Trovi.com Redirect (Mac)
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is trovi.com?
trovi.com is a dubious website promoted through potentially unwanted applications (PUAs) called hijackers. One of these hijackers is weknow.ac, which is bundled into the setup of a fake Flash Player installer (updater).
Browser hijackers are categorized as potentially unwanted apps (PUAs) that promote fake search engines or other web pages by modifying browser settings. Additionally, they operate as information tracking tools and gather data about users.
Most PUAs can be installed on browsers such as Google Chrome, Safari, and Mozilla Firefox. Once a browser hijacker is installed, it changes browser settings. In this case, weknow.ac assigns the default search engine, homepage, and new tab URL address to weknow.ac.
Therefore, this web page is opened in a browser, new tab, or when a search query is entered into the URL bar (as in the GIF image below). If used as a search engine, the site redirects users to trovi.com, which leads to bing.com (a legitimate search engine by Bing). These settings are impossible to undo until the browser hijacker is uninstalled.
We recommend that you uninstall it and avoid using dubious search engines in future, especially those that are redundant and provide results provided by other, legitimate search engines (in this case, Bing).
Most browser hijackers also gather data such as collect IP addresses, geolocations, URLs of visited websites, entered search queries, and other information relating to users' browsing habits.
Whoever developes the app, shares the recorded information with other third parties, possibly cyber criminals who misuse it to generate revenue. Therefore, do not use PUAs or have them installed on your system.
Name | trovi.com browser hijacker |
Threat Type | Fake web search engine, Browser hijacker, Mac malware, Mac virus |
Serving IP Address | 216.146.46.10 |
Symptoms | Your Mac becomes slower than normal, you see unwanted pop-up ads, you are redirected to dubious 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), display of unwanted ads, redirects to dubious 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. |
Other examples of dubious, fake search engines are search.bunnybarny.com, search.pogypog.com, and search.yadbazelet.com.
These search engines are useless and people who use them (and have browser hijackers installed) often experience problems relating to browsing safety, online privacy, and so on. Typically, these search engines, and apps that promote them, are designed only to generate revenue for the developers and deliver no real value for regular users.
How did trovi.com install on my computer?
Most people download and install browser hijackers and other PUAs unintentionally. These downloads/installations happen when they click intrusive ads. If clicked, many deceptive ads run scripts designed to download and install unwanted apps.
In other cases, users cause these unwanted downloads/installs when they download and install software (usually freeware) without paying attention to the setup details. To trick people into download/installation of PUAs, developers often use the "bundling" method. They bundle PUAs into set-ups of other regular software.
This information is usually hidden in setup options such as "Custom", "Advanced" and other similar sections. By leaving these settings unchanged, people grant permission for PUAs to be downloaded and installed with regular programs.
How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?
Download software from official and trustworthy websites (sources). Other sources such as third party software downloaders, torrent clients, eMule (other Peer-to-Peer networks), unofficial pages etc., cannot be trusted. Be patient during download and installation of software and analyze each setup step.
Check all available "Custom", "Advanced", and other similar sections and dismiss offers to download/install PUAs. Do not click intrusive ads, especially when displayed on dubious sites. They often redirect users to potentially malicious pages.
If the browser causes these redirects or displays unwanted, deceptive ads, check for unwanted extensions, plug-ins, and add-ons installed on the default browser. Remove all unwanted, unknown browser apps immediately. Additionally, uninstall all suspicious, unwanted programs from the operating system.
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 weknow.ac:
Appearance of redirect caused through trovi.com to bing.com (GIF):
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 trovi.com?
- STEP 1. Remove trovi.com related files and folders from OSX.
- STEP 2. Remove trovi.com redirect from Safari.
- STEP 3. Remove trovi.com browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
- STEP 4. Remove trovi.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
Video showing how to remove browser redirects to trovi.com using Combo Cleaner:
trovi.com redirect removal:
Remove trovi.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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