Search.polebeary.com Redirect (Mac)
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is search.polebeary.com?
search.polebeary.com is a dubious website that claims to be a legitimate Internet search engine.
By falsely promising to generate improved search results, search.polebeary.com attempts to give the impression of legitimate software, however, this site is promoted using rogue installation set-ups that stealthily modify browser settings without users' permission. Furthermore, search.polebeary.com monitors browsing activity.
Dubious "installers" are designed to assign the Safari, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome new tab URL, homepage, and default search engine options to search.polebeary.com.
Users are unable to revert these changes, since installed "helper objects" (additional applications/browser add-ons) automatically reassign settings when user-attempts are made to change them.
Therefore, returning browsers to their previous states becomes impossible and they are forced to continually visit search.polebeary.com without their consent, significantly diminishing the web browsing experience. Another downside of this website is tracking of users' web browsing activity.
Be aware that search.polebeary.com records various information that might be personally identifiable including Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, websites visited, and search queries. This recorded information is shared with third parties who cooperate with the developers of search.polebeary.com to misuse private data and generate revenue.
This behavior can lead to serious privacy issues or even identity theft. If you encounter unwanted browser redirects to search.polebeary.com, remove all suspicious applications and never visit this site again.
search.polebeary.com is identical to a number of other fake search engines including search.springhan.com, search.ontakehope.com, and search.pagerpost.com. All have identical behavior.
Claims to generate the most relevant search results often trick users into believing that these sites are legitimate, however, research shows that neither search.polebeary.com, nor any of these other sites, improves the web browsing experience.
They are designed only to generate revenue for the developers by causing unwanted browser redirects and collecting private data. Users receive no significant value. This behavior is common to fake Internet search engines.
How did search.polebeary.com install on my computer?
As mentioned previously, search.polebeary.com is promoted using dubious installers. This marketing method is called "bundling". Many users do not expect developers to hide information regarding modification of browser settings within the "Custom/Advanced' options of the download/installation processes.
By skipping this section, they grant set-ups permission to modify various settings. This behavior can lead to various computer infections and serious privacy issues.
How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?
This situation can be prevented by taking a number of simple steps. Note that potentially unwanted programs are often distributed using the bundling method. Therefore, closely analyze each step of the download/installation processes. Furthermore, all offers to download/install third party programs should be declined.
Website promoting search.polebeary.com browser hijacker:
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Quick menu:
- What is search.polebeary.com?
- STEP 1. Remove search.polebeary.com related files and folders from OSX.
- STEP 2. Remove search.polebeary.com redirect from Safari.
- STEP 3. Remove search.polebeary.com browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
- STEP 4. Remove search.polebeary.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
Video showing how to remove browser redirects to search.polebeary.com website using Combo Cleaner:
search.polebeary.com redirect removal:
Remove search.polebeary.com-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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