Search-me.club Redirect (Mac)

What is search-me.club?

Many fake search engines are promoted to make them seem legitimate. For example, developers present search-me.club as a useful search engine that offers an enhanced browsing experience, however, it is promoted using rogue download/installation set-ups that modify browser settings. Furthermore, search-me.club gathers various browsing-related (and other) data.

search-me.club is promoted using a fake Flash Player installer, however, other rogue download/installation set-ups are also used. Generally, these set-ups target browsers such as Safari, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox, assigning search-me.club as the new tab URL, homepage, and default search engine.

Although these changes may seem insignificant, they cannot be undone. Users are forced to visit search-me.club when they open browsers or new tabs. Furthermore, set-ups install "helper objects". These apps prevent users from undoing the settings - they reassign them when attempts are made to revert any settings.

These modifications can significantly diminish the overall browsing experience. Furthermore, "helper objects" and search-me.club gather data (mostly IP addresses, search queries, URLs of visited websites, geo-locations, and so on), however, they might also collect personal details.

The information is shared with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who misuse it to generate revenue. Therefore, using the search-me.club fake search engine or having "helper objects" installed can lead to problems relating to privacy, browsing security, or even cause identity theft.

Threat Summary:

Name	search-me.club 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.

There are many fake search engines that are very similar or even identical to search-me.club. Some examples are weknow.ac, mysearchency.com, and search.porterice.com. Typically, developers offer 'useful' tools or functions, however, these claims are merely attempts to give the impression of legitimacy.

Fake search engines generate revenue for the developers and deliver no real value for regular users. Some give misleading results and feed users with various intrusive ads, both of which can lead to dubious websites. You are advised to avoid using these search engines and uninstall unwanted apps.

How did search-me.club install on my computer?

search-me.club fake search engine is promoted using rogue downloaders/installers and a deceptive marketing method called "bundling". Software developers are aware that many users often rush download/installation processes and skip steps.

Therefore, all details regarding browser modifications are hidden within "Custom/Advanced" settings (or other parts) of the download/installation processes. By skipping download or installation steps, users often grant set-ups permission to modify browser settings.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Use official and trustworthy sources when downloading software, and avoid third party downloaders/installers, torrent clients, and so on. Do not skip software download and installation steps, and check all "Custom", "Advanced" and other parts of these processes. Deselect offers to download or install unwanted apps or to make changes to browsers.

Only then finish the process. Avoid clicking intrusive ads, especially when visiting dubious websites. If you often encounter ads that redirect you to untrustworthy websites (such as gambling, pornography, adult dating, and so on), check for suspicious extensions, plug-ins, and add-ons installed on your browser, and programs on your computer.

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

Deceptive application installer promoting search-me.club:

Website promoting fake Adobe Flash Player installer that promotes search-me.club:

IMPORTANT NOTE! Rogue setups/apps that promote the search-me.club 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-me.club?
• STEP 1. Remove search-me.club related files and folders from OSX.
• STEP 2. Remove search-me.club redirect from Safari.
• STEP 3. Remove search-me.club browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove search-me.club homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.

Video showing how to remove browser redirects to search-me.club using Combo Cleaner:

search-me.club redirect removal:

Remove search-me.club-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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