Search-mate.com Redirect (Mac)

What is search-mate.com?

Developers present search-mate.com as a quality search engine that supposedly enhances the browsing experience by generating improved results. Judging on appearance alone, search-mate.com may seem similar to Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other legitimate Internet search engines.

Therefore, many users believe that search-mate.com is also legitimate and useful. In fact, developers promote this site using browser-hijacking downloaders/installers that modify browser options without permission. Furthermore, search-mate.com gathers information relating to browsing activity.

Rogue set-ups target Safari, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome. Immediately after infiltration, they assign the new tab URL, homepage, and default search engine options to search-mate.com. Furthermore, set-ups stealthily install a number of "helper objects" - third party applications and/or browser plug-ins.

Therefore, users are unable to revert the aforementioned changes. "Helper objects" continually reassign browser settings when attempts are made to change them.

Therefore, unless "helper objects" are uninstalled, returning browsers to their previous states is impossible and users are encouraged to visit search-mate.com when they open a new browser tab or search via the URL bar. Note that once a search query is entered, search-mate.com redirects users to webcrawler.com - a legitimate Internet search engine.

Therefore, search-mate.com provides no real value for regular users - it simply causes redirects. As mentioned above, search-mate.com (and "helper objects") gather information relating to web browsing activity.

Recorded data (IP addresses, URLs visited, search queries, etc.) is likely to contain personal details that developers sell to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who misuse private information to generate even more revenue. Therefore, data tracking can lead to serious privacy issues or even identity theft.

If you experience redirects to search-mate.com, immediately eliminate all dubious applications and browser plug-ins. Never return to this site.

Threat Summary:

Name	search-mate.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-mate.com is virtually identical to weknow.ac, sleepshadow.com, search.lavradoor.com, and dozens of other fake search engines. 

These sites typically offer improved search results and additional "useful features" (e.g., quick access to popular websites, weather forecasts, etc,), however, fake search engines are designed only to generate revenue for the developers and deliver no real value for regular users.

Claims to enhance the browsing experience are merely attempts to give the impression of legitimacy. Fake search engines cause unwanted redirects and gather sensitive information. Some are also designed to feed users with misleading results and intrusive ads (leading to dubious websites). Therefore, using fake search engines risks various system infections.

How did search-mate.com install on my computer?

As mentioned, search-mate.com is promoted using rogue downloaders/installers. This marketing method is called "bundling". Developers are aware that users often rush download/installation processes and skip steps.

Therefore, all information regarding modification of browser settings is hidden within "Custom/Advanced" options (or other sections) of the download/installation processes. By rushing and skipping steps, many users inadvertently grant set-ups permission to modify settings, thus exposing their systems to risk of various infections and compromising their privacy.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

The main reasons for computer infections are careless behavior and poor knowledge of these threats. Therefore, pay close attention when downloading/installing software and browsing the Internet. Select "Custom/Advanced" settings and closely analyze each window of the download/installation processes.

Opt-out of all additionally-included programs and decline offers to download/install them. We also advise you to avoid using third party downloaders/installers, since developers monetize them by promoting PUPs (the "bundling" method). Your programs should be downloaded from official sources only, using direct download links.

Intrusive advertisements typically seem legitimate, but once clicked, redirect to dubious websites (gambling, adult dating, pornography, and similar). Most are delivered by adware-type PUPs. If you encounter these advertisements, immediately remove all dubious applications and browser plug-ins. Caution is the key to computer safety.

If your computer is already infected with browser hijackers, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate them.

Website promoting a fake Adobe Flash Player updater that promotes search-mate.com:

IMPORTANT NOTE! Rogue setups and/or apps that promote the search-mate.com website are designed to create a new device profile. Therefore, before taking any further removal steps, perform these actions:
1) Click the "Preferences" icon in the menu bar and select "Profiles"

2) Select the "AdminPrefs" profile and delete it.

3) Perform a full system scan with Combo Cleaner anti-virus suite.

After performing these actions, you can proceed with further removal steps for this browser hijacker.

Instant automatic Mac malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of Mac malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ 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-mate.com?
• STEP 1. Remove search-mate.com related files and folders from OSX.
• STEP 2. Remove search-mate.com redirect from Safari.
• STEP 3. Remove search-mate.com browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove search-mate.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.

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

search-mate.com redirect removal:

Remove search-mate.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.

▼ Show Discussion