jakemullin
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: How do I get rid of AdChoices on Safari?

I have noticed that a program called "AdChoices" has been collecting my personal browsing data and displaying a huge amount of ads that are 'relevant' to me. I never installed this program; I do not trust it, and I do not want it on my computer. Does anyone know how to remove it?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, iOS 6.1.4

Posted on Aug 9, 2013 3:32 PM

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jakemullin

Q: How do I get rid of AdChoices on Safari?

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  • by fimcm,

    fimcm fimcm Apr 10, 2014 4:21 AM in response to dallegri
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 10, 2014 4:21 AM in response to dallegri

    Hi there, I am wondering if you can break your advice on this issue down into simpler steps.

     

    I am having the identical issue to the screen shots demonstrated above


    I can find the 'inspect elements' prompt, and the higlighted line within that info reads the following:
    <span class="umhl04" id="umhl04_3">Performers</span>


    .... and then I have no idea what to do

     

    My laptop is still brand new and this is doing my head in so a full reset may be the best plan.


    Thoughts? Thanks for your help.

  • by thomas_r.,

    thomas_r. thomas_r. Apr 10, 2014 5:27 AM in response to fimcm
    Level 7 (30,929 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 10, 2014 5:27 AM in response to fimcm

    The post you have responded to contains bad advice. Inspecting the raw HTML code of a page will not help you, and neither will editing the hosts file, which you really shouldn't be messing with.

     

    Instead, see some of the other advice that has been posted, such as my advice to see my Adware Removal Guide.

  • by willp0wer,

    willp0wer willp0wer Apr 15, 2014 8:10 AM in response to thomas_r.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 15, 2014 8:10 AM in response to thomas_r.

    Removing the /Library/Application Support/VSearch folder solved the problem for me.

     

    But I trashed the following remnant files just to be thorough:

         /Library/LaunchAgents/com.vsearch.agent.plist

         /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.vsearch.daemon.plist

         /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.vsearch.helper.plist

         /System/Library/Frameworks/VSearch.framework

     

    (The 'Jack' files referenced in the article were not found.)

     

    Hope this works for everyone else!

  • by thomas_r.,

    thomas_r. thomas_r. Apr 15, 2014 8:14 AM in response to willp0wer
    Level 7 (30,929 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 15, 2014 8:14 AM in response to willp0wer

    But I trashed the following remnant files just to be thorough:

     

    Yes, you need to do that in order to be truly rid of the thing. You might be able to cure the visible symptoms by just removing that one VSearch folder, but you would be leaving some components still active behind the scenes.

     

    (The 'Jack' files referenced in the article were not found.)

     

    Not all variants of this adware include those "Jack" files, so that's not unexpected.

  • by mabuck,

    mabuck mabuck May 9, 2014 11:24 AM in response to thomas_r.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 9, 2014 11:24 AM in response to thomas_r.

    Brilliant Thomas R.  That thing was driving me nuts. Thanks a mil

  • by Amaze 2010,

    Amaze 2010 Amaze 2010 May 14, 2014 4:10 AM in response to willp0wer
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 14, 2014 4:10 AM in response to willp0wer

    This worked thank you thank you that was doing my head in!

  • by joansorolla,

    joansorolla joansorolla May 15, 2014 7:54 AM in response to willp0wer
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 15, 2014 7:54 AM in response to willp0wer

    This worked fine for me too. Thanks!

  • by Larnie000,

    Larnie000 Larnie000 Oct 14, 2014 11:22 PM in response to thomas_r.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 14, 2014 11:22 PM in response to thomas_r.

    I get the ads but i don't have the vsearch folder, it doesn't come up

  • by rtpftguy,

    rtpftguy rtpftguy Dec 4, 2014 10:15 PM in response to thomas_r.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 4, 2014 10:15 PM in response to thomas_r.

    I have AdChoices ads, but do not have any of the VSearch files in the Library or System folders.  I'm using Safari Yosemite 10.10.1 on a MacBook Pro.  Any suggestions?

  • by stevejobsfan0123,

    stevejobsfan0123 stevejobsfan0123 Dec 4, 2014 10:27 PM in response to rtpftguy
    Level 8 (43,889 points)
    iPhone
    Dec 4, 2014 10:27 PM in response to rtpftguy

    You may have installed some other kind of adware. Run AdwareMedic - http://adwaremedic.com/index.php. It's also developed by Thomas R.

  • by rtpftguy,

    rtpftguy rtpftguy Dec 5, 2014 8:52 AM in response to stevejobsfan0123
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 5, 2014 8:52 AM in response to stevejobsfan0123

    Adware Medic did not work, either.  But AdBlock Plus did.  http://adblockplus.org

  • by thomas_r.,

    thomas_r. thomas_r. Dec 6, 2014 5:12 AM in response to rtpftguy
    Level 7 (30,929 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 6, 2014 5:12 AM in response to rtpftguy

    rtpftguy wrote:

     

    Adware Medic did not work, either.  But AdBlock Plus did.  http://adblockplus.org

     

    Programs like AdBlock Plus typically don't work so well against adware... so, I'm guessing that, since AdwareMedic didn't find anything and AdBlock Plus solved the problem, you were just seeing ads that were normal for the site(s) being visited.

     

    However, if you were seeing ads on sites where they should not exist (like Apple's site), then you may still have a problem that AdBlock Plus is just covering up. One strong possibility would be a compromised network of some kind. If you think this may be the problem in your case, I'd strongly recommend looking at the FAQ in the AdwareMedic help for some additional steps to take to solve these kinds of problems.

  • by LindsyRay,

    LindsyRay LindsyRay Feb 11, 2015 2:38 AM in response to thomas_r.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 11, 2015 2:38 AM in response to thomas_r.

    Hi there.

    I am currently dealing with the "AdChoices" and I can only assume I got it from downloading an album. My MacBook pro

    I bought from the Apple Store about 2 and a half weeks ago and was debating wheather or not I should try and take it back to exchange it. I have used AdwareMedic and Avast Mac Security along with Calmxav. The only one that said it detected anything was Calmxav and it said it was phishing. I just want this fixed, hopefully you or someone can help me out. Also the only time I see this ad is on yahoo.image.jpg

  • by thomas_r.,

    thomas_r. thomas_r. Feb 11, 2015 4:29 AM in response to LindsyRay
    Level 7 (30,929 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 11, 2015 4:29 AM in response to LindsyRay

    Be aware that AdChoices ads are perfectly normal on many sites. Keep in mind that a large portion of the web runs on advertising revenue, just as newspapers, magazines and network TV run on advertising. You say that it only shows up on Yahoo... that's normal. I see the same ad on Yahoo right now:

     

    Screen Shot 2015-02-11 at 7.27.37 AM.png

  • by Simod,

    Simod Simod Mar 19, 2015 1:19 PM in response to thomas_r.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 19, 2015 1:19 PM in response to thomas_r.

    Sorry but you are wrong. All you are pointing out is that you are infected with AdChoices as well.

     

    The adware actually hijacks other peoples websites and injects adverts into them without paying the owners of the site. The injection happens at the browser level, it intentionally hides and the owners of the adware do not give instructions on how to remove it.

     

    I've had to remove it from a few machines now, and they keep changing it to prevent you. It's very annoying and I'm surprised Apple put up with this.

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