How to remove PortalAgent adware

What is PortalAgent?

PortalAgent displays unwanted advertisements and forces users to visit a specific address (a fake search engine). It is also likely that PortalAgent also collects information relating to internet browsing activities and other data.

Note that PortalAgent is distributed through a deceptive installer (a fake installer for Adobe Flash Player) and users often download and install this app unintentionally. Therefore, these rogue apps are classified as potentially unwanted applications (PUAs).

PortalAgent and similar apps serve banners, pop-ups, surveys, coupons, and other advertisements. These conceal underlying content of opened websites and can open various untrusted web pages or even download/install potentially malicious applications by executing certain scripts. For these reasons, you are advised to avoid clicking on ads generated by these apps.

PortalAgent promotes a fake search engine and functions as a browser hijacker - it changes browser settings such as the address of the default search engine, homepage, and new tab to a fake search engine. Furthermore, it prevents users from undoing the changes made. Therefore, the only way to stop a browser hijacked by PortalAgent from opening a specific address, when a new window or tab is opened or a search query is entered, is to uninstall this app.

Fake search engines promoted by PortalAgent (adware-type apps, browser hijackers) can never be trusted. In most cases, fake search engines show results generated by other typically, legitimate search engines, however, many fake search engines generate results with links to various untrusted pages or dubious ads among them.

PortalAgent and similar apps can be used by the developers to collect entered search queries, geolocations, addresses of visited pages, Internet Protocol addresses, other browsing data, and sensitive information such as credit car details and passwords. Commonly, people behind apps such as PortalAgent sell collected details to third parties (potentially cyber criminals), use them for marketing purposes, and monetize them in other ways.

It is never safe to have apps such as PortalAgent installed on browsers or operating systems.

Threat Summary:

Name	Ads by PortalAgent
Threat Type	Adware, Mac malware, Mac virus
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.

In summary, adware generates revenue for the developer by serving advertisements. The software is also monetized by using it to collect date. In any case, adware is useless to regular users and can cause serious problems.

Therefore, remove this rogue software from browsers/computers as soon as possible.

More adware examples are RunningUpdater, AthenaSearch and ProtocolPort.

How did PortalAgent install on my computer?

Research shows that the PortalAgent app is distributed via a fake installer designed to appear like the installer for Adobe Flash Player. Note that fake installers are used to trick people into installing ransomware, Trojan-type malware, and other malicious software.

PUAs are distributed via download/installation set-ups of other products. This deceptive marketing tactic of packing regular software with unwanted or malicious additions is called "bundling".

Rushing download/installation processes (e.g. ignoring terms, skipping steps and settings, etc.) increases the risk of inadvertently allowing bundled content into the system.

Some PUAs have "official" download sites. Intrusive advertisements proliferate these applications as well. Once clicked, they can execute scripts to download/install PUAs without users' consent.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

You are advised not to use Peer-to-Peer networks (such as eMule, torrent clients, etc.), unofficial websites, third party downloaders, installers, etc. to download or install software or files. Use official pages and direct links.

Check download/installation set-ups for settings such as "Advanced", "Manual, or "Custom" (or include certain checkboxes) and decline offers to download or install unwanted apps before completing the process.

Additionally, do not trust or click advertisements that are displayed on dubious web pages - they can open other rogue sites or cause unwanted downloads and installations.

Remove any suspicious or unknown extensions, add-ons and plug-ins installed on the browser. The same applies to software of this kind that is installed on the operating system.

If your computer is already infected with PortalAgent, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate this adware.

Fake installer used to distribute PortalAgent (first installation step):

Fake installer used to distribute PortalAgent (second installation step):

Files related to the PortalAgent adware that need to be removed:

• ~/Library/Application Support/.[random_string]/Services/com.PortalAgent.service.app
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.PortalAgent.service.plist
• /Library/Application Support/.[random_string]/System/com.PortalAgent.system
• /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.PortalAgent.system.plist

IMPORTANT NOTE! In some cases, malicious applications like PortalAgent alter system proxy settings, thereby causing unwanted redirects to a variety of dubious websites.

The redirects are likely to remain even after removing the application itself. Thus, you must restore them manually.

Step 1: Click on the gear icon in the Dock to navigate to the system settings. If the icon is not present in the Dock, you can find it in the Launchpad.

Step 2: Navigate to the Network settings.

Step 3: Select the connected network and click "Advanced...".

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 PortalAgent?
• STEP 1. Remove PortalAgent related files and folders from OSX.
• STEP 2. Remove PortalAgent ads from Safari.
• STEP 3. Remove PortalAgent adware from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove PortalAgent ads from Mozilla Firefox.

Video showing how to remove PortalAgent adware using Combo Cleaner:

PortalAgent adware removal:

Remove PortalAgent-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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