How to uninstall apps that were downloaded via peachlandus.com?

How to remove apps that promote pages like peachlandus[.]com from Mac?

What is peachlandus[.]com?

In most cases websites like peachlandus[.]com display fake virus alert pop-ups saying that visitor's device is infected, compromised, damaged or harmed in some other way. Simply said, they use deceptive methods to trick visitors into downloading and installing some potentially unwanted application (PUA) that supposed to remove viruses, secure a device, etc. Peachlandus[.]com suggests that a device is hacked, may be infected with viruses, browsing activity may be unsecured and promotes at least two different PUAs.

There are at least six peachlandus[.]com variants. One of them is designed to trick visitors into believing that their device is already hacked, other variants only suggest that a device may be unprotected. Either way, the main purpose of the peachlandus[.]com website is to promote apps that supposed to protect devices and/or eliminate installed threats. It is known that two of the promoted apps are called Harbor VPN - Secure Connection and FaxIt - Easy and Safe Fax. It is worthwhile to mention that even when apps that pages like peachlandus[.]com promote are legitimate, they should be downloaded directly from App Store (or other official source), and not from or through shady pages.

Typically, users do not visit websites like peachlandus[.]com intentionally. Quite often they are promoted via potentially unwanted apps. Such apps should not be trusted as well. They could be designed to gather IP addresses, websites of visited pages, entered search queries, geolocations, etc., or even sensitive details. Moreover, collected data could be monetized by selling it to third parties (potentially cyber criminals), or misused for other malicious purposes. Also, PUAs could be deigned to generate coupons, banners, surveys, pop-ups and other ads. It is common that their ads are used to promote untrustworthy websites, or even designed to cause downloads, installations of unwanted applications.

Threat Summary:

Name	peachlandus.com pop-up
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Mac malware, Mac virus
Fake Claim	Device may be infected, tracked and/or not secure
Serving IP Address	54.39.130.163
Promoted Unwanted Applications	Harbor VPN - Secure Connection, FaxIt - Easy and Safe Fax
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 three days free trial available.

There are many pages like peachlandus[.]com, securitycheck[.]network, department[.]limited and spaceshellvpn[.]com are just a couple examples. It is worthwhile to mention that in most cases they are designed to look like official Apple pages. Although, none of the actual (legitimate) Apple pages are related to peachlandus[.]com or any other similar site. As mentioned in the above paragraph, it is common that various shady pages often are promoted via PUAs - apps that most users download and/or install unknowingly.

How did potentially unwanted applications install on my computer?

It is common that PUAs are distributed by offering them in download, installation setups of other programs. This distribution method of PUAs is called "bundling". Typically, users can decline unwanted offers via "Custom", "Advanced", or other settings, or by unticking certain checkboxes that are available in download and/or installation setups. If they leave those settings unchanged they allow for included apps to be downloaded and/or installed alongside with other programs. Sometimes unwanted downloads, installations can be caused by clicking deceptive ads that are designed to execute certain scripts.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Third party downloaders, installers, Peer-to-Peer networks (torrent clients, eMule, and other networks of this type), unofficial websites, etc., should not be used as tools neither to download or install any software. Files, software should be downloaded from official websites and via direct links. Download and/or installation setups that contain "Custom", "Advanced" or other settings should be checked for offers to download and/or install unwanted apps. Ads on pages related to gambling, adult dating, pornography, and other shady sites should not be clicked -  those ads could cause downloads, installations of unwanted applications, or open other untrustworthy websites. There should be no unwanted, suspicious extensions, add-ons or plug-ins installed on a browser and/or programs of this kind installed on a computer. 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 Spanish peachlandus[.]com variant:

Apple Security

¡Un hacker lo está rastreando!
¡La conexión de su iPhone fue hackeada y alguien lo está siguiendo! No cierre esta página. Si este problema no se resuelve en dos minutos, ¡el hacker revelará su identidad y enviará su historial de búsqueda y las fotos de la cámara frontal a TODOS SUS CONTACTOS!
1 minuto 27 segundos Cómo solucionarlo:
Paso 1: Haga clic en el botón "Proteger conexión" abajo;
Paso 2: Será redirigido la App Store; Paso 3: Instale la aplicación de protección recomendada, ábrala y repare su iPhone.

Proteger conexión

Screenshot of the second peachlandus[.]com variant:

Text in this variant:

There may be viruses in your documents.
Scan it now!
Your personal documents might be not protected.
Install the recommended app, open it and protect your iPhone.
4 minute 18 seconds
Install Now Cancel

App promoted via this variant:

Screenshot of the third peachlandus[.]com variant:

Text in this variant:

Someone May Be Watching
What You Browse
Your IP 104.236.233.182 could be exposed.
Someone may know your Apple iPhone
Follow three steps to encrypt your web traffic and change your IP address:
    
Click below to download VPN.
Open app, click connect button.
Browse web and apps anonymously.
6 minutes 35 seconds
Install Now Cancel

Screenshot of the fourth peachlandus[.]com variant:

Text in this variant:

0:11 / 1:38
VPN highly suggested for this site
Your browsing, streaming and download activity may be not private and may be unsecured.
Cancel  Install

Screenshot of the fifth peachlandus[.]com variant:

Text in this variant:

Hаrbоr VРN - Sесurе Cоnnеctiоn
Harbor VPN is a must-have app for every user, as it combines two of the most important functions. It provides you with a stable VPN connection and effective ad blocker.
Fluent VPN connection, which works without breaks and slowdowns!
4 minute 33 seconds
Install Now Cancel

App promoted via this variant:

Screenshot of the sixth peachlandus[.]com variant:

Text in this variant:

VPN update is recommended

Your Internet Explorer browser might not display the webpage correctly.

Please install the recommended free VPN app to solve a potential problem.
Cancel
Install

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 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. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited three days free trial available.

Quick menu:

• What is peachlandus[.]com?
• 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 peachlandus.com pop-up 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.

peachlandus.com pop-up removal from Internet browsers:

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Remove peachlandus.com pop-up 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 peachlandus.com pop-up 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 peachlandus.com pop-up 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.

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