According to security researchers, CapitalCharacterSearch is a potentially unwanted program (PUP) belonging to the category of Adware. Adware is a part of malware. When adware hijacks your MAC OS, it might carry out various malicious tasks. Some of the more common acts on MACs include: adware software can display various popups and/or annoying adverts;adware software can redirect your browser to misleading web-pages; adware software can slow down your machine; adware software can alter browser settings.
Unwanted ads
Does adware steal your confidential information? The CapitalCharacterSearch adware can be used to collect lots of user info about you (your ip address, what is a website you are viewing now, what you are looking for on the Internet, which links you are clicking), which can later transfer to third parties.
Threat Summary
| Name | CapitalCharacterSearch, Capital Character Search 1.0 app |
| Type | adware, PUP (potentially unwanted program), popup advertisements, pop-ups, popup virus |
| Symptoms |
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| Removal | CapitalCharacterSearch removal guide |
How does the CapitalCharacterSearch adware get on your Apple Mac
Adware software usually gets on your MAC along with free programs . So, when you installing free applications, carefully read the disclaimers, choose the Custom or Advanced installation mode to watch for additional apps that are being installed, because certain of the software are potentially unwanted programs and adware.
The tutorial below explaining steps to get rid of CapitalCharacterSearch adware problem. Feel free to use it for removal of the adware that may attack Safari, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox and other popular browsers. The few simple steps will help you remove adware and thus clean your web-browser from all unwanted ads.
How to Remove CapitalCharacterSearch adware (removal guide)
There are a few methods which can be used to delete CapitalCharacterSearch adware software. But, not all PUPs such as this adware can be completely removed utilizing only manual methods. In most cases you are not able to delete any adware using standard Mac options. In order to get rid of Capital Character Search ads you need complete a few manual steps and use reliable removal tools. Most IT security professionals states that MalwareBytes Anti Malware utility is a right choice. The free program is able to detect and remove CapitalCharacterSearch adware from your MAC and return your browser settings to defaults.
To remove CapitalCharacterSearch, execute the following steps:
- Manual CapitalCharacterSearch removal
- Automatic Removal of CapitalCharacterSearch adware
- How to stay safe online
- Finish words
Manual CapitalCharacterSearch removal
In this section of the blog post, we have posted the steps that will help to remove CapitalCharacterSearch adware manually. Although compared to removal utilities, this way loses in time, but you don’t need to install anything on the machine. It will be enough for you to follow the detailed instructions with images. We tried to describe each step in detail, but if you realized that you might not be able to figure it out, or simply do not want to change the Windows and web-browser settings, then it’s better for you to run utilities from trusted developers, which are listed below.
Remove potentially unwanted programs using the Finder
We suggest that you begin the Apple Mac cleaning procedure by checking the list of installed apps and delete all unknown or suspicious software. This is a very important step, as mentioned above, very often the malicious apps such as adware and browser hijacker infections may be bundled with free programs. Uninstall the unwanted applications can get rid of the intrusive ads or web browser redirect.
- Open the Finder.
- Click “Applications”.
- It will open a list of all apps installed on the MAC OS.
- Scroll through the all list, and remove questionable and unknown software. Pay maximum attention to the program you installed last.
- Drag the suspicious program from the Applications folder to the Trash.
- Empty Trash.
Remove CapitalCharacterSearch from Firefox by resetting internet browser settings
If the Firefox web-browser program is hijacked by CapitalCharacterSearch, then resetting its settings can help. The Reset feature is available on all modern version of Firefox. A reset can fix many issues by restoring Firefox settings like search provider by default, startpage and newtab page to their default state. However, your themes, bookmarks, history, passwords, and web form auto-fill information will not be deleted.
Click the Menu button (looks like three horizontal lines), and press the blue Help icon located at the bottom of the drop down menu like the one below.
A small menu will appear, press the “Troubleshooting Information”. On this page, press “Refresh Firefox” button as displayed below.
Follow the onscreen procedure to return your Mozilla Firefox web browser settings to their default values.
Get rid of CapitalCharacterSearch adware from Safari
The Safari reset is great if your web browser is affected by CapitalCharacterSearch or you have unwanted add-ons or toolbars on your browser, that installed by an malicious software.
Run Safari web browser. Next, choose Preferences from the Safari menu.
First, click the “Security” icon. Here, select “Block pop-up windows”. It will block some types of pop-ups.
Now, click the “Extensions” icon. Look for suspicious add-ons on left panel, choose it, then press the “Uninstall” button. Most important to remove all suspicious extensions from Safari.
Once complete, check your homepage and search provider settings. Click “General” icon. Make sure that the “Homepage” field contains the website you want or is empty.
Make sure that the “Search engine” setting shows your preferred search provider. In some versions of Safari, this setting is in the “Search” tab.
Remove CapitalCharacterSearch adware from Chrome
In this step we are going to show you how to reset Google Chrome settings. potentially unwanted apps like the adware can make changes to your browser settings, add toolbars and undesired extensions. By resetting Chrome settings you will get rid of CapitalCharacterSearch ads and reset unwanted changes caused by adware. However, your saved bookmarks and passwords will not be lost. This will not affect your history, passwords, bookmarks, and other saved data.
- First run the Chrome and click Menu button (small button in the form of three dots).
- It will show the Google Chrome main menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions.
- You’ll see the list of installed extensions. If the list has the extension labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following guide: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
- Now open the Chrome menu once again, click the “Settings” menu.
- You will see the Google Chrome’s settings page. Scroll down and click “Advanced” link.
- Scroll down again and press the “Reset” button.
- The Google Chrome will show the reset profile settings page as on the image above.
- Next press the “Reset” button.
- Once this procedure is finished, your internet browser’s homepage, new tab and search provider by default will be restored to their original defaults.
- To learn more, read the article How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.
Automatic Removal of CapitalCharacterSearch adware
The easiest way to remove CapitalCharacterSearch adware is to use an anti malware program capable of detecting adware software. We suggest try MalwareBytes AntiMalware or another free malware remover which listed below. It has excellent detection rate when it comes to adware software, browser hijacker infections and other PUPs.
How to automatically get rid of CapitalCharacterSearch with MalwareBytes
Get rid of CapitalCharacterSearch adware software manually is difficult and often the adware software is not fully removed. Therefore, we advise you to run the MalwareBytes Free that are completely clean your MAC OS. Moreover, this free application will allow you to delete malicious software, potentially unwanted applications, toolbars and browser hijacker that your MAC system can be infected too.
- Visit the page linked below to download MalwareBytes.
Malwarebytes Anti-malware (Mac)
20992 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: September 10, 2020
- When downloading is done, please close all programs and open windows on your Apple Mac. Run the downloaded file. Follow the prompts.
- The MalwareBytes Free will open and display the main window.
- Further, click the “Scan” button . MalwareBytes utility will start scanning the whole computer to find out the CapitalCharacterSearch adware software. While the MalwareBytes is scanning, you can see how many objects it has identified either as being malicious software.
- When MalwareBytes AntiMalware is done scanning your computer, the results are displayed in the scan report.
- All found threats will be marked. You can remove them all by simply press the “Remove Selected Items” button.
- Close the AntiMalware and continue with the next step.
How to stay safe online
Using an adblocker program like AdGuard is an effective way to alleviate the risks. Additionally, ad blocker software will also protect you from harmful ads and web-sites, and, of course, stop redirection chain to misleading and similar web-sites.
Installing the AdGuard is simple. First you will need to download AdGuard on your MAC system from the link below.
3772 downloads
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: January 17, 2018
Once the downloading process is finished, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen. Follow the prompts.
Each time, when you start your Apple Mac, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop unwanted pop-up advertisements, block malicious and misleading web pages.
Finish words
Once you’ve done the step-by-step tutorial outlined above, your MAC OS should be free from the CapitalCharacterSearch adware and other malware. The Safari, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox will no longer display the CapitalCharacterSearch ads. Unfortunately, if the guide does not help you, then you have caught a new adware software, and then the best way – ask for help here.
