Remove HelperEvents (Virus Removal Guide)

HelperEvents is an adware application that might compromise your Mac security

HelperEvents

HelperEvents is a potentially dangerous adware^[1] application designed for macOS systems. The extension hijacks Google Chrome, Safari, Mozilla Firefox, or another browser and connects to an unknown server before displaying search results. However, most of the users might not even notice the changes, because they are immediately redirected to Google.

Nevertheless, the search results that HelperEvents shows are far from organic,^[2] and users will quickly notice numerous sponsored links at the top, which are marked as “Ad.” These links can lead users to questionable, scam, or even malware-laden websites. What is more, the HelperEvents is capable of reading sensitive information (passwords, phone numbers, and even credit cards) due to permissions that were granted during its installation, which, in most cases, also happens behind users' backs.

Therefore, if you notice that your browser is often taking you to suspicious domains and ads cover your screen on all sites that you visit, you should check for and remove HelperEvents virus from your Mac as soon as possible.

Name	HelperEvents
Type	Adware
Targeted system	macOS, Mac OS X
Danger level	Medium. Can read sensitive data on websites users visit
Infiltration	Software bundles, third-party sites
Symptoms	Increased amount of pop-up and other type of ads on all sites, redirects, sponsored links, etc.
Termination & recovery	Check out our manual removal options below; if you struggle to eliminate HelperEvents PUP, you can employ Fortect Intego or another security software that would get rid of the threat automatically

In most of the cases, adware is a relatively harmless piece of software that displays ads as a way to monetize on software that it offers for free. It would be all good, apart from most of the ad-supported applications that are offered are completely useless, and can also compromise one's online safety and computer security. Unfortunately, HelperEvents is one of those apps.

Generally speaking, Mac is also considered a more secure operating system in comparison to Windows. Nevertheless, the number of adware apps spiked for this OS significantly for the past years, as scareware^[3] apps like Advanced Mac Cleaner, Mac Tweaker, Mac Tonic, and others flooded users' machines. The fake Flash updates also showed up and installed such threats as Shlayer Trojan, which is capable of downloading and installing malicious apps automatically.

For that reason, if you found an unrecognizable application like HelperEvents on your computer, you should be concerned whether it is not infected with more sinister threats. Nevertheless, it might also be the case that you downloaded freeware from third-party sites and did not pay attention to the installation process carefully.

HelperEvents adware

The worst part about HelperEvents infection is that it reads sensitive data from your browsers and might send them to unknown parties (potentially criminals). The permission section of the app states:

Webpage Contents

Can read sensitive information from webpages, including passwords, phone numbers, and credit cards on:

all webpages

If you noticed suspicious browser activity like redirects, or an excessive amount of pop-ups, in-text links, deals, offers, coupons, and other commercial content, you should scan your computer with Fortect Intego or another reputable security software to locate and remove HelperEvents along with other PUPs automatically.

Nevertheless, you can also try to terminate HelperEvents with the help of our manual guide below – you will also find how to reset each of the affected browsers, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, and others.

Be careful when installing free application from third-party sites

Potentially unwanted programs are called so for a reason – namely because they usually enter computers without user consent. There is hardly a website that does not offer installers with additional components embedded into them – it is simply a way that they monetize. Unfortunately, some of these offered applications might not only be “unwanted” but also potentially dangerous. For example, it is redirecting to suspicious websites or harvesting sensitive information such as credit card details.

Therefore, it is crucial to pay attention to the installation process of free programs. Here's what you should be concerned about when dealing with unknown installers:

Make sure the application comes from a somewhat known website (such as download.com, filehippo.com, and similar) and avoid shady sites that host pirated software;
Before installing, check that the app provides the documents required for all legitimate programs – Privacy Policy, Terms of Service/EULA;
Beware of various tricks: pre-selected boxes, fine print text, deceptive deals, misleading button placements, etc.;
When prompted, select Advanced/Custom installation settings instead of Recommended/Custom ones, as it is sometimes the only way to disclose the full list of suggested applications.
As a general rule, always have updated security software running on your machine.

HelperEvents install

Get rid of HelperEvents to avoid sensitive information leak to unknown parties

As we previously stated, HelperEvents virus can read the very sensitive information from your browsers, such as credit card details. The question is, why would an app that is used to allegedly enhance web browsing experience would need this functionality? These type of features are extremely dangerous and have disastrous ramifications. Thus, you should not delay HelperEvents removal, otherwise, you might face money loss, or even identity theft, along with painful web browsing experience.

To remove HelperEvents, you should either scan your computer with reputable anti-malware software – it will be able to uninstall all the components of the PUP, along with entries that the app put to your device. If you want to try eliminating the unwanted app manually, you should check our guide below. Nevertheless, before you do that, you should check the following folders for suspicious HelperEvents entries:

/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/Application Support
/Library/LaunchDaemons

After you delete the unwanted components, make sure you reset each of the installed browsers as well.

Delete from macOS

Remove the unwanted application:

From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).

Delete leftover files and folders:

Select Go > Go to Folder.
Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.
Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.

Reset Internet Explorer

Remove dangerous add-ons:

Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
Pick Manage Add-ons.
You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.

Change your homepage if it was altered:

Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
Select Internet Options.
In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
Click Apply and then select OK.

Delete temporary files:

Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
Under Browsing history, click Delete...
Select relevant fields and press Delete.

Reset Internet Explorer:

Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
Select Reset.
In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.

Remove from Microsoft Edge

Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:

Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
Click Remove.

Clear cookies and other browser data:

Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files. (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear.

Restore new tab and homepage settings:

Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
Then find On startup section.
Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.

Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:

Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
Select Details tab.
Now scroll down and locate every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right-click on each of them and select End Task to stop MS Edge from running.

Instructions for Chromium-based Edge

Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):

Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.

Clear cache and site data:

Click on Menu and go to Settings.
Select Privacy, search and services.
Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
Under Time range, pick All time.
Select Clear now.

Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:

Click on Menu and select Settings.
On the left side, pick Reset settings.
Select Restore settings to their default values.
Confirm with Reset.
This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)

Remove dangerous extensions:

Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
Select Add-ons.
In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.

Reset the homepage:

Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
Choose Settings.
Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.

Clear cookies and site data:

Click Menu and pick Settings.
Go to Privacy & Security section.
Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
Click on Clear Data...
Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.

Reset Mozilla Firefox

If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:

Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.
Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.

Remove from Google Chrome

Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:

Click on Menu and pick Settings.
Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
Click Clear data.

Change your homepage:

Click menu and choose Settings.
Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
Click on Open a specific or set of pages and click on three dots to find the Remove option.

Reset Google Chrome:

If the previous methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the unwanted components:

Click on Menu and select Settings.
In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
Confirm with Reset settings.

Delete from Safari

Remove dangerous extensions:

Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.

Clear history and website data:

Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.

Reset Safari:

Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.

How to remove HelperEvents

HelperEvents is an adware application that might compromise your Mac security

Be careful when installing free application from third-party sites