How to remove advertisements delivered by ActiveMulti adware

What is ActiveMulti?

ActiveMulti is a rogue application with browser hijacker characteristics and classified as adware. It operates by delivering intrusive advertisements, altering browser settings and promoting fake search engines. This app promotes Safe Finder via the akamaihd.net website.

Additionally, most adware and browser hijackers have data tracking capabilities, which are employed to monitor users' browsing habits. Since most users download/install ActiveMulti intentionally, it is also classified as a Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA).

ActiveMulti adware delivers pop-ups, banners, coupons, surveys and other intrusive ads. These reduce browsing speed and limit website visibility, significantly diminishing the browsing experience. When clicked, the ads redirect to various untrusted and malicious web pages, and some can even execute scripts to stealthily download/install rogue software (e.g. PUAs).

Browser hijackers, with which ActiveMulti shares characteristics, operate by reassigning the homepage, default search engine and new tab/window URLs to the addresses of bogus search engines. Therefore, each new browser tab/window opened and each search query typed into the URL bar redirects to a fake search engine.

In the case of ActiveMulti, these actions redirect to akamaihd.net, which then redirects to Safe Finder. As few illegitimate web search engine can actually generate unique results, they simply redirect to genuine sites (Safe Finder redirects to search.yahoo.com).

It is highly likely that ActiveMulti can also track data, since most PUAs have such capabilities. Unwanted apps typically monitor browsing activity (URLs visited, web pages viewed, search queries typed, etc.) and collect personal information (IP addresses, geolocations and other details).

The gathered data is commonly shared with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) seeking to misuse it for profit. To summarize, the presence of PUAs such as ActiveMulti on computers can cause system infiltration and infections, lead to financial loss, serious privacy issues and even identity theft.

Therefore, to ensure device and user safety, it is crucial to remove all suspicious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins immediately upon detection.

Threat Summary:

Name	Ads by ActiveMulti
Threat Type	Adware, Mac malware, Mac virus.
Detection Names	Avast (MacOS:Adload-AB [Trj]), Sophos AV (Adloadr (PUA)), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of OSX/Adware.Synataeb.D), 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.

DisplayAdvice, MainPanelSearch and SelectionDaily are some examples of other adware infections. Software of this type may seem normal and useful, however, the features are usually nonoperational. This extends to most PUAs. These unwanted applications have just one goal: to generate revenue for the developers.

They are useless to regular users and cause serious problems. PUAs run intrusive ad campaigns, modify browsers, redirect to untrusted/malicious websites and collect private data.

How did ActiveMulti install on my computer?

PUAs proliferate through the download/installation set-ups of other products. "Bundling" is a term used to define this deceptive marketing tactic of packing regular software with unwanted or malicious additions.

Rushing download/installation processes (e.g. ignoring terms, using pre-set options, skipping steps and sections, etc.) increases the risk of unintentionally allowing bundled content onto systems. Some PUAs have "official" promotional pages, from which they can be downloaded.

Intrusive ads spread these applications as well. When clicked, they can execute scripts to stealthily download/install PUAs.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

All products should be researched prior to download/installation or purchase. Use only official and verified download channels. Unofficial and free file-hosting sites, P2P sharing networks (BitTorrent, eMule, Gnutella, etc.) and other third party downloaders are untrusted and should be avoided.

When downloading/installing, you are advised to read the terms, explore all available options, use "Custom" or "Advanced" settings to opt-out of additional apps, tools, features, etc. Intrusive advertisements often seem legitimate and harmless, however, they can redirect to various dubious websites (e.g. pornography, adult-dating, gambling and others).

If you encounter these ads/redirects, inspect the system and immediately eliminate all suspect applications and browser extensions/plug-ins. If your computer is already infected with ActiveMulti, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate this adware.

Pop-up window displayed once ActiveMulti installation is complete:

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

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

Video showing how to remove ActiveMulti adware using Combo Cleaner:

ActiveMulti adware removal:

Remove ActiveMulti-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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