Find.coinup.org Redirect (Mac)

What is find.coinup.org?

find.coinup.org is a fake search engine that supposedly generates improved results and enhances the browsing experience. Judging on appearance, find.coinup.org may seem legitimate and useful, however, users typically arrive at this website inadvertently, since they are redirected by another fake search engine called weknow.ac. Note also that find.coinup.org is likely to record various user-information.

The process starts with infiltration of weknow.ac (a well-known browser hijacker that is commonly installed using fake Flash player updates). This website is promoted using deceptive free software downloaders/installers that modify browser options without users’ permission.

They hijack Safari, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome browsers and assign the new tab URL, default search engine, and homepage options to weknow.ac. After entering a search query into weknow.ac, users encounter redirects to other fake search engines, including find.coinup.org, opti-page.com, and alphashoppers.co. In this way, users encounter a chain redirect.

Ultimately, they end up searching via a fake web search engines that might generate results leading to malicious websites. These redirects significantly diminish the browsing experience and can also lead to various system infections. Furthermore, fake search engines are likely to gather user-information such as IP addresses, search queries, websites visited, etc.

The information might include personal details that are misused to generate revenue. This type of information tracking can lead to serious privacy issues or even identity theft. If you encounter redirects to find.coinup.org, immediately remove all dubious applications/browser plug-ins and ensure that web browser settings are not assigned to weknow.ac.

Threat Summary:

Name	find.coinup.org 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.

The internet is full of fake search engines, all of which are very similar. By offering improved results and (in some cases) other "useful features" (shortcuts to popular websites, weather forecasts, currency exchange rates, etc.), websites such as find.coinup.org attempt to give the impression of legitimacy, however, the only purpose of all fake search engines is to generate revenue for the developers.

These sites merely cause unwanted redirects and gather information, thereby posing a direct threat to your privacy and web browsing safety.

How did find.coinup.org install on my computer?

As mentioned above, weknow.ac is promoted using software download/installation set-ups. This deceptive marketing method is called "bundling". Developers know that users often rush download/installation processes and skip steps.

Therefore, they hide information regarding modification of browser options within "Custom/Advanced" settings or other sections of the download/installation processes. By rushing and skipping steps, users inadvertently grant set-ups permission to modify browser options, expose their systems to risk of various infections, and compromise their privacy.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Potentially unwanted applications are distributed using the "bundling" method and intrusive advertisements (which redirect to malicious sites and execute scripts designed to download/install rogue software). Therefore, to prevent this situation, be very cautious when browsing the internet and downloading/installing software.

Carefully analyze all steps of the download/installation processes and opt-out of additionally-included programs. You are advised to avoid using third party downloaders/installers, since they often promote ("bundle") rogue programs. Apps should be downloaded from official sources only, using direct download links.

Note that intrusive advertisements usually seem legitimate, but they can redirect to dubious websites, such as gambling, adult dating, pornography, and so on.

Most are delivered by adware-type apps. If you encounter dubious redirects, uninstall all suspicious applications and browser plug-ins. If your computer is already infected with browser hijackers, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate them.

Fake flash player installer promoting find.coinup.org browser hijacker:

Screenshot of the find.coinup.org web search engine (this could be a legitimate service, but at time of testing it was exploited by browser hijackers). It seems that developers of the weknow.ac decided to earn virtual coins by exploiting users whose systems become infected by 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 find.coinup.org?
• STEP 1. Remove find.coinup.org related files and folders from OSX.
• STEP 2. Remove find.coinup.org redirect from Safari.
• STEP 3. Remove find.coinup.org browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove find.coinup.org homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.

Video showing how to remove weknow.ac browser hijacker using Combo Cleaner:

find.coinup.org redirect removal:

Remove find.coinup.org-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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