Search.societycake.com Redirect (Mac)

What is search.societycake.com?

According to the developers, search.societycake.com is a "high-quality" Internet search engine that generates improved results, thereby enhancing the web browsing experience. On initial inspection, this site may seem similar to Google, Yahoo, Bing, and other search engines.

Therefore, many users believe that search.societycake.com is also legitimate and useful. In fact, it records various user-system information. In addition, developers promote search.societycake.com by employing rogue download/installation set-ups that modify browser options without consent.

Rogue set-ups hijack Safari, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, stealthily modifying the homepage, new tab URL, and default search engine options by assigning them to search.societycake.com. These changes may not seem significant, however, users are unable to revert them.

Set-ups install a number of "helper objects" (third party applications and/or browser plug-ins) to reassign browser settings when attempts are made to change them. Therefore, users are unable to return browsers to their previous states and are automatically redirected to search.societycake.com when they open a new browser tab or search via the URL bar.

This significantly diminishes the web browsing experience. Furthermore, search.societycake.com and helper objects continually record various user-system information that might be personally identifiable. The list of collected data includes (but is not limited to) IP addresses, URLs visited, pages viewed, and search queries.

This information is shared with third parties who misuse private details to generate revenue. Information tracking can result in serious privacy issues or even identity theft (behavior that might lead to serious privacy issues or even identity theft). For these reasons, uninstall all PUPs immediately.

There are dozens of fake search engines that have identical appearance and behavior to search.societycake.com including, for example, search.jangoram.com, search.poreskanaf.com, and search.mykotlerino.com. As with search.societycake.com, these websites also claim to enhance the web browsing experience.

These promises are merely attempts to give the impression of legitimacy. Fake search engines cause unwanted redirects and continually record private information.

How did search.societycake.com install on my computer?

Developers promote search.societycake.com by employing a deceptive marketing method called "bundling", since they are aware that users often skip the download/installation steps.

Therefore, the hide information regarding modification of browser settings within the "Custom/Advanced" settings. Rushing and skipping this section grants set-ups permission to modify browser settings, exposes systems to risk of various infections, and compromises users' privacy.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

PUPs are distributed using the "bundling" method. Therefore, never rush the download or installation processes. Select the "Custom/Advanced" settings, carefully analyze each step, and decline offers to download/install additional applications.

Website promoting search.societycake.com browser hijacker:

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Quick menu:

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

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

search.societycake.com redirect removal:

Remove search.societycake.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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