How to uninstall ArchiveIdea adware

What is ArchiveIdea?

ArchiveIdea is a potentially unwanted application (PUA) classified as adware. This app generates revenue for its developers by feeding users with various advertisements. Research shows that ArchiveIdea is capable of accessing and recording sensitive information and also promotes the Safe Finder web search tool by opening it through akamaihd.net.

Note that people do not generally download or install adware (or other PUAs) intentionally.

When installed, adware-type applications such as ArchiveIdea serve coupons, banners, surveys, pop-ups and others. Commonly, these lead users to various untrusted web pages or cause download/installation of unwanted, potentially malicious programs.

Therefore, never trust these ads or click them. Furthermore, ArchiveIdea can access data such passwords, credit card details, telephone numbers and other sensitive information. Commonly, these apps target browsing data such as IP addresses, entered search queries, addresses of opened web pages, geolocations, etc.

Developers misuse recorded data to generate revenue by selling it to other parties. ArchiveIdea's developers also misuse collected information to hijack various accounts and fraudulent purchases and transactions, steal identities, spread spam campaigns, sell the data to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) and so on.

People who have this adware installed on their browsers and computers might become victims of identity theft, suffer financial loss, experience problems relating to browsing safety, privacy, and other issues. Therefore, remove ArchiveIdea and any adware that is already installed immediately.

Threat Summary:

Name	Ads by ArchiveIdea
Threat Type	Adware, Mac malware, Mac virus.
Detection Names	Avast (https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/2eee3eb1c0d70e56ee61bf866a6ec5b1af66c0c07c2f0944c7633d5ddc0c80f4/detection), AVG (MacOS:Adload-AB [Trj]), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of OSX/Adware.Synataeb.C), Kaspersky (Not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.OSX.Adload.g), Full List (VirusTotal)
Additional Information	This application belongs to the Adload malware family.
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 examples of other adware-type applications similar to ArchiveIdea are DynamicExtra, ArtemisSearch and TotalLetterSearch. Unfortunately, there are many more. Generally, they serve advertisements and track information. Most do not operate as the developers promise - they deliver no real features and simply cause problems.

How did ArchiveIdea install on my computer?

People often download and install adware and other PUAs inadvertently. They are downloaded and installed through deceptive advertisements that execute certain scripts, or together with other software that users wish to download willingly.

Commonly, unwanted downloads and installations happen when PUAs are included into the download/installation set-ups of various programs as 'additional offers'. These offers can be found in settings such as "Custom", "Advanced, and "Manual". Many people fail to check them and allow PUAs to be downloaded and installed with their regular software.

This distribution method of potentially unwanted apps is called "bundling".

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

You are advised to download programs from official websites and through direct links. Peer-to-Peer networks (e.g., torrent clients, eMule), third party downloaders, installers, unofficial pages should be avoided, since they are often used to trick people into downloading and installing unwanted, malicious programs.

Check download and installation set-ups for settings such as "Custom", "Advanced" and so on. Decline any offers to download or install unwanted apps. Do not click advertisements that appear on untrusted websites, since these can open potentially malicious web pages or cause download/installations of unwanted apps.

These are them main reasons why these ads cannot be trusted. Remove all unwanted, unknown and suspicious extensions, add-ons and plug-ins that are installed on the browser. The same should be applied to programs of this kind that are installed on the operating system.

If your computer is already infected with ArchiveIdea, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate this adware.

Screenshot of a rogue installer (unofficial activation/'cracking' tool) which installs ArchiveIdea:

Pop-up window displayed once ArchiveIdea installation is complete:

ArchiveIdea redirecting users to Safe Finder website via akamaihd.net:

ArchiveIdea adware installed on Safari:

ArchiveIdea installation folder:

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

Video showing how to remove ArchiveIdea adware using Combo Cleaner:

ArchiveIdea adware removal:

Remove ArchiveIdea-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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