TrustedSafeFinder Mac virus (Free Guide)

What is TrustedSafeFinder Mac virus?

TrustedSafeFinder is a dangerous cyberthreat that can compromise your Mac

TrustedSafeFinder is a harmful Mac program built to take over web browsers, push annoying ads, and use clever tricks to stay on your device. It’s part of the well-known Adload malware family, and the cybercriminals behind it have already made many versions, all packed with dangerous features.

This malware sneaks onto devices through tricky methods like fake Flash Player updates or installers for pirated software. These tactics aren’t fancy, but they work well – every day, tons of users end up with TrustedSafeFinder or other similar variants on their Macs.

Once it’s on your device, the virus can lead you to unsafe online content, like phishing scams pretending your Mac is infected, fake prize offers, or quick-money traps. On top of that, it bombards you with pop-ups, auto-playing video ads, banners, and more while you browse the web on Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or any other hijacked browser.

Adload malware family: a stubborn Mac issue

For a long time, many Mac users thought malware couldn’t touch their systems, but that’s not true anymore. As Macs became more popular, cybercriminals started focusing on them more and more. While Macs don’t often get hit by serious threats like ransomware or rootkits, adware is a big problem for them. In fact, adware like TrustedSafeFinder that targets Macs is usually much pushier than the kind aimed at Windows.

Take Adload, for example – it’s one of many tough adware types that keep infecting users. You can spot it by its magnifying glass icon, often set against a blue, teal, green, or gray background. Once it’s on your Mac, you’ll notice it right away because it messes with your browser settings in different ways, depending on the version.

In the past, Adload types – like TrustedSafeFinder virus – have switched homepages to sketchy sites, redirected web traffic, swapped out search engines, and shoved annoying ads into search results and other spots.

TrustedSafeFinder can be tricky to remove because it uses AppleScript to slip past Apple’s own security measures. This lets the virus add its extension with extra power and grab private details like credit card numbers and passwords. It’s a serious threat to your privacy and Mac’s safety, so we suggest acting fast to get rid of it and avoiding entering any personal info while it’s still on your device.

Removal of the TrustedSafeFinder virus

Due to clever but simple tricks, Adload variants like TrustedSafeFinder can be much harder to delete than typical apps. For instance, the browser extension might be locked or grayed out, making it tough to remove without extra steps. The virus takes advantage of AppleScript to block Mac’s built-in Gatekeeper security from stopping it.

Because of this, users might try to delete TrustedSafeFinder only to see it pop back up later. To prevent this, you need a complete cleanup – either using security software or following a detailed manual guide we’ve provided below. We highly suggest using SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes for the removal instead of just doing it by hand, since manual methods might miss hidden files that could bring the malware back.

Still, no matter which way you choose, we recommend checking the browser cleanup section too. Leftover bits of the infection could stick around otherwise.

Start from the main app

When you want to remove an app from your Mac, you normally drag it to the Trash. But before you do that with TrustedSafeFinder, make sure to stop any malware processes running in the background:

• Open Applications folder
• Select Utilities
• Double-click Activity Monitor
• Here, look for suspicious processes related to adware and use the Force Quit command to shut them down
• Go back to the Applications folder
• Find ExtendedService in the list and move it to Trash.

Remove persistence mechanisms

After sneaking in, TrustedSafeFinder might create new User profiles and Login items to stick around. This could explain why it’s so hard to delete the app or its extension.

• Go to Preferences and select Accounts
• Click Login items and delete everything suspicious
• Next, pick System Preferences > Users & Groups
• Find Profiles and remove unwanted profiles from the list.

Remove leftover files

• Select Go > Go to Folder.
• Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
• In the Application Support folder, look for any suspicious entries and then delete them.
• Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and delete all the related .plist files.

Taking care of browsers and unwanted components there

The TrustedSafeFinder virus includes a main app and a browser extension. Each part handles different tasks on your system, and neither is good for users. To make sure your Mac stays safe and the malware doesn’t come back, you need to get rid of the extension too.

Once you’ve stopped the virus’s tricks for staying on your system, removing the extension from your browser should be simpler. Here’s how to do it:

• Click Safari > Preferences…
• In the new window, pick Extensions.
• Select the unwanted extension and select Uninstall.

After finishing, you should clear out cookies and other web data to stop unwanted tracking. You can use the FortectIntego maintenance tool for this or follow these manual steps:

• Click Safari > Clear History…
• From the drop-down menu under Clear, pick all history.
• Confirm with Clear History.

If you couldn’t get rid of the harmful browser extension from TrustedSafeFinder, you can reset your web browser instead. This will wipe out all extensions, so make sure to add back any you want to keep afterward.

• Click Safari > Preferences…
• Go to the Advanced tab.
• Tick the Show Develop menu in the menu bar.
• From the menu bar, click Develop, and then select Empty Caches.

If you are using Google Chrom or Mozilla Firefox on your Mac, you will find the instructions on how to clean or reset them manually below.