How to uninstall GlobalDeskSearch adware from the operating system

What is GlobalDeskSearch?

GlobalDeskSearch is an adware-type application, which shares common characteristics with browser hijackers. It operates by delivering intrusive ad campaigns, modifying browsers and promoting bogus search engines. Additionally, most adware and browser hijackers monitor users' browsing activity.

GlobalDeskSearch is often proliferated using fake Adobe Flash Player updates and, due to these dubious distribution methods, is also categorized as a Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA). Bogus software updaters/installers are also used to proliferate Trojans, ransomware and other malware.

Adware enables the placement of third party graphical content on any visited website. The delivered intrusive advertisements can be pop-ups, banners, coupons, surveys, and so on. They significantly diminish the browsing experience, as they overlay web pages and reduce browsing speed.

When clicked, intrusive ads redirect to untrusted/rogue, compromised, deceptive/scam and malicious sites. Clicking them can even trigger the ads to execute scripts, which then download/install rogue software (e.g. PUAs) without users' consent.

Browser hijackers modify browsers by assigning the addresses of fake search engines as the homepage, default search engine and new tab/window URLs. Therefore, each search made via the URL bar and each new browser tab/window opened redirects to the promoted address.

Rogue search engines usually cannot generate unique results, and so they tend to redirect to (or cause redirection chains ending with) Google, Bing, Yahoo and other genuine sites. Furthermore, any changes users attempt to make to their browsers are automatically reset, if access to the settings is permitted at all.

Therefore, to recover an affected browser, it is necessary to remove the browser hijacker. As mentioned, it is highly likely that GlobalDeskSearch has data tracking capabilities. Adware and browser hijackers monitor browsing activity (URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries typed, etc.) and gather personal information (IP addresses, geolocations and other details).

The collected data is typically shared with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) intent on misusing it for profit. In summary, the presence of these unwanted apps on systems can lead to system infiltration and infections, financial loss, serious privacy issues and even identity theft.

To protect device health and user safety, remove all suspect applications and browser extensions/plug-ins without delay.

Threat Summary:

Name	Ads by GlobalDeskSearch
Threat Type	Adware, Mac malware, Mac virus.
Detection Names	Avast (MacOS:Adload-AD [Trj]), BitDefender (Gen:Variant.Adware.MAC.AdLoad.1), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of OSX/TrojanDownloader.Adload.AE), Kaspersky (Not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.OSX.Cimpli.k), 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.

UniversalWebSearch, TaskProduct, and AristotleLookup are some examples of other rogue apps classified as adware. They may seem legitimate and normal, tempting users into download/installation with offers of various functions, however, these features rarely work as promised and, in most cases, do not work at all.

In fact, this applies to most unwanted applications. The only purpose of these apps is to generate revenue for the developers. They have no real value to regular users and can instead cause serious problems. PUAs run intrusive ad campaigns, hijack browsers, force-open untrusted/malicious websites and gather sensitive data.

How did GlobalDeskSearch install on my computer?

PUAs are commonly downloaded/installed with other software inadvertently. "Bundling" is the term used to describe this deceptive marketing tactic of pre-packing normal products with unwanted or malicious additions.

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

Intrusive advertisements can infiltrate such applications into systems as well. Once clicked, they can execute scripts to stealthily download/install PUAs.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

You are advised to research all software to verify its legitimacy before download/installation or purchase. All downloads should be performed only from official and verified sources. Avoid untrusted download channels such as unofficial and free file-hosting sites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks and other third party downloaders.

Treat download and installation processes with caution. Read the terms, explore all available options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and opt-out of additional apps, tools, features and so on. Intrusive ads may seem legitimate, however, they can redirect to dubious websites (e.g. gambling, pornography, adult-dating and others).

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

Files related to GlobalDeskSearch adware that need to be removed:

• ~/Library/Application Support/com.GlobalDeskSearch/GlobalDeskSearch
• ~/Library/Application Support/com.GlobalDeskSearchDaemon/GlobalDeskSearch
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.GlobalDeskSearch.plist
• ~/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.GlobalDeskSearchDaemon.plist

IMPORTANT NOTE! Rogue setups/apps that promote GlobalDeskSearch adware 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 "GlobalDeskSearch" 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 GlobalDeskSearch?
• STEP 1. Remove GlobalDeskSearch related files and folders from OSX.
• STEP 2. Remove GlobalDeskSearch ads from Safari.
• STEP 3. Remove GlobalDeskSearch adware from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove GlobalDeskSearch ads from Mozilla Firefox.

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

GlobalDeskSearch adware removal:

Remove GlobalDeskSearch-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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