Safesearchmac.com. How to remove? (Uninstall guide)
Safesearchmac.com – a browser hijacker that collects anonymous information about its users
Safesearchmac.com is a questionable application that intrudes users machines with bundling[1] and makes unwanted modifications to Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, Mozilla Firefox or other browsers. Such fake engines usually try to trick users that they are legitimate and useful. However, browser hijackers can compromise virtual and computer safety if used carelessly.
| SUMMARY | |
| Name | Safesearchmac.com / Safe Search Mac |
|---|---|
| Type | Browser Hijacker |
| Official website | Safesearchmac.com |
| Distribution | Software bundling, official website download |
| Symptoms | Invasive ads, redirects, altered browser settings, etc. |
| Main dangers | Malware contamination, loss of personal data/money |
| Elimination | For automatic elimination, download and install Reimage. Alternatively, check your manual instructions below this article |
Safe Search Mac is presented as a browser extension that allows Mac users to view “improved” search results. In reality, these “improvements” are only made to benefit browser hijacker authors. However, users are not cared for and are left to deal with an annoying program the spams their browsers with ads and redirects. Thus, to eliminate the problem, you have to remove Safesearchmac.com virus.
Soon after Safe Search Mac hijack, your browser settings are altered, and the address of new tab, homepage, and search engine are set to intruder’s developed one. While some users might find these changes irrelevant, they soon notice that navigating to certain websites (like the preferred homepage or anti-virus site) becomes impossible. A browser hijacker also prevents users from setting default parameters on their browsers.
These browser changes are made to deliver advertisements in various forms. Ads can be of miscellaneous content, including both legitimate websites and suspicious ones. While some might find the content intriguing, we highly suggest you refrain yourself from clicking on any ads or links in redirected sites.
Third-party content displayed is usually one of the sponsors. If users are tempted by an advertisement and click on it, it helps PUP developers to generate pay-per-click revenue. However, redirects can also link victims to phishing,[2] fake update and malware-ridden websites. Thus, the possession of Safe Search Mac might compromise users' computer safety and put personal information at risk.
Another alarming feature is the data gathering. Safe Search Mac developers collect a significant amount of non-personally identifiable information, including:
- IP address;
- hardware;
- software;
- configuration;
- operating system information;
- browser type;
- usage patterns;
- search terms, etc.
This information is collected with the help of various tracking technologies, including JavaScrips, web data, DOM data, cookies, beacons, third-party API’s, etc.
Personal information might be collected and stored if users enter it themselves. So, email addresses, names, social security numbers and even bank data might be collected. In case the company merger or sales of assets, this information might be transferred, too:
If the Company sells all or part of its business or makes a sale or transfer of its assets or is otherwise involved in a merger or transfer of all or a material part of its business, the Company may transfer your information to the party or parties involved in the transaction as part of that transaction.
All in all, we highly advise not to delay Safesearchmac.com removal. To make sure that all hijacker's components are eliminated, download and install Reimage. This security software can also check your system for other malware infections and quickly delete them.
Click 'Start -> Control Panel -> Programs and Features' (if you are 'Windows XP' user, click on 'Add/Remove Programs').
If you are 'Windows 10 / Windows 8' user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once 'Quick Access Menu' shows up, select 'Control Panel' and 'Uninstall a Program'.
Right click on each of suspicious entries and select 'Uninstall'
Right click on browsers' icon and select 'Properties'
Select 'Shortcut' tab and delete 'http://isearch.babylon.com...' or other suspicious URL
Cick 'Go' and select 'Applications'
Click on every malicious entry and select 'Move to Trash'
Click on menu icon and select 'Manage add-ons'
Right click on each of malicious entries and select 'Disable'
Delete malicious URL, enter your desired domain name and click 'Apply' to save changes
Go to 'Advanced' tab and click on 'Reset' button. Now select 'Delete personal settings' and click on 'Reset' button again
Go to Settings and select 'Choose what to clear'
Select 'Clear' button
Open the start menu and select 'Task Manager'
Right-click 'Microsoft Edge' and select 'Go to details'
Select 'More details' if 'Go to details' option fails to show up
Find Microsoft Edge entries and select 'End Task'
Go to Microsoft Edge folder on your computer, right-click every entry and click 'Delete'
Find Windows PowerShell, right-click it and select 'Run as administrator'
Copy and paste a required command and press 'Enter'
Click on menu icon and select 'Add-ons'
Select 'Extensions' and look for malicious entries. Click 'Remove' to get rid of each of them
When in 'General' tab, delete malicious URL from 'Home Page' section or click on 'Restore to Default' button. Click 'OK' to save changes
Click on menu icon and then on '?'. Select 'Troubleshooting Information'
Click on 'Reset Firefox' button for a couple of times
Click on menu icon. Select 'Tools' and 'Extensions'
Look for malicious entries and delete each of them by clicking on the Trash bin icon
After clicking on menu and 'Settings', select 'Set pages'
Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs
When in 'Settings', select 'Manage search engines...'
Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs
When in 'Settings', scroll down to 'Reset browser settings' button and click on it
Click on 'Reset' button to complete your removal
Click on 'Safari' and select 'Preferences'
Go to 'Extensions' and uninstall malicious add-ons
When in 'General', delete malicious URL and enter your desired domain name
Click on 'Safari' and select 'Reset Safari...'
Select all options and click on 'Reset' button
Unwanted programs can hide within software bundles
According to research conducted by senzavirus.it,[3] browser hijackers are typically not installed intentionally and are not that popular programs altogether. To boost their popularity, developers often employ a marketing technique called software bundling. Freeware creators often hide additional components within their installers. Users typically pick Recommended/Quick installation mode which does not disclose the full lineup of the offered programs.
To avoid optional installs, users should always rely on Advanced/Custom settings. This way, the additional components can be viewed and eliminated before they get into victims PCs unnoticed.
Eliminate Safesearchmac.com and keep your search history private
There are two methods available for Safesearchmac.com removal: manual or automatic. Both of them are viable; however, you need to pick one that suits you best.
If you want to remove Safe Search Mac virus quickly and effortlessly, we suggest you download and install reputable security software. After you perform a full system scan, you will be able to be sure that no malware is threatening your virtual and computer safety anymore.
Alternatively, you can also get rid of Safesearchmac.com by checking our guide below this article. Make sure you follow each step attentively as incorrect elimination procedure might lead to reinfection of the unwanted app.
You can remove Safesearchmac.com automatically with a help of one of these programs: Reimage, Malwarebytes Malwarebytes. We recommend these applications because they can easily delete potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
To remove Safesearchmac.com, follow these steps:
Erase Safesearchmac.com from Windows systems
Please follow these steps if you want to get rid of Safesearchmac.com on your Windows OS:
-
Click Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
-
If you are Windows 10 / Windows 8 user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once Quick Access Menu shows up, select Control Panel and Uninstall a Program.
- Uninstall Safesearchmac.com and related programs
Here, look for Safesearchmac.com or any other recently installed suspicious programs. -
Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
- Remove Safesearchmac.com from Windows shortcuts
Right click on the shortcut of Mozilla Firefox and select Properties. -
Go to Shortcut tab and look at the Target field. Delete malicious URL that is related to your virus.
Repeat steps that are given above with all browsers' shortcuts, including Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. Make sure you check all locations of these shortcuts, including Desktop, Start Menu and taskbar.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariRemove Safesearchmac.com from Mac OS X system
-
If you are using OS X, click Go button at the top left of the screen and select Applications.
-
Wait until you see Applications folder and look for Safesearchmac.com or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Eliminate Safesearchmac.com from Internet Explorer (IE)
-
Remove dangerous add-ons
Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top right corner of the browser and choose Manage Add-ons. -
You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for Safesearchmac.com and other suspicious plugins. Disable these entries by clicking Disable:
-
Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the gear icon (menu) on the top right corner of the browser and select Internet Options. Stay in General tab. -
Here, remove malicious URL and enter preferable domain name. Click Apply to save changes.
-
Reset Internet Explorer
Click on the gear icon (menu) again and select Internet options. Go to Advanced tab. - Here, select Reset.
-
When in the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset again to complete Safesearchmac.com removal.
Delete Safesearchmac.com from Microsoft Edge
Reset Microsoft Edge settings (Method 1):
- Launch Microsoft Edge app and click More (three dots at the top right corner of the screen).
- Click Settings to open more options.
-
Once Settings window shows up, click Choose what to clear button under Clear browsing data option.
-
Here, select all what you want to remove and click Clear.
-
Now you should right-click on the Start button (Windows logo). Here, select Task Manager.
- When in Processes tab, search for Microsoft Edge.
-
Right-click on it and choose Go to details option. If can’t see Go to details option, click More details and repeat previous steps.
-
When Details tab shows up, find every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right click on each of them and select End Task to end these entries.
Resetting Microsoft Edge browser (Method 2):
If Method 1 failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method.
- Note: you need to backup your data before using this method.
- Find this folder on your computer:
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe. -
Select every entry which is saved on it and right click with your mouse. Then Delete option.
- Click the Start button (Windows logo) and type in window power in Search my stuff line.
-
Right-click the Windows PowerShell entry and choose Run as administrator.
- Once Administrator: Windows PowerShell window shows up, paste this command line after PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> and press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml -Verbose}
Once these steps are finished, Safesearchmac.com should be removed from your Microsoft Edge browser.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariUninstall Safesearchmac.com from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
-
Remove dangerous extensions
Open Mozilla Firefox, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Add-ons → Extensions. -
Here, select Safesearchmac.com and other questionable plugins. Click Remove to delete these entries.
-
Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the menu (top right corner), choose Options → General. - Here, delete malicious URL and enter preferable website or click Restore to default.
-
Click OK to save these changes.
-
Reset Mozilla Firefox
Click on the Firefox menu on the top left and click on the question mark. Here, choose Troubleshooting Information. -
Now you will see Reset Firefox to its default state message with Reset Firefox button. Click this button for several times and complete Safesearchmac.com removal.
Get rid of Safesearchmac.com from Google Chrome
Reset your browser settings after eliminating all PUPs:
-
Delete malicious plugins
Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions. -
Here, select Safesearchmac.com and other malicious plugins and select trash icon to delete these entries.
-
Change your homepage and default search engine if it was altered by your virus
Click on menu icon and choose Settings. -
Here, look for the Open a specific page or set of pages under On startup option and click on Set pages.
- Now you should see another window. Here, delete malicious search sites and enter the one that you want to use as your homepage.
-
Click on menu icon again and choose Settings → Manage Search engines under the Search section.
-
When in Search Engines..., remove malicious search sites. You should leave only Google or your preferred domain name.
-
Reset Google Chrome
Click on menu icon on the top right of your Google Chrome and select Settings. -
Scroll down to the end of the page and click on Reset browser settings.
-
Click Reset to confirm this action and complete Safesearchmac.com removal.
Erase Safesearchmac.com from Safari
- Remove dangerous extensions
Open Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu at the top left of the screen. Once you do this, select Preferences. -
Here, select Extensions and look for Safesearchmac.com or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them.
-
Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Open your Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu section. Here, select Preferences as it was displayed previously and select General. -
Here, look at the Homepage field. If it was altered by Safesearchmac.com, remove unwanted link and enter the one that you want to use for your searches. Remember to include the "http://" before typing in the address of the page.
-
Reset Safari
Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari.... -
Now you will see a detailed dialog window filled with reset options. All of those options are usually checked, but you can specify which of them you want to reset. Click the Reset button to complete Safesearchmac.com removal process.
About the author
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References
- ^ Bundled software. Webopedia. Online Tech Dictionary.
- ^ What Is Phishing?. Phishing. Information about phishing attacks.
- ^ SenzaVirus. SenzaVirus. Italian IT professionals.