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uninstall a virus called smart search

I accidentally installed a virus called smart search and it has taken over my safari browser and suggest other sites with viruses. I have looked and done a bit of research but there isn't really a solution and i was just wondering if i could get any help. Wouldn't like to loose any money on the virus please help soon.

iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2010), OS X Yosemite (10.10.1)

Posted on Dec 30, 2014 5:52 PM

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Posted on Jan 3, 2017 11:32 AM

Hi all! I realize this is a bit of an old thread. I'm always late to the party but this seems to be the easiest and fastest way to defeat this problem.


This just happened to me when I updated my old program Vuze, that apparently included a Yahoo extension called SmartSearch and I was led to this thread. I ended up not trying AdwareMedic like some others and was rummaging through Preferences and figured it out myself.


I simply went to Safari: Preferences >> Extensions and uninstalled the extension called SmartSearch


Worked like a charm. No more Yahoo search redirects. I restarted Safari but not sure if that is necessary.

NOTE: I just did this today and have not had any more redirect issues for a couple hours. If problem pops back up, I will edit this post with any other issues that may present themselves.

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Question marked as Best reply

Jan 3, 2017 11:32 AM in response to hughey17hugh

Hi all! I realize this is a bit of an old thread. I'm always late to the party but this seems to be the easiest and fastest way to defeat this problem.


This just happened to me when I updated my old program Vuze, that apparently included a Yahoo extension called SmartSearch and I was led to this thread. I ended up not trying AdwareMedic like some others and was rummaging through Preferences and figured it out myself.


I simply went to Safari: Preferences >> Extensions and uninstalled the extension called SmartSearch


Worked like a charm. No more Yahoo search redirects. I restarted Safari but not sure if that is necessary.

NOTE: I just did this today and have not had any more redirect issues for a couple hours. If problem pops back up, I will edit this post with any other issues that may present themselves.

Dec 30, 2014 6:05 PM in response to hughey17hugh

1. Use free AdwareMedic by clicking “Download ” from here


http://www.adwaremedic.com/index.php


Install , open, and run it by clicking “Scan for Adware” button to remove adware.

Once done, quit AdwareMedic by clicking AdwareMedic in the menu bar and selecting

“Quit AdwareMedic”.


or


Remove the adware manually by following the “HowTo” from Apple.

http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203987



2. Safari > Preferences > Extensions

Turn those off and relaunch Safari to test .

Turn those on one by one and test.


3. Safari > Preferences > Search > Search Engine :

Select your preferred search engine.

Dec 30, 2014 7:31 PM in response to hughey17hugh

There is no need to download anything to solve this problem.

You may have installed one of the common types of ad-injection malware. Follow the instructions on this Apple Support page to remove it. It's been reported that some variants of the "VSearch" malware block access to the page. If that happens, start in safe mode by holding down the shift key at the startup chime, then try again.

Back up all data before making any changes.

One of the steps in the article is to remove malicious Safari extensions. Do the equivalent in the Chrome and Firefox browsers, if you use either of those. If Safari crashes on launch, skip that step and come back to it after you've done everything else.

If you don't find any of the files or extensions listed, or if removing them doesn't stop the ad injection, ask for further instructions.

Make sure you don't repeat the mistake that led you to install the malware. It may have come from an Internet cesspit such as "Softonic" or "CNET Download." Never visit either of those sites again. You might also have downloaded it from an ad in a page on some other site. The ad would probably have included a large green button labeled "Download" or "Download Now" in white letters. The button is designed to confuse people who intend to download something else on the same page. If you ever download a file that isn't obviously what you expected, delete it immediately.

Malware is also found on websites that traffic in pirated content such as video. If you, or anyone else who uses the computer, visit such sites and follow prompts to install software, you can expect more of the same, and worse, to follow. Never install any software that you downloaded from a bittorrent, or that was downloaded by someone else from an unknown source.

In the Security & Privacy pane of System Preferences, select the General tab. The radio button marked Anywhere should not be selected. If it is, click the lock icon to unlock the settings, then select one of the other buttons. After that, don't ignore a warning that you are about to run or install an application from an unknown developer.

Still in System Preferences, open the App Store or Software Update pane and check the box marked

Install system data files and security updates

if it's not already checked.

Jan 12, 2015 5:49 PM in response to hughey17hugh

Use the adware medic link dominic123 provided. I tried the manual method on the Apple support page and I spent a ridiculous amount of time copying and pasting their files all to no avail as the virus/malware was named something completely different. Big waste of time. The adware medic scanned my pc for about 10 seconds, found about 6 files of malware and removed them for me. I restarted scanned again and they were gone. I tested the search engines in all of my browsers and they're all back to normal. The app is free unless you choose to donate which I have! I wish I had used this first, it would have saved me a lot of time.

Apr 11, 2015 8:21 AM in response to hughey17hugh

I know this is a bit old, and I NEVER post in here, but I had this same problem and for the life of me could NOT remove (or even find the files!) myself. I took a shot and downloaded AdwareMedic and it worked extremely quickly and perfectly. I have spent the last two hours googling to remove this crap myself scared to download anything else, and in less then 5 minutes removed it with AdwareMedic. I am posting this to help other non-tech savvy folks and I have nothing to gain monetarily for saying it. I thought it might ease some minds to know someone had safe success with the program in removing this horrible download. I'm sure the manual uninstall works but I could not figure it out (I couldn't even find my library folder...).


Just wanted to share what worked for me. I was ready to go to the Apple Store and have them fix it... I just lost two hours of my life I'll never get back thanks to that stupid download. (I will be copying my response on a couple other threads to hopefully safe others the headache)


--Nicole

Apr 18, 2015 2:31 AM in response to Linc Davis

Hi Linc- hows you today?


Pardon I had this problem with safe search a while back and I think I deleted it all- it took a while for it to fully go...


Since then Chrome is very slow to start and often slow running..


I have just tried all these steps for example to be sure and can find nothing wrong.

Remove unwanted adware that displays pop-up ads and graphics on your Mac - Apple Support


Adaware Medic finds nothing...


Launch agents only has 2 files in, 1 for Adobe updates..


Any ideas?



Best, Duke

uninstall a virus called smart search

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