How to uninstall ExclusiveAction adware

What is ExclusiveAction?

There are many adware-type applications on the internet, including ExclusiveAction, which is part of the AdLoad adware family. It is designed to feed users with various advertisements. Research shows that ExclusiveAction also operates as a browser hijacker to promote the address of a fake search engine.

Furthermore, it might also gather various information. Typically, people download and install adware inadvertently. Therefore, apps of this type are categorized as potentially unwanted applications (PUAs). Note that ExclusiveAction is distributed through a fake Adobe Flash Player installer.

Typically, installed adware displays intrusive ads in the form of coupons, surveys, banners, pop-ups, and so on. It is not safe to click these ads, since they often open untrusted, potentially malicious pages or run scripts designed to cause download/installation of unwanted applications.

ExclusiveAction also promotes a fake search engine. Typically, fake search engines are promoted by changing browser settings (e.g. address of a default search engine, homepage, new tab). It is impossible to undo those changes unless the app that made them it uninstalled.

It is possible that ExclusiveAction will collect various user-system information. These apps gather browsing-related details including, for example, addresses of opened (visited) web pages, entered search queries, IP addresses, geolocations, etc, Some adware-type apps also record confidential information.

The data might be sold to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who would misuse it to generate revenue in other ways. As mentioned, ExclusiveAction is distributed through a fake Adobe Flash Player installer (updater). In most cases, these installers do not install or update the genuine Adobe Flash Player - they install PUAs.

In some cases, these installers are used to infect systems with ransomware, Trojans, or other malware. Therefore, never use fake Adobe Flash Players, since they might cause problems such as data/financial loss, serious privacy issues, and other problems.

Threat Summary:

Name	Ads by ExclusiveAction
Threat Type	Adware, Mac malware, Mac virus.
Detection Names	Avast (MacOS:Adload-AB [Trj]), BitDefender (Gen:Variant.Adware.MAC.Adload.5), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of OSX/Adware.Didnarbois.A), Kaspersky (Not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.OSX.Adload.g), Full List (VirusTotal)
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 browser 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. ▼ 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.

Some more examples of adware-type applications are AproditeSearch, AddUpgrade and NetDataSearch. People who develop adware often advertise these apps as tools that supposedly improve the browsing experience, deliver features or are useful in other ways, however, adware simply causes problems (unwanted downloads, installations, redirects to untrusted pages, etc.).

This particular app can lead to problems relating to browsing safety, online privacy or even identity theft. Therefore, ExclusiveAction and other adware should never be installed.

How did ExclusiveAction install on my computer?

ExclusiveAction and a number of other apps from the AdLoad family are distributed through a fake Adobe Flash Player installer, however, PUAs are also downloaded and installed when they are included into the set-ups of other programs (i.e., when they are included into the set-ups as "additional offers").

This distribution method is known as "bundling". Generally, offers to download or install additional apps (PUAs) can be found in settings such as "Custom", "Advanced", or "Manual". PUAs are also downloaded and installed when users attempt to acquire software without checking and changing settings that are included in the set-ups.

PUAs are also downloaded and installed through certain, deceptive ads. When clicked, these can execute scripts designed to cause unwanted downloads and installations.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

Software should not be downloaded or installed through third party downloaders, installers, Peer-to-Peer networks such as eMule, torrent clients (and other such tools), unofficial pages, and so on. These channels are often used to distribute unwanted, malicious applications.

The safest way to download files and programs is using official websites and direct download links. Check all download/installation "Custom", "Advanced", "Manual", and other similar settings and decline any offers to download or install unwanted software.

Do not click advertisements that appear on dubious web pages, since they often open untrusted sites or cause download/installation of unwanted apps. Remove any suspicious, unknown or unwanted extensions, plug-ins or add-ons installed on the browser immediately.

This should also be applied to software of this kind that is installed on the operating system. If your computer is already infected with ExclusiveAction, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate this adware.

Files related to AproditeSearch adware that need to be removed:

• ~/Library/Application Support/com.ExclusiveAction/ExclusiveAction
• ~/Library/Application Support/com.ExclusiveActionDaemon/ExclusiveAction
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.ExclusiveAction.plist
• ~/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.ExclusiveActionDaemon.plist

IMPORTANT NOTE! Rogue setups/apps that promote ExclusiveAction 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 "ExclusiveAction" 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 adware.

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 ExclusiveAction?
• STEP 1. Remove ExclusiveAction related files and folders from OSX.
• STEP 2. Remove ExclusiveAction ads from Safari.
• STEP 3. Remove ExclusiveAction adware from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove ExclusiveAction ads from Mozilla Firefox.

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

ExclusiveAction adware removal:

Remove ExclusiveAction-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 adware-related files and folders

Click the Finder icon, from the menu bar. Choose Go, and click Go to Folder...

Check for adware 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 adware - "installmac.AppRemoval.plist", "myppes.download.plist", "mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist", "kuklorest.update.plist", etc. Adware commonly installs several files with the exact same string.

Check for adware 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 adware 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 adware - "installmac.AppRemoval.plist", "myppes.download.plist", "mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist", "kuklorest.update.plist", etc. Adware commonly installs several files with the exact same string.

Check for adware 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 adware, continue to remove rogue extensions from your Internet browsers.

Remove malicious extensions from Internet browsers

Remove malicious Safari extensions:

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.

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Safari.

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

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".

• 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".

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Mozilla Firefox.

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