What is InitialWindow
InitialWindow is a PUP (potentially unwanted program) that belongs to the Adware family . Adware is something which designed in order to show third-party advertisements to the user without asking his permission. Adware takes control of browsers and redirects them to undesired web-sites like the InitialWindow every time you browse the Net. Adware can end up on your Apple Mac in various methods. Most often is when you download free applications and forget to uncheck the box for the third-party apps installation.
Unwanted ads
Another reason why you need to delete adware is its online data-tracking activity. Adware is often harmless, but sometimes the adware software you inadvertently download can also be spyware. Spyware can sometimes seek out your confidential data stored on the machine, gather this information and use it to steal your identity.
The instructions below explaining steps to get rid of any unwanted ads. Feel free to use it for removal of the adware software that may attack Mozilla Firefox, Safari and Chrome and other popular web browsers. The guidance will help you remove InitialWindow adware and thus clean your internet browser from all intrusive advertisements.
How does InitialWindow get on your MAC
Adware usually come along with free applications . So, when you installing freeware, carefully read the disclaimers, select the Custom or Advanced setup mode to watch for optional applications that are being installed, because some of the software are PUPs and adware.
Threat Summary
| Name | InitialWindow, Initial Window 1.0 app |
| Type | adware software, potentially unwanted application (PUA), pop up virus, pop-ups, pop up advertisements |
| Symptoms |
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| Removal | InitialWindow removal guide |
How to Remove InitialWindow adware
Most often adware software requires more than a simple uninstall through the use of the Finder in order to be fully uninstalled. For that reason, our team designed several removal solutions that we have combined in a detailed guide. Therefore, if you have the InitialWindow adware on your MAC and are currently trying to have it removed then feel free to follow the step-by-step instructions 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 exit your internet browser or restart your computer.
To remove InitialWindow, use the following steps:
- How to manually delete InitialWindow
- Automatic Removal of InitialWindow adware
- How to stay safe online
- Finish words
How to manually delete InitialWindow
This part of the blog post is a step-by-step guide that will show you how to get rid of InitialWindow adware manually. You just need to carefully complete each step. In this case, you do not need to install any additional programs.
Uninstall dubious programs using the Finder
First method for manual adware software removal is to go into the Finder, then Applications. Take a look at the list of applications on your MAC and see if there are any suspicious and unknown applications. If you see any, you need to remove them. Of course, before doing so, you can do an World Wide Web search to find details on the program. If it is a potentially unwanted application, adware or malicious software, you will likely find information that says so.
Open Finder and click “Applications”.
Very carefully look around the entire list of programs installed on your Apple Mac. Most likely, one of them is the InitialWindow adware. If you have many programs installed, you can help simplify the search of harmful applications by sort the list by date of installation.
Once you have found a dubious, unwanted or unused application, right click to it and select “Move to Trash”. Another way is drag the program from the Applications folder to the Trash.
Don’t forget, choose Finder -> “Empty Trash”.
Get rid of InitialWindow adware software from Safari
If you find that Safari browser settings such as newtab page, search engine by default and startpage having been changed by InitialWindow , then you may restore your settings, via the reset browser procedure.
Run Safari browser. Next, select Preferences from the Safari menu.
First, click the “Security” tab. Here, select “Block pop-up windows”. It will block some types of popups.
Now, click the “Extensions” tab. Look for questionable extensions on left panel, choose it, then click the “Uninstall” button. Most important to get rid of all questionable extensions from Safari.
Once complete, check your startpage and search provider settings. Click “General” tab. 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 InitialWindow adware from Mozilla Firefox
If the Mozilla Firefox browser program is hijacked, then resetting its settings can help. The Reset feature is available on all modern version of Mozilla Firefox. A reset can fix many issues by restoring Firefox settings such as search provider, new tab and startpage to their default state. Your saved bookmarks, form auto-fill information and passwords won’t be cleared or changed.
Press the Menu button (looks like three horizontal lines), and press the blue Help icon located at the bottom of the drop down menu as shown on the image below.
A small menu will appear, click the “Troubleshooting Information”. On this page, click “Refresh Firefox” button as displayed in the following example.
Follow the onscreen procedure to restore your Firefox browser settings to their default values.
Remove InitialWindow from Google Chrome
In this step we are going to show you how to reset Google Chrome settings. potentially unwanted software such as the adware can make changes to your web browser settings, add toolbars and unwanted addons. By resetting Chrome settings you will get rid of InitialWindow ads and reset unwanted changes caused by adware. It will save your personal information such as saved passwords, bookmarks, auto-fill data and open tabs.
- First, start the Google Chrome and click the Menu icon (icon in the form of three dots).
- It will open the Google Chrome main menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions.
- You will 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 instructions: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
- Now open the Chrome menu once again, click the “Settings” menu.
- Next, press “Advanced” link, that located at the bottom of the Settings page.
- On the bottom of the “Advanced settings” page, click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
- The Google Chrome will show the reset settings dialog box as shown on the screen above.
- Confirm the web-browser’s reset by clicking on the “Reset” button.
- To learn more, read the article How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.
Automatic Removal of InitialWindow adware
The easiest solution to remove InitialWindow is to run 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, hijackers and other potentially unwanted software.
Automatically get rid of InitialWindow adware software with MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM)
You can delete InitialWindow automatically through the use of MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM). We suggest this free malware removal tool because it may easily get rid of browser hijacker, adware, potentially unwanted programs and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.
Please go to the link below to download the latest version of MalwareBytes for Mac OS.
20851 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: September 10, 2020
When the download is complete, close all apps and windows on your machine. Run the saved file. Follow the prompts.
The MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) will automatically start and you can see its main screen as displayed in the figure below.
Now press the “Scan” button to start checking your MAC for the InitialWindow adware. A scan may take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your computer and the speed of your MAC. While the utility is checking, you may see how many objects and files has already scanned.
When the scan get completed, MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) will show a scan report. Review the scan results and then click “Remove Selected Items” button. The MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) will start to delete InitialWindow adware.
How to stay safe online
Running an ad-blocker program like AdGuard is an effective way to alleviate the risks. Additionally, ad-blocker programs will also protect you from harmful advertisements and web-pages, and, of course, block redirection chain to misleading, scam and similar websites.
- Download AdGuard by clicking on the following link.
AdGuard for Mac download
3687 downloads
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: January 17, 2018
- Once the downloading process is finished, launch the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
- When the install is complete, press “Skip” to close the setup program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will help you get to know AdGuard better.
- In most cases, the default settings are enough and you don’t need to change anything. Each time, when you start your Apple Mac, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop undesired advertisements, block malicious and misleading web-sites.
Finish words
Now your MAC should be clean of the InitialWindow adware. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted advertisements and intrusive harmful web sites) and MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) (to periodically scan your MAC system for new malicious software, hijackers and adware software). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Mac operating system. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new browser hijacker infections, harmful programs and adware are released.
If you are still having problems while trying to delete InitialWindow ads from your web-browser, then ask for help here.
