How to uninstall SimpleSignSearch app/extension from Mac

What is SimpleSignSearch

SimpleSignSearch is supposed to be an app that will improve the browsing experience, but it is adware. Adware is a type of malicious software created to throw advertisements up on your browser screen. Adware generates money for its creator by automatically showing a large number of ads and pop up deals. You might experience a change in your start page or search provider, new tabs opening or even a redirect to malicious web-sites.

Does the SimpleSignSearch adware steal your personal data? Adware can have spyware and keyloggers built into the application, leading to greater damage to your computer and possible invasion of your privacy information. If you found any of the symptoms mentioned above, we recommend you to complete step-by-step instructions below to remove SimpleSignSearch adware and remove unwanted advertisements from your browser.

How does SimpleSignSearch get on your MAC system

Most of unwanted advertisements and pop-ups come from web-browser toolbars and/or extensions, BHOs (browser helper objects) and optional programs. In many cases, these items claim itself as applications which improve your experience on the Internet by providing a fast and interactive homepage or a search engine that does not track you. Remember, how to avoid the unwanted applications. Be cautious, start only reputable apps which download from reputable sources. NEVER install any unknown and suspicious software.

Threat Summary

Name	SimpleSignSearch, SimpleSignSearch 1.0 app
Type	adware, potentially unwanted application (PUA), Mac virus, Mac malware
Detection Names	MacOS.Agent-MT, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, Adware.MAC.Generic, ApplicUnwnt, OSX.Trojan.Gen, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A and Adware/Adload!OSX
Distribution	Freeware installers, torrent downloads, suspicious pop up ads and fake update tools
Symptoms	You keep getting redirected to questionable web pages, you experience a large amount of of unwanted advertisements, unwanted program installed without your knowledge, unwanted web-browser toolbars, your Mac settings are being altered without your request, your web-browser slows to a crawl.
Removal	SimpleSignSearch removal guide

How to Remove SimpleSignSearch adware (removal guide)

Not all unwanted apps like SimpleSignSearch are easily uninstallable. You might see pop-ups, deals, text links, in-text advertisements, banners and other type of ads in the Mozilla Firefox, Chrome and Safari and might not be able to figure out the application responsible for this activity. The reason for this is that many unwanted apps neither appear in the Finder. Therefore in order to fully remove SimpleSignSearch , you need to execute the steps below. Read it once, after doing so, please bookmark this page (or open it on your smartphone) as you may need to exit your internet browser or reboot your MAC.

To remove SimpleSignSearch, follow the steps below:

1. Remove profiles created by SimpleSignSearch
2. Uninstall SimpleSignSearch related software through the Finder
3. Remove SimpleSignSearch related files and folders
4. Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
5. Remove SimpleSignSearch from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
6. How to stay safe online

Remove profiles created by SimpleSignSearch

SimpleSignSearch can make changes to the Mac system such as malicious changes to browser settings, and the addition of malicious system profiles. You need to check the system preferences, find and remove malicious profiles and ensure your settings are as you expect.

Click Apple menu ( ) > System Preferences.

In System Preferences, select Profiles. if there is no Profiles in the list of preferences, that means there are no profiles installed on the Mac computer. If there is Profiles in the list, then click on it, then select a profile related to SimpleSignSearch.

To delete a malicious profile, click on the minus button ( – ) located at the bottom-left of the Profiles screen.

Uninstall SimpleSignSearch related software through the Finder

Some of PUPs, adware and browser hijackers can be uninstalled using the Move to Trash utility which is located in the Finder. So, if you’re using any version of Mac OS and you have noticed an unwanted program, then first try to remove it through the Finder.

1. Open the Finder.
2. Click “Applications”.
3. It will display a list of all applications installed on the MAC system.
4. Scroll through the all list, and delete dubious and unknown programs. Pay maximum attention to the program you installed last.
5. Drag the suspicious program from the Applications folder to the Trash.
6. Empty Trash.

Remove SimpleSignSearch related files and folders

Now you need to try to find SimpleSignSearch related files and folders, and then delete them manually. You need to look for these files in certain directories. To quickly open them, we recommend using the “Go to Folder…” command.

SimpleSignSearch creates several files, these files must be found and removed. Below is a list of files associated with this unwanted program.

• /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.SimpleSignSearch.system.plist
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.SimpleSignSearch.service.plist
• /Library/Application Support/.(RANDOM)/System/com.SimpleSignSearch.system
• ~/Library/Application Support/.(RANDOM)/Services/com.SimpleSignSearch.service.app

Some files created by SimpleSignSearch are hidden from the user. To find and delete them, you need to enable “show hidden files”. To do this, use the shortcut CMD + SHIFT + . Press once to show hidden files and again to hide them. There is another way. Click Finder -> Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal. In Terminal, paste the following text: defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES

Press Enter. Hold the ‘Option/alt’ key, then right click on the Finder icon in the dock and click Relaunch.

Click on the Finder icon. From the menu bar, select Go and click “Go to Folder…”. As a result, a small window opens that allows you to quickly open a specific directory.

Check for SimpleSignSearch generated files in the /Library/LaunchAgents folder

In the “Go to Folder…” window, type the following text and press Go:
/Library/LaunchAgents

This will open the contents of the “/Library/LaunchAgents” folder. Look carefully at it and pay special attention to recently created files, as well as files that have a suspicious name. Move all suspicious files to the Trash. A few examples of files: search.plist, com.SimpleSignSearch.service.plist, com.machelper.plist, macsearch.plist, installapp.plist, com.net-preferences.plist and com.google.defaultsearch.plist, . Most often, browser hijackers, potentially unwanted programs and adware software create several files with similar names.

Check for SimpleSignSearch generated files in the /Library/Application Support folder

In the “Go to Folder…” window, type the following text and press Go:
/Library/Application Support

This will open the contents of the “Application Support” folder. Look carefully at its contents, pay special attention to recently added/changed folders and files. Check the contents of suspicious folders, if there is a file with a name similar to com.SimpleSignSearch.system, then this folder must be deleted. Move all suspicious folders and files to the Trash.

Check for SimpleSignSearch generated files in the “~/Library/LaunchAgents” folder

In the “Go to Folder…” window, type the following text and press Go:
~/Library/LaunchAgents

Proceed in the same way as with the “/Library/LaunchAgents” and “/Library/Application Support” folders. Look for suspicious and recently added files. Move all suspicious files to the Trash.

Check for SimpleSignSearch generated files in the /Library/LaunchDaemons folder

In the “Go to Folder…” window, type the following text and press Go:
/Library/LaunchDaemons

Carefully browse the entire list of files and pay special attention to recently created files, as well as files that have a suspicious name. Move all suspicious files to the Trash. A few examples of files to be deleted: com.installapp.system.plist, com.SimpleSignSearch.system.plist, com.search.system.plist, com.machelper.system.plist and com.macsearch.system.plist. In most cases, adware, browser hijackers and potentially unwanted programs create several files with similar names.

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

You can remove SimpleSignSearch related files automatically with a help of MalwareBytes AntiMalware. We advise this free malicious software removal utility because it may easily remove potentially unwanted programs, toolbars, browser hijackers and adware with all their components such as files, folders and system entries.

Download MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) on your MAC OS by clicking on the following link.

When the download is finished, close all applications and windows on your machine. Run the saved file. Follow the prompts.

The MalwareBytes will automatically start and you can see its main screen as displayed in the figure below.

Now press the “Scan” button . MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) program will scan through the whole MAC system for the SimpleSignSearch adware. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your MAC system.

Once the checking is finished, MalwareBytes Free will display you the results. Once you have selected what you wish to remove from your MAC system click the “Quarantine” button. The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware will delete SimpleSignSearch adware and move the selected threats to the program’s quarantine.

Remove SimpleSignSearch from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

Remove unwanted extensions is a easy way to get rid of SimpleSignSearch adware software and return web-browser’s settings which have been changed by adware.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
Click on ‘three dots menu’ button at the top right corner of the Google Chrome window. In the menu go to ‘More tools’, then ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to get rid of SimpleSignSearch adware by reset Chrome settings.	Click on ‘menu’ button and select ‘Add-ons’. Go to ‘Extensions’ tab. To uninstall an add-on, click on ‘Remove’ button next to it. If you are still experiencing problems with SimpleSignSearch removal, you need to reset Firefox browser.
Safari
On the top menu select ‘Safari’, then ‘Preferences’. Select ‘Extensions’ tab. Select an extension you want to delete and click ‘Uninstall’ button next to it.

How to stay safe online

To put it simply, you need to use an adblocker tool (AdGuard, for example). It will stop and protect you from malicious web-pages, unwanted ads and popups. To be able to do that, the adblocker application uses a list of filters. Each filter is a rule that describes a malicious web site, an advertising content, a banner and others. The ad blocker application automatically uses these filters, depending on the webpages you’re visiting.

Visit the page linked below to download the latest version of AdGuard for Mac.

Once the download is complete, run the downloaded file. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen.

Follow the prompts. AdGuard will then be installed. A window will show up asking you to confirm that you want to see a quick guide. Press “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial which will assist you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you start your computer, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop intrusive advertisements, block harmful and misleading web-sites.

Finish words

Once you have complete the instructions above, your MAC OS should be clean from this adware and other malware. The Safari, Chrome and Mozilla Firefox will no longer show any unwanted ads when you browse the World Wide Web. Unfortunately, if the step-by-step tutorial does not help you, then you have caught a new adware software, and then the best way – ask for help.

Please create a new question by using the “Ask Question” button in the Questions and Answers. Try to give us some details about your problems, so we can try to help you more accurately. Wait for one of our trained “Security Team” or Site Administrator to provide you with knowledgeable assistance tailored to your problem with the SimpleSignSearch adware .