According to security researchers, SectionIndexer is an adware program. What does Adware mean? Adware is form of malicious software that can cause issues for your Mac. It can generate numerous additional pop-up, banner, pop-under and in-text link ads flooding on your web browser; gather your personal information such as login details, online searches, etc; run in the background and drag down your MAC running speed; give more chances for other adware, PUPs even malicious software to get on your computer.
Unwanted ads
Does adware steal your privacy data? Adware be able to gather and transmit user information without your knowledge. Adware software can be used to track information about websites visited, browser and system information, and your machine IP address.
How does SectionIndexer get on your computer
In many cases, the freeware setup file includes bundled applications such as this adware. So, be very careful when you agree to install anything. The best way – is to choose a Custom, Advanced or Manual installation mode. Here disable all third-party software in which you are unsure or that causes even a slightest suspicion.
Threat Summary
| Name | SectionIndexer, Section Indexer 1.0 app |
| Type | adware, PUP (potentially unwanted program), pop-up virus, popup advertisements, popups |
| Symptoms |
|
| Removal | SectionIndexer removal guide |
How to Remove SectionIndexer (removal tutorial)
Not all undesired software such as the SectionIndexer adware are easily uninstallable. You might see popups, deals, text links, in-text ads, banners and other type of ads in the Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Safari and might not be able to figure out the program responsible for this activity. The reason for this is that many unwanted software neither appear in the Finder. Therefore in order to completely remove SectionIndexer adware, you need to execute the following steps. Read this manual carefully, bookmark it or open this page on your smartphone, because you may need to close your web-browser or restart your MAC system.
To remove SectionIndexer, use the following steps:
- Manual SectionIndexer removal
- Automatic Removal of SectionIndexer adware
- How to stay safe online
- To sum up
Manual SectionIndexer removal
In this section of the article, we have posted the steps that will allow to delete SectionIndexer adware manually. Although compared to removal tools, this solution loses in time, but you don’t need to download anything on the machine. It will be enough for you to follow the detailed guidance 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 MS Windows and web browser settings, then it’s better for you to run tools from trusted developers, which are listed below.
Remove questionable programs using the Finder
One of the first things to attempt for removal of adware software is to check your MAC installed applications screen and look for unwanted and dubious software. If there are any apps you do not recognize or are no longer using, you should remove them. If that doesn’t work, then you may need to use adware removal utility like MalwareBytes.
- Open the Finder.
- Click “Applications”.
- It will show a list of all apps installed on the computer.
- Scroll through the all list, and uninstall dubious and unknown software. Pay maximum attention to the application you installed last.
- Drag the questionable application from the Applications folder to the Trash.
- Empty Trash.
Remove SectionIndexer from Chrome
Another way to get rid of SectionIndexer ads from Chrome is Reset Google Chrome settings. This will disable malicious extensions and reset Google Chrome settings to original settings. It will keep your personal information such as browsing history, bookmarks, passwords and web form auto-fill data.
First run the Google Chrome. Next, press the button in the form of three horizontal dots (
).
It will display the Chrome menu. Choose More Tools, then click Extensions. Carefully browse through the list of installed add-ons. If the list has the extension signed with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following guide: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
Open the Chrome menu once again. Further, press the option called “Settings”.
The web browser will show the settings screen. Another solution to show the Google Chrome’s settings – type chrome://settings in the web browser adress bar and press Enter
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and press the “Advanced” link. Now scroll down until the “Reset” section is visible, as shown below and click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
The Google Chrome will display the confirmation prompt as shown on the screen below.
You need to confirm your action, click the “Reset” button. The internet browser will start the process of cleaning. Once it’s complete, the web browser’s settings including search provider, new tab and homepage back to the values that have been when the Chrome was first installed on your Apple Mac.
Delete SectionIndexer from Mozilla Firefox by resetting web-browser settings
Resetting your Firefox is first troubleshooting step for any issues with your browser program, including the SectionIndexer ads. However, your saved passwords and bookmarks will not be changed, deleted or cleared.
First, run the 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 click on “Refresh Firefox” button as displayed in the figure below.
Confirm your action, press the “Refresh Firefox”.
Delete SectionIndexer adware from Safari
If you find that Safari internet browser settings like search provider, home page and new tab page having been changed by SectionIndexer , then you may restore your settings, via the reset web-browser procedure.
Click Safari menu and select “Preferences”.
It will open the Safari Preferences window. Next, click the “Extensions” tab. Look for unknown and suspicious extensions on left panel, choose it, then press the “Uninstall” button. Most important to remove all unknown addons 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”.
Automatic Removal of SectionIndexer adware
Run malware removal tools to remove SectionIndexer adware automatically. The free programs utilities specially designed for browser hijackers, adware and other potentially unwanted software removal. These utilities can get rid of most of adware software from Safari, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Moreover, it can remove all components of adware from Windows registry and system drives.
Use MalwareBytes Anti-Malware to delete SectionIndexer adware
Get rid of SectionIndexer adware manually is difficult and often the adware is not fully removed. Therefore, we advise you to use the MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) which are fully clean your MAC OS. Moreover, this free application will help you to remove malware, PUPs, toolbars and hijacker that your Apple Mac may be infected too.
Installing the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware is simple. First you’ll need to download MalwareBytes Anti-Malware on your Apple Mac from the following link.
20956 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: September 10, 2020
Once the downloading process is finished, run it and follow the prompts. Press the “Scan” button to begin checking your machine for the SectionIndexer adware. This task can take quite a while, so please be patient. When a malware, adware or PUPs are found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the checking is done. Make sure to check mark the items that are unsafe and then press “Remove Selected Items” button.
The MalwareBytes Free 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
If you surf the Internet, you cannot avoid malvertising. But you can protect your web-browser against it. Download and run an ad-blocker program. AdGuard is an adblocker which can filter out a large number of of the malicious advertising, blocking dynamic scripts from loading harmful content.
- Visit the page linked below to download AdGuard.
AdGuard for Mac download
3764 downloads
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: January 17, 2018
- Once downloading is finished, launch the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
- When the install is finished, click “Skip” to close the setup program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will assist 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 MAC OS, AdGuard will start automatically and stop annoying advertisements, block malicious and misleading web sites.
To sum up
Once you have done the instructions above, your computer should be free from the SectionIndexer adware and other malware. The Mozilla Firefox, Chrome and Safari will no longer display any unwanted ads. Unfortunately, if the tutorial does not help you, then you have caught a new adware, and then the best way – ask for help here.
