SoftwareHandler is a potentially unwanted program (PUP) that belongs to the Adware category. How does adware work? Adware’s basic purpose is to present ads. These ads are often presented as sponsored links, unclosable windows or push notifications. Clicks on the advertisements produce a monetary payoff for the software producers. Adware software can work like Spyware, since it sends sensitive information such as searches and trends to advertisers.
Unwanted ads
The worst is, the SoftwareHandler adware can collect lots of your confidential information to get profit. Adware software can analyze your surfing, and gain access to your sensitive info and, afterwards, can transfer it to third parties. Thus, there are more than enough reasons to delete adware software from your Apple Mac.
How does SoftwareHandler get on your MAC system
The majority of adware are bundled with free programs or even paid applications which Internet users can easily download online. The installers of such programs, in many cases, clearly show that they will install optional programs. The option is given to users to stop the installation of any additional applications. So, in order to avoid the installation of any adware: read all disclaimers and install screens very carefully, select only Custom or Advanced setup method and reject all additional software in which you are unsure.
Threat Summary
| Name | SoftwareHandler, Software Handler 1.0 app |
| Type | adware, PUP (potentially unwanted program), popup virus, popup advertisements, pop ups |
| Symptoms |
|
| Removal | SoftwareHandler removal guide |
How to Remove SoftwareHandler adware (removal steps)
Most often adware requires more than a simple uninstall with the help of the Finder in order to be fully removed. For that reason, our team developed several removal ways that we have combined in a detailed tutorial. Therefore, if you have the SoftwareHandler ads on your MAC OS and are currently trying to have it removed then feel free to follow the guide below in order to resolve your problem. Read this manual carefully, bookmark it or open this page on your smartphone, because you may need to close your internet browser or reboot your MAC system.
To remove SoftwareHandler, complete the steps below:
- Manual SoftwareHandler adware software removal
- Automatic Removal of SoftwareHandler
- How to stay safe online
- To sum up
Manual SoftwareHandler adware software removal
Looking for a solution to remove SoftwareHandler manually without installing any applications? Then this section of the post is just for you. Below are some simple steps you can take. Performing these steps requires basic knowledge of internet browser and Microsoft Windows setup. If you are not sure that you can follow them, it is better to use free tools listed below that can allow you remove SoftwareHandler .
Delete potentially unwanted programs using the Finder
First, go to the Finder and delete questionable programs, all applications you don’t remember installing. It is important to pay the most attention to programs you installed just before the SoftwareHandler ads appeared on your browser. If you do not know what a program does, look for the answer on the Net.
Make sure you have closed all browsers and other programs. Next, delete any unwanted and suspicious programs from MAC using the Finder.
Open Finder and click “Applications”.
Look around the entire list of programs installed on your Apple Mac. Most probably, one of them is the SoftwareHandler adware. Select the suspicious application or the program that name is not familiar to you and uninstall it.
Drag the suspicious application from the Applications folder to the Trash.
Most important, don’t forget, choose Finder -> Empty Trash.
Delete SoftwareHandler adware from Firefox
Resetting your Firefox is first troubleshooting step for any issues with your web browser program, including unwanted ads. It will save your personal information such as saved passwords, bookmarks, auto-fill data and open tabs.
First, run the Mozilla Firefox. Next, click the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (
). It will open the drop-down menu. Next, press the Help button (
).
In the Help menu click the “Troubleshooting Information”. In the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page press on “Refresh Firefox” button as on the image below.
Confirm your action, click the “Refresh Firefox”.
Remove SoftwareHandler from Safari
By resetting Safari web browser you restore your browser settings to its default state. This is good initial when troubleshooting problems that might have been caused by the SoftwareHandler adware.
Click Safari menu and choose “Preferences”.
It will open the Safari Preferences window. Next, click the “Extensions” tab. Look for unknown and suspicious extensions on left panel, select it, then click the “Uninstall” button. Most important to remove all unknown add-ons from Safari.
Once complete, click “General” tab. Change the “Default Search Engine” to Google.
Find the “Homepage” and type into textfield “https://www.google.com”.
Remove SoftwareHandler adware from Google Chrome
Unwanted SoftwareHandler ads or other symptom of having adware software in your internet browser is a good reason to reset Chrome. This is an easy way to restore the Google Chrome settings and not lose any important information.
Open the Google Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal dotes (
). It will open the drop-down menu. Choose More Tools, then press Extensions.
Carefully browse through 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 instructions: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy otherwise, just go to the step below.
Open the Chrome main menu again, click to “Settings” option.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the “Advanced” link. Now scroll down until the Reset settings section is visible, as displayed on the screen below and press the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
Confirm your action, click the “Reset” button.
Automatic Removal of SoftwareHandler
If your computer is still infected with the SoftwareHandler adware, then the best solution of detection and removal is to run an anti-malware scan on the Apple Mac. Download free malicious software removal tools below and run a full system scan. It will help you delete all components of the adware software from hardisk and Windows registry.
Delete SoftwareHandler adware software with MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM)
If you are still having issues with the SoftwareHandler adware removal or just wish to scan your MAC system occasionally for adware and other malware, then download MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM). It’s free for home use, and scans for and deletes various unwanted applications that attacks your MAC or degrades MAC OS performance. MalwareBytes AntiMalware can remove hijacker, adware software, PUPs as well as malicious software, including ransomware and trojans.
Download MalwareBytes Anti Malware by clicking on the link below.
20850 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: September 10, 2020
Once the downloading process is done, run it and follow the prompts. Click the “Scan” button to start scanning your Apple Mac for the SoftwareHandler adware. This procedure can take some time, so please be patient. During the scan MalwareBytes will scan for threats exist on your Apple Mac. Once you’ve selected what you want to remove from your Apple Mac click “Remove Selected Items” button.
The MalwareBytes AntiMalware is a free program that you can use to get rid of all detected folders, files, malicious services and so on.
How to stay safe online
Running an ad-blocker program such as AdGuard is an effective way to alleviate the risks. Additionally, ad blocker applications will also protect you from malicious ads and web sites, and, of course, block redirection chain to misleading and similar web-sites.
- AdGuard can be downloaded from the following link.
AdGuard for Mac download
3686 downloads
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: January 17, 2018
- After the downloading process is finished, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
- Once the install is finished, click “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial which will allow you get to know AdGuard better.
- In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you start your machine, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop intrusive advertisements, block harmful and misleading webpages.
To sum up
Now your MAC should be free of the SoftwareHandler adware. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted pop up ads and undesired harmful web pages) and MalwareBytes Free (to periodically scan your MAC OS for new adwares and other malware).
If you are still having problems while trying to remove SoftwareHandler ads from the Firefox, Chrome and Safari, then ask for help here here.
