How to remove apps that open moderation-support.network and similar web pages

What is moderation-support[.]network?

moderation-support[.]network is one of many deceptive pages that scammers use to trick visitors into installing various potentially unwanted applications (PUAs). When visited, these web pages display a fake notification stating that the device is infected (and/or damaged) and that it can be fixed with a specific app.

Pages such as moderation-support[.]network should never be trusted. Note that users do not often visit them intentionally - usually, these web pages are promoted via other dubious sites, deceptive ads, and PUAs.

Moderation-support[.]network is designed to deceive visitors into believing that it has detected 3 viruses on visitor's iPhone and downloading (and installing) an application that supposed to remove those viruses. Also, this page suggests that if a visitor will not remove viruses as soon as possible, then they may cause even more damage.

Moderation-support[.]network or any other deceptive pages should not be trusted, it is common that they are designed to trick users into downloading some browser hijacker, adware-type app or a PUA of other type.

Also, it is worthwhile to mention that moderation-support[.]network is designed to look like an official Apple page, however, this company is not related to this or any other website in any way. As mentioned in the first paragraph, it is common that pages like moderation-support[.]network are promoted via PUAs.

It is worthwhile to mention that they can be designed not only to promote deceptive pages but also to collect various information. Like IP addresses, entered search queries, addresses of visited pages, geolocations and/or other browsing data or even sensitive, personal details.

Additionally, PUAs can be designed to serve advertisements (coupons, banners, surveys, pop-ups, etc.). Their ads often are designed to promote untrustworthy pages. In some cases they are capable of running scripts that are designed to cause download and/or installation of some unwanted software as well.

Threat Summary:

Name	moderation-support.network pop-up
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Mac malware, Mac virus
Fake Claim	Device is infected with viruses, its battery is damaged
Detection Names	Fortinet (Spam), Spamhaus (Spam), Full List (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address	116.202.171.47
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.

Appleconnect.safellk[.]com, global-support[.]space and privex-protection[.]com are the websites that are more or less similar to the moderation-support[.]network website. If a browser opens such pages often, then it is very likely that it happens because there is some PUA installed on it. As a rule, users download and install PUAs unknowingly, unintentionally.

How did potentially unwanted applications install on my computer?

One of the most popular ways to trick users into downloading and/or installing PUAs is to include them in download and/or installation setups of other programs. This distribution method is known as "bundling". Typically, offers to download and/or install unwanted apps can be declined by unticking certain checkboxes or via "Advanced", "Custom" or other settings of setups.

When users download and/or install programs without changing the aforementioned settings, they agree with offers to download and/or install included apps as well. Also, in some cases unwanted downloads and/or installations can be caused through deceptive advertisements. However, only by clicking ads that are designed to execute certain scripts.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Programs, files should not be downloaded from unofficial websites, via Peer-to-Peer networks (like torrent clients, eMule, and so on), third party downloaders or other sources, or installed through third party installers. They should be downloaded from official pages and through direct links.

Download and installation setups that have settings like "Custom", "Advanced" settings or some checkboxes should be checked for offers to download and/or install potentially unwanted apps. Ads on questionable websites should not be clicked, they may be designed to cause unwanted downloads, installations or open potentially malicious sites.

If some unwanted extensions, plug-ins or add-ons from are installed on a browser and/or programs of this kind are installed operating system, then they should be uninstalled/removed as soon as possible. If your computer is already infected with PUAs, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate them.

Text in the pop-up window (fake system notification):

(1) SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
Please Read Important Notification Regarding Your iOS Device.
OK

Screenshot of the background page:

Text in this page:

Apple Security Thursday
3 December 2020
(3) Viruses has been detected on your iPhone and battery has been infected and damaged.

If you do not remove this malware now, it may cause more damage to your device. How to fix this:

Step 1: Tap the button below & install the recommended virus protection tool for free from the AppStore.

Step 2: Run the app to remove all malware to repair your phone to 100%
1 minutes and 57 seconds
Install & Remove Virus
Detected By Apple.

To enable pop-up blocking, fraudulent website warnings, and remove web browsing data in mobile Apple devices, follow these steps:

First, go to "Settings", and then scroll down to find and tap "Safari".

Check if the "Block Pop-ups" and "Fraudulent Website Warning" toggles are enabled. If not, enable them immediately. Then, scroll down and tap "Advanced".

Tap "Website Data" and then "Remove All Website Data".

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 moderation-support[.]network?
• STEP 1. Remove PUA related files and folders from OSX.
• STEP 2. Remove rogue extensions from Safari.
• STEP 3. Remove rogue add-ons from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove potentially unwanted plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox.

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

Potentially unwanted applications removal:

Remove 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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