MacBar Adware (Mac)

What is MacBar?

MacBar is a deceptive application that supposedly improves the web browsing experience by allowing users to search the Internet directly from the desktop - "We all use the web for our personal and professional lives, but clutter and distractions slow us down. MacBar solves this problem by letting you browse and search straight from your desktop - with one click of the mouse." 

This PUP specifically targets MacOS. On initial inspection, MacBar may seem legitimate and useful software, however, due to rogue behavior (stealth installation and tracking of users' web browsing activity), MacBar is classed as a potentially unwanted program (PUP).

Tracking of IP addresses, website URLs visited, search queries, pages viewed, browser types, and other similar data, may seem insignificant, however, this information can include personally identifiable details. In addition, developers of MacBar share this collected data with third parties who misuse private data to generate revenue.

Therefore, the presence of an information tracking app on your system can lead to serious privacy issues or even identity theft. We strongly advise you to uninstall MacBar PUP immediately.

Data tracking is common to adware-type applications, which often generate intrusive online advertisements that not only conceal underlying content of websites visited by the user, but also lead to malicious sites. Thus, by clicking them risks further adware or malware infections.

MacBac is identical to Web Bar, and very similar to MyOnlySearch, SuperPricer, TURBOMAC, and dozens of other potentially unwanted programs. All adware falsely claims to improve the web browsing experience by providing a number of 'useful features'.

These claims are simply attempts to trick users into believing that those apps are legitimate. In fact, adware is designed only to generate revenue only for the developers - none provide any real value for regular users. MacBar, and other similar applications, cause unwanted browser redirects, track private data, and deliver intrusive online advertisements.

How did MacBar install on my computer?

MacBar is free for anyone to download on its official website, however, it is also distributed using a deceptive software marketing method called 'bundling' (therefore, many users install this application inadvertently). 

Developers of MacBar know that many users do not express enough caution during the download/installation processes and, thus, intentionally conceal bogus applications within the 'Custom' or 'Advanced' settings of these processes. By skipping this section, they expose their systems to risk of various infections and put their privacy at risk.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

There are two main steps you should take to prevent PUPs from infiltrating your system. Firstly, analyze each step of the download/installation processes using the 'Custom' or 'Advanced' settings. Secondly, decline all offers to download/install additional applications and opt-out of those already included.

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:
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Quick menu:

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

Video showing how to remove adware and browser hijackers from a Mac computer:

MacBar adware removal:

Remove MacBar-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 browser hijacker-related files and folders

Click the Finder icon from the menu bar. Choose Go, and click Go to Folder...

Check for browser hijacker 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 browser hijackers - "installmac.AppRemoval.plist", "myppes.download.plist", "mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist", "kuklorest.update.plist", etc. Browser hijacker commonly installs several files with the exact same string.

Check for browser hijacker 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 browser hijacker 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 browser hijackers - "installmac.AppRemoval.plist", "myppes.download.plist", "mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist", "kuklorest.update.plist", etc. Browser hijacker commonly installs several files with the exact same string.

Check for browser hijacker 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 browser hijackers, continue to remove rogue extensions from your Internet browsers.

Remove browser hijackers from Internet browsers

Remove Safari browser hijackers:

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.

Change your homepage:

In the "Preferences" window, select the "General" tab. To set your homepage, type the preferred website URL (for example: www.google.com) in the Homepage field. You can also click the "Set to Current Page" button if you wish to set your homepage to the website you are currently visiting.

Change your default search engine:

In the "Preferences" window, select the "Search" tab. Here you will find a drop-down menu labeled "Search engine:" Simply select your preferred search engine from the drop-down list.

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Safari.

Remove Google Chrome browser hijackers:

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".

Change your homepage

Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) and select "Settings". In the "On startup" section, disable the malicious extension (if present), look for a browser hijacker URL below the "Open a specific or set of pages" option. If present, click on the three vertical dots icon and select "Remove".

Change your default search engine:

To change your default search engine in Google Chrome: Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Settings", in the "Search engine" section, click "Manage search engines...", in the opened list look for a browser hijacker URL, when located click the three vertical dots near this URL and select "Delete".

• 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".

Change your homepage

To reset your homepage, click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), then select "Settings", in the opened window disable malicious extension (if present), remove the browser hijacker URL and enter your preferred domain, which will open each time you start Mozilla Firefox.

Change your default search engine:

In the URL address bar, type "about:config" and press Enter. Click "Accept the Risk and Continue".

In the search filter at the top, type: "extensionControlled". Set both results to "false" by either double-clicking each entry or clicking the button.

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Mozilla Firefox.

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