Home.downloadspeedtester.com Redirect (Mac)

What is home.downloadspeedtester.com?

Download Speed Tester is a rogue application identical to Pronto File Converter, Pronto Video Converter, and Pronto PDF Converter. By offering functionality to test Internet download performance, Download Speed Tester often tricks users to install, however, it is also distributed via a deceptive software marketing method called "bundling".

Furthermore, this deceptive app stealthily modifies web browser settings and gathers information relating to users' Internet browsing activity. For these reasons, Download Speed Tester is categorized as a potentially unwanted program (PUP) and a browser hijacker.

Download Speed Tester hijacks Safari, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox browsers, assigning the new tab URL, default search engine, and homepage options to home.downloadperformancetester.com.

This is performed without permission. Furthermore, users are unable to revert these changes, since Download Speed Tester reassign settings when attempts are made to change them. Therefore, it is impossible to return browsers to their previous states and users encounter unwanted browser redirects when opening a new browser tab or attempting to search via the URL bar.

Unwanted browser redirects significantly diminish the Internet browsing experience. In addition, Download Speed Tester gathers information relating to users' Internet browsing activity, including (but not limited to) URLs visited, search queries, pages viewed, and IP addresses.

This information might contain personal details that developers of Download Speed Tester share with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who attempt to generate revenue by misusing private information.

Therefore, the presence of an information-tracking app such as Download Speed Tester on your system can result in serious privacy issues. For these reasons, you are strongly advised to eliminate this browser hijacker immediately.

Research shows that all browser-hijacking applications are virtually identical. By delivering promises to enhance the Internet browsing experience, apps such as Download Speed Tester attempt to give the impression of legitimacy. Be aware, however, that the real and only purpose of all browser hijackers is to generate revenue for the developers.

Claims to provide 'useful functionality' are false. In fact, Download Speed Tester, and other similar applications, merely cause unwanted browser redirects and collect various data. Some promote fake Internet search engines that generate results leading to malicious websites. Therefore, using these search engines will result in high-risk adware or malware infections.

How did home.downloadspeedtester.com install on my computer?

Download Speed Tester is free for anyone to download on its official website, however, many users install this application inadvertently by rushing the download/installation processes and skip most/all steps.

Aware of this, developers employ a deceptive software marketing method called "bundling" (stealth installation of additional apps with regular software/apps) and hide bundled programs within the "Custom" or "Advanced" settings of the download/installation processes. Skipping this section often leads to inadvertent installation of bogus programs.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Potentially unwanted programs are distributed using the bundling method. Therefore, closely analyze each step of the download/installation processes using the "Custom" or "Advanced" settings. Furthermore, decline all offers to download/install third party software. The key to computer safety is caution.

Screenshot of Download Speed Tester Safari browser plug-in:

Website promoting home.downloadspeedtester.com:

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Quick menu:

• What is home.downloadspeedtester.com?
• STEP 1. Remove home.downloadspeedtester.com related files and folders from OSX.
• STEP 2. Remove home.downloadspeedtester.com redirect from Safari.
• STEP 3. Remove Download Speed Tester browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove home.downloadspeedtester.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.

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

home.downloadspeedtester.com redirect removal:

Remove home.downloadspeedtester.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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