. Therefore, each search query typed into the URL bar and each new browser tab/window opened redirects to the promoted address.

Fake search engines are usually unable to provide unique results, and so they tend to redirect to (or cause redirection chains leading to) Yahoo, Google, Bing and other legitimate sites. Furthermore, browser hijackers can limit/deny access to the browser settings and/or reset any permitted changes made.

Therefore, unless the browser hijacker is removed, recovering the affected browser is impossible. Furthermore, most PUAs (adware and browser hijackers included) track data. These unwanted apps can monitor browsing activity (URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries, etc.) and collect personal information extracted from it (IP addresses, geolocations and other details).

The gathered data is often monetized by sharing it with, or selling to, third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) seeking to misuse it for profit. To summarize, the presence of PUAs on devices can lead to system infections, serious privacy issues, financial loss and even identity theft.

To ensure device integrity and user safety, remove all suspicious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins without delay.

Threat Summary:

Name	Ads by HermesLookup
Threat Type	Adware, Mac malware, Mac virus.
Detection Names	Avast (MacOS:Adload-AD [Trj]), DrWeb (Adware.Mac.Loader.17), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of OSX/TrojanDownloader.Adloa), Kaspersky (Not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.OSX.Cimpli.k), Full List (VirusTotal).
Additional Information	This application belongs to the Adload malware family.
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.

CapitalCharacterSearch, PanelNotes and SimpleGuideSearch are some examples of other adware type PUAs. These apps often seem legitimate and useful, however, the advertised features are rarely operational. In fact, this is typical of all software classified as PUAs.

These unwanted applications have just one purpose: to generate revenue for the developers. Regular users receive no genuine value and simply experience problems. PUAs deliver intrusive ad campaigns, force-open untrusted and malicious web pages, hijack browsers and track private information.

How did HermesLookup install on my computer?

PUAs proliferate via the download/installation set-ups of other products. This deceptive marketing method of pre-packing regular software with unwanted or malicious additions is called "bundling". Rushing through download/installation processes (e.g. ignoring terms, skipping steps and sections, etc.) increases the risk of unintentionally allowing bundled content onto systems.

Note that some PUAs have "official" download pages. Once clicked, intrusive advertisements can execute scripts to download/install PUAs without users' permission.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

You are advised to research all products before download/installation or purchase. Use only official and verified download channels. Unofficial and free file-hosting sites, P2P sharing networks (BitTorrent, Gnutella, eMule, etc.) and other third party downloaders are untrusted and should be avoided.

When downloading/installing, you are advised to read the terms, explore all available options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and opt-out of supplementary apps, tools, functions and other additions. Intrusive ads may seem legitimate and normal, however, they often redirect to dubious websites (e.g. pornography, adult-dating, gambling and others).

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

Files related to HermesLookup adware that need to be removed:

• ~/Library/Application Support/com.HermesLookup/HermesLookup
• ~/Library/Application Support/com.HermesLookupDaemon/HermesLookup
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.HermesLookup.plist
• ~/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.HermesLookupDaemon.plist

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

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

HermesLookup adware removal:

Remove HermesLookup-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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