Search.websafefinder.com Redirect (Mac)

What is search.websafefinder.com?

search.websafefinder.com is presented as a high-quality Internet search engine that supposedly enhances the browsing experience by generating improved results.

Judging on appearance alone, search.websafefinder.com may seem legitimate and useful - its design barely differs from Google, Yahoo, Bing, and other legitimate search engines, however, criminals promote this site using deceptive downloaders/installers that modify browser options without permission.

Furthermore, search.websafefinder.com continually records various information relating to users' Internet browsing activity.

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

Research shows that set-ups also install a number of "helper objects" (potentially unwanted programs [PUPs] and/or browser plug-ins) that continue to reassign browser options when attempts are made to change them.

Therefore, users are unable to return browser options to their previous states and are automatically redirected to search.websafefinder.com when they open a new browser tab or search via the URL bar. This significantly diminishes the web browsing experience.

Furthermore, search.websafefinder.com and helper objects gather information that might contain personal details. The collected data (IP addresses, websites visited, pages viewed, queries entered into search engines, mouse/keyboard activity, etc.) is later sold to third parties. Therefore, data-tracking apps pose a direct threat to your privacy.

In addition, some PUPs and browser plug-ins misuse system resources to stealthily perform various background tasks. In doing so, PUPs/add-ons significantly diminish overall system performance. If you encounter redirects to search.websafefinder.com, uninstall all suspicious applications/browser extensions and never visit this site again.

Threat Summary:

Name	websafefinder.com browser hijacker
Threat Type	Mac malware, Mac virus
Symptoms	Your Mac became slower than normal, you see unwanted pop-up ads, you get redirected to shady websites.
Distribution methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake flash player installers, torrent file downloads.
Damage	Internet browsing tracking (potential privacy issues), displaying of unwanted ads, redirects to shady websites, loss of private information.
Malware Removal (Mac)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your Mac with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner for Mac To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited seven days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

search.websafefinder.com is identical to search.safewebfinder.com, search.linkeymac.com, search.webfinderresults.com, and many others. In fact, all fake search engines are very similar. All claim to enhance the browsing experience, however, these claims are simply attempts to give the impression of legitimacy.

Few fake search engines provide the features promised. Most are useless for regular users. These sites cause unwanted redirects and gather various information.

Research shows that some also generate fake search results and/or malicious advertisements (such as coupons, banners, etc.) The generated results/ads can lead to malicious websites. For these reasons, using a fake Internet search engine puts you privacy and Internet browsing safety at risk.

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

As mentioned above, search.websafefinder.com is promoted using browser-hijacking download/installation set-ups. This deceptive marketing method is called "bundling". Developers know that users often rush the download/installation processes.

Aware of this, developers hide details of browser modifications within the "Custom/Advanced" options or other sections of the download/installation processes. Skipping download/installation steps grants set-ups permission to modify various options. In addition, it exposes systems to risk of various infections and compromises users' privacy.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

The main reasons for computer infections are poor knowledge and careless behavior. Potentially unwanted programs are distributed using the aforementioned malicious ads, and the "bundling" method. Therefore, be careful when browsing the Internet and downloading/installing software. Criminals invest many resources into ad design.

Most appear legitimate and it is difficult to determine if they originate from the visited websites, however, malicious ads usually lead to survey, gambling, pornography, adult dating, and other dubious websites. If you are presented with such ads, uninstall all suspicious apps and browser add-ons.

Download your software from official sources only using a direct download link (third party download/installation tools commonly "bundle" PUPs). In addition, select the "Custom/Advanced" settings, carefully analyze each step, and opt-out of all additionally-included programs. The key to computer safety is caution.

Website promoting search.websafefinder.com:

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▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner for Mac By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited seven days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

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

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

search.websafefinder.com redirect removal:

Remove search.websafefinder.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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