How to remove TechGrid adware from the system?

What is TechGrid adware?

TechGrid is the name of advertising-supported software that has the qualities of a browser hijacker. More precisely, TechGrid displays unwanted advertisements and promotes a fake search engine by changing a web browser's settings. In most cases, users download and install apps like TechGrid unintentionally.

TechGrid adware in detail

Adware-type applications like TechGrid display advertisements (banners, coupons, surveys, pop-up ads, etc.) within a web browser. More often than not, those advertisements are designed to promote untrustworthy websites (for example, download pages for untrustworthy applications, scams designed to extract personal information).

In some cases, ads displayed by apps like TechGrid are designed to cause unexpected downloads, installations by running certain scripts. A couple of examples of websites that those ads might open are "Your System Is Infected With 3 Viruses", "Receive iPhone 12", and "MacOS Security". Thus, it is not safe to click on ads generated by apps like TechGrid.

Furthermore, TechGrid (and lots of other similar apps) hijacks affected browsers by changing their settings such as address of a default search engine, homepage, and new tab. It replaces the aforementioned addresses with an address of a fake search engine. Also, TechGrid does not allow to undo those changes.

Fake search engines can show results generated by legitimate search engines (like Google), and generate misleading results (promote shady pages). Also, they can show results generated by other dubious search engines. Thus, they cannot be trusted. A step-by-step guide explaining how to remove fake search engines is provided below.

Additionally, TechGrid may be designed to collect IP addresses, entered search queries, visited websites, passwords, credit card details, or other information that could be sold to third parties, misused to steal identities, hijack online accounts, make unauthorized purchases, or for other malicious purposes.

Threat Summary:

Name	Ads by TechGrid
Threat Type	Adware, Mac malware, Mac virus
Detection Names	Avast (MacOS:Adload-AG [Adw]), Combo Cleaner (Adware.MAC.Generic.23692), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of OSX/Adware.Synataeb.F), Kaspersky (Not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.OSX.Adload.j), Full List (VirusTotal)
Additional Information	This application belongs to 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.

Adware in general

Applications like TechGrid generate advertisements, collect information, and (or) promote fake search engines. Their main and only purpose is to generate revenue for their developers. More examples of applications like TechGrid are UnitCache, SkilledUnit, and MicroLauncher. Most of them are pretty similar.

How did TechGrid install on my computer?

A popular method to distribute potentially unwanted applications is to bundle them with other programs. As a rule, PUAs can are included in downloaders, installers for free programs as optional offers. Users download or install them when they do not change "Advanced", "Custom" or other settings or leave certain checkboxes ticked.

Another (less popular) method to distribute unwanted apps is to design deceptive advertisements to execute certain scripts. Users trigger unexpected downloads or installations by clicking those advertisements. It is worth mentioning that those advertisements do not appear on legitimate sites.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Programs and files should be downloaded from legitimate, official pages and via direct links. It is not recommended to download (or install) them through/from third-party downloaders (or installers) Peer-to-Peer networks like torrent clients, eMule, unofficial websites, and other sources of this kind.

Downloaders and installers with settings like "Custom", "Advanced" (or ticked checkboxes) should be examined. Usually, the aforementioned settings can be used to deselect potentially unwanted applications (most PUAs are distributed together with free programs).

Advertisements displayed on untrustworthy websites (for example, on pages related to pornography, gambling, adult dating) should not be clicked. By clicking those ads, users open untrustworthy, potentially malicious websites or download, install unwanted software.

Unwanted, suspicious apps (extensions, plug-ins, or add-ons) installed on a web browser and programs of this kind installed on a computer should be removed. If your computer is already infected with TechGrid, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate this adware.

Pop-up that appears after the installation:

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

Video showing how to remove TechGrid adware using Combo Cleaner:

TechGrid adware removal:

Remove TechGrid-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.

▼ Show Discussion