How to uninstall VirtualDeskSearch adware from the operating system

What is VirtualDeskSearch?

VirtualDeskSearch is an adware-type application with browser hijacker traits. Following successful installation, this app runs intrusive advertisement campaigns and modifies browser settings to promote bogus search engines. Most adware infections and browser hijackers gather browsing-related data, and it is highly likely that VirtualDeskSearch does so as well.

Since most users download/install VirtualDeskSearch inadvertently, it is classified as a Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA). One dubious technique used to distribute this application is through fake Adobe Flash Player updates. Note that bogus software updaters/installers also proliferate malware (e.g. trojans, ransomware, etc.).

Adware delivers pop-ups, banners, coupons, surveys and other intrusive advertisements. These significantly diminish the browsing experience, as they overlay page content and reduce browsing speed. When clicked, intrusive ads redirect to various untrusted/rogue, deceptive/scam, compromised and malicious websites.

Some of the advertisements can be triggered (when clicked) to execute scripts designed to stealthily download/install rogue software (e.g. PUAs). Browser hijackers reassign the homepage, default search engine and new tab/window URLs to the addresses of bogus search engines.

Therefore, with this software installed, new browser tabs/windows opened and each search queries typed into the URL bar redirect to the promoted address. Fake search engines are usually unable to generate unique results, and so they redirect to (or cause redirection chains ending with) Yahoo, Google, Bing and other legitimate sites.

Recovering a hijacked browser is impossible without first removing the software affecting it, since any changes users attempt to make to their browsers are automatically reset, if access to the browser's settings is permitted at all. Most PUAs (adware and browser hijackers included) have data tracking capabilities.

They can monitor browsing activity (URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries, etc.) and gather sensitive information derived from it (IP addresses, geolocations and other details). The collected data typically contains personally identifiable information, which is often monetized by PUA developers through sharing with and/or selling to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals).

To summarize, the presence of unwanted apps on devices can lead to system infections, financial loss, serious privacy issues and even identity theft. To ensure device integrity and user safety, you are strongly advised to eliminate all suspicious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins without delay.

Threat Summary:

Name	Ads by VirtualDeskSearch
Threat Type	Adware, Mac malware, Mac virus.
Detection Names	Avast (MacOS:Adload-AD [Trj]), BitDefender (Gen:Variant.Adware.MAC.Rload.5), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of OSX/TrojanDownloader.Adload.), 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.

LookWebResults, SearchMainInfo, and SkilledControl are some examples of other adware-type apps. They may seem legitimate and harmless, and users are often enticed into download/installation with a wide variety of "useful" functionalities. Despite how good these features may sound, they are rarely operational.

This is true of most PUAs. The only purpose of these unwanted applications is to generate revenue for the developers. Regular users receive no real value and instead experience serious issues. PUAs run intrusive ad campaigns, modify browsers, cause unwanted redirects and collect private data.

How did VirtualDeskSearch install on my computer?

PUAs can be downloaded/installed together with other products. This deceptive marketing technique of pre-packing regular software with unwanted or malicious additions is called "bundling".

By rushing through download/installation processes (e.g. ignoring terms, skipping steps and sections, etc.), many users risk unintentionally allowing dubious and/or bundled content onto their devices. Certain PUAs have "official" promotional web pages from which they can be downloaded.

Intrusive ads proliferate these applications as well. Once clicked, they can execute scripts to download/install PUAs without users' consent.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

You are advised to research all software before download/installation. All downloads must be done from official and verified sources. Untrusted channels such as unofficial and free file-hosting sites, P2P sharing networks (BitTorrent, eMule, Gnutella, etc.) and other third party downloaders commonly offer deceptive and/or bundled content.

When downloading/installing, read the terms, explore all available options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and opt-out of additional apps, tools, features, and so on. Intrusive advertisements may seem normal and harmless, however, they can redirect to highly dubious websites (e.g. gambling, pornography, adult-dating, etc.).

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

Files related to VirtualDeskSearch adware that need to be removed:

• ~/Library/Application Support/com.VirtualDeskSearch/VirtualDeskSearch
• ~/Library/Application Support/com.VirtualDeskSearchDaemon/VirtualDeskSearch
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.VirtualDeskSearch.plist
• ~/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.VirtualDeskSearchDaemon.plist

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

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

VirtualDeskSearch adware removal:

Remove VirtualDeskSearch-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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