How to remove search alpha adware form mac

I saw search alpha when searched on my browsers. I ran antivirus software (Bitdefender and Total AV) and removed suspicious files. Now when I search on my browsers the search automatically redirects to Bing instead of Google as it did in the past.


I am now following Removing "Search Marquis" / "Search Baron… - Apple Community and I am attaching screenshots of the folders mentioned in that thread.

Posted on Oct 13, 2023 10:28 AM

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8 replies

Oct 13, 2023 2:09 PM in response to pink_sharky

None of those files belong in those locations. Restart your Mac in "Safe Mode" Use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support, and drag them to the Trash while in that mode.


Then, restart your Mac normally and uninstall "Bitdefender" and "TotalAV". Both of them are garbage products that should never be installed on any Mac.


Then, reset each browser's Search Engine to reflect your desired preferences. For Safari, refer to Change Search settings in Safari on Mac - Apple Support.

Oct 14, 2023 9:24 AM in response to pink_sharky

"Bitdefender" is still present. Did you uninstall it according to its instructions? If you did, whatever uninstallation procedure it uses left active components behind. They need to be removed while using that Mac in "Safe Mode".


While in "Safe Mode", remove the following as well:


com.cheesepoofs.plist
net.protected.macos.AVHelper.plist


... and unless you have a good reason for using it, consider deleting the Pharos file:


https://community.pharos.com/s/article/Macintosh-Updates-For-Uniprint


The same general idea applies to "Express VPN". If you know what a VPN does and what it's for that's perfectly ok. Lots of people don't really understand what they do though, and are misled into believing they convey some kind of benefit that they don't. It is not related to the problem at hand. Just something to think about.

Question marked as Helpful

Oct 14, 2023 1:50 PM in response to pink_sharky

Download and run Etrecheck. Be sure to give it Full Disk access before running.



Copy and paste the results into your reply. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support  to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.


Copy the report


and use the Additional Text button to paste the report in your reply.



Then we can evaluate the report to see if we can determine the cause of the problem.


Oct 15, 2023 9:43 AM in response to pink_sharky

First, there is no reason to ever install or run any 3rd party "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus, VPN or security apps on your Mac.  This documents describe what you need to know and do in order to protect your Mac: Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community and Recognize and avoid phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support.  


There are no known viruses, i.e. self propagating, for Macs.  There are, however, adware and malware which require the user to install although unwittingly most of the time thru sneaky links, etc.   


Anti Virus developers try to group all types as viruses into their ad campaigns of fear.  They do a poor job of the detecting and isolating the adware and malware.  Since there are no viruses these apps use up a lot of system resources searching for what is non-existent and adversely affect system and app performance.


There is one app, Malwarebytes, which was developed by a long time contributor to these forums and a highly respected member of the computer security community, that is designed solely to seek out adware and known malware and remove it.  The free version is more than adequate for most users.  


Unless you're using a true VPN tunnel, such as between you and your employer's, school's or bank's servers, they provide false security from a privacy standpoint.  Read these two articles: Public VPN's are anything but private and Former Malware Distributor Kape Technologies Now Owns a Number of Public VPNs and a Collection of VPN “Review” Websites.  


That being said you should uninstall TotalAV and ProtonVPN according to the developer's instructions. You should also uninstall Bitdefender is you have any of tis anti-virus components installed.


Also clean out the dead wood listened under "Clean Up" in the report.


How to remove search alpha adware form mac

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