MacWizz Adware (Mac)

What is MacWizz?

MacWizz is a deceptive application that infiltrates the system during installation of other apps (bundling method).

Following successful infiltration, MacWizz generates various intrusive online advertisements and continually records information relating to users' Internet browsing activity. For these reasons, MacWizz is categorized as a potentially unwanted program (PUP) and adware.

MacWizz employs a 'virtual layer' to generate pop-up, coupon, banner, and other similar advertisements. Ads displayed by this adware are marked as "X by MacWizz". The virtual layer is a tool that enables placement of third party graphical content on any site.

Therefore, displayed ads often conceal underlying content of visited websites, significantly diminishing the Internet browsing experience. Furthermore, they often redirect to malicious websites - clicking them can result in high-risk adware or malware infections.

Be aware that web browsing activity is monitored, since MacWizz continually gathers IP addresses, search queries, URLs visited, and other similar data that might be personally identifiable. In addition, MacWizz's developers share the data with cooperating third party companies who misuse personal details to generate revenue.

The presence of an information-tracking app such as MacWizz on your system can lead to serious privacy issues or even identity theft. You are, therefore, advised to uninstall this PUP immediately.

There are dozens of potentially unwanted programs similar to MacWizz. Examples include InstallWizz, SurfBuyer, MediaDownloader, and Wishapp. Note that all adware offers different functionality, however, these apps are designed only to generate revenue for the developers.

Claims to enhance the Internet browsing experience are merely attempts to trick users to install. Adware-type applications collect private data (which is later sold to third parties) and deliver intrusive online advertisements (via the "Pay Per Click" advertising model). Therefore, apps such as MacWizz are useless for regular users.

How did MacWizz install on my computer?

MacWizz is promoted using a deceptive marketing method called "bundling" - stealth installation of potentially unwanted programs with regular software/apps. Developers hide bundled programs within the "Custom" or "Advanced" settings of the download/installation processes.

Users often rush these stages and skip steps, thereby inadvertently exposing their systems to risk of various infections and compromising their privacy.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

There are two simple steps you should take to prevent system infiltration by PUPs. Firstly, never rush when downloading and installing software. Select the "Custom/Advanced" settings and carefully analyze each step.

Secondly, decline offers to download/install additional applications and opt-out of those already included. Bundled programs are often malicious and, thus, should never be installed.

Deceptive free software installer used in MacWizz adware distribution:

MacWizz generating intrusive online advertisements (marked as 'by MacWizz'):

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Quick menu:

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

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

MacWizz adware removal:

Remove MacWizz-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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