How to uninstall PublicToolboxLookup app/extension from Mac (Virus removal guide)

What is PublicToolboxLookup

According to security researchers, PublicToolboxLookup is a potentially unwanted application (PUA) that belongs to the Adware group . Adware is something which created in order to display third-party advertisements to the user without asking his permission. Adware takes control of browsers and redirects them to unwanted and malicious web-sites every time you surf the Internet. Adware can end up on your Apple Mac in various methods. In many cases is when you download free programs and forget to uncheck the box for the additional software installation.

Another reason why you need to remove the PublicToolboxLookup adware is its online data-tracking activity. It can analyze the location and which Internet web-sites you visit, and then show ads to the types of content, goods or services featured there. Adware authors can collect and sell your browsing information and behavior to third parties.

Therefore, PublicToolboxLookup is a potentially unwanted app and should not be used. If you realized any of the symptoms mentioned above, we recommend you to follow tutorial below to delete the adware and get rid of unwanted ads from your internet browser.

How does PublicToolboxLookup get on your Apple Mac

Adware is bundled within various freeware. This means that you need to be very careful when installing apps downloaded from the Internet. Be sure to read the Terms of Use and the Software license, choose only the Manual, Advanced or Custom installation option, switch off all unnecessary modules and apps are offered to install.

Threat Summary

Name	PublicToolboxLookup, PublicToolboxLookup 1.0 app
Type	adware, potentially unwanted program (PUP), Mac virus, Mac malware
Detection Names	MacOS.Agent-MT, Adware/Adload!OSX, OSX.Trojan.Gen, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A, Adware.MAC.Generic, Osx.Adware.Cimpli and ApplicUnwnt
Distribution	Free software installers, malicious popup ads, torrent downloads and fake software updaters
Symptoms	The web site links redirect to a web pages different from what you expected, unclosable window appear and recommend fake updates and other unwanted apps, new entries appear in your Applications folder, unwanted internet browser toolbars, your internet browser homepage has replaced and you cannot modify it back, slow browsing Internet.
Removal	PublicToolboxLookup removal guide

How to Remove PublicToolboxLookup (removal instructions)

There present several free adware removal tools. Also it is possible to delete PublicToolboxLookup manually. But we advise to combine all these solutions below into the one removal algorithm. Follow the steps of the tutorial. Certain of the steps below will require you to exit this website. So, please read the instructions carefully, after that bookmark it or open it on your smartphone for later reference.

To remove PublicToolboxLookup, follow the steps below:

1. Remove profiles created by PublicToolboxLookup
2. Check the list of installed applications
3. Remove PublicToolboxLookup related files and folders
4. Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
5. Remove PublicToolboxLookup from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
6. How to stay safe online
7. Finish words

Remove profiles created by PublicToolboxLookup

PublicToolboxLookup can install a configuration profile on the Mac system to block changes made to the browser settings. Therefore, you need to open system preferences, find and delete the profile installed by the adware software.

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 device. If there is Profiles in the list, then click on it, then select a profile associated with PublicToolboxLookup.

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

Check the list of installed applications

One of the first things to attempt for removal of adware is to check your Mac device installed programs screen and look for undesired and questionable apps. If there are any apps you do not recognize or are no longer using, you should delete them. If that doesn’t work, then you may need to run malicious software removal utility such as MalwareBytes AntiMalware.

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

Very carefully look around the entire list of applications installed on your MAC. Most likely, one of them is the PublicToolboxLookup adware. Once you’ve found a dubious, unwanted or unused program, right click to it and select “Move to Trash”. Another solution is drag the application from the Applications folder to the Trash.

Don’t forget, choose Finder -> “Empty Trash”.

Remove PublicToolboxLookup related files and folders

Now you need to try to find PublicToolboxLookup 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.

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

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

Some files created by PublicToolboxLookup 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 PublicToolboxLookup 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: com.machelper.plist, com.google.defaultsearch.plist, , com.net-preferences.plist, installapp.plist, com.PublicToolboxLookup.service.plist, macsearch.plist and search.plist. Most often, adware software, potentially unwanted programs and browser hijackers create several files with similar names.

Check for PublicToolboxLookup 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.PublicToolboxLookup.system, then this folder must be deleted. Move all suspicious folders and files to the Trash.

Check for PublicToolboxLookup 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 PublicToolboxLookup 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.macsearch.system.plist, com.machelper.system.plist, com.search.system.plist and com.PublicToolboxLookup.system.plist. In most cases, adware, browser hijackers and potentially unwanted programs create several files with similar names.

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

If you carefully followed the previous steps, then you should be able to remove PublicToolboxLookup. Of course, very often browser hijackers, potentially unwanted programs and adware hides on a Mac device, disguising itself as legitimate apps and files. Therefore, in some cases, it is difficult for an inexperienced user to decide whether a particular file is part of adware software, browser hijackers and potentially unwanted programs. Therefore, we advise you to run MalwareBytes AntiMalware to scan the Mac device.

1. MalwareBytes Free can be downloaded from the following link.
   
   

   Malwarebytes Anti-malware (Mac)
   20983 downloads
   Author: Malwarebytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: September 10, 2020
   
2. After the download is done, please close all apps and open windows on your machine. Run the downloaded file. Follow the prompts.
3. The MalwareBytes Free will launch and show the main window.
4. Further, click the “Scan” button for checking your MAC system for the PublicToolboxLookup 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 system. During the scan MalwareBytes Free will find threats exist on your computer.
5. Once MalwareBytes has finished scanning, you’ll be shown the list of all found items on your Apple Mac.
6. Make sure to check mark the items which are unsafe and then click the “Remove Selected Items” button.
7. Close the AntiMalware and continue with the next step.

Remove PublicToolboxLookup from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

Annoying PublicToolboxLookup adware or other symptoms of adware software in your browser is a good reason to locate and delete harmful extensions. This is an easy method to restore web-browsers settings and not lose any important information.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
In the top right hand corner, click on ‘three vertical dots’, and this will open up the main menu on Chrome. 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 PublicToolboxLookup by reset Google 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 PublicToolboxLookup adware 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

Use an ad blocking tool like AdGuard will protect you from malicious advertisements and content. Moreover, you can find that the AdGuard have an option to protect your privacy and stop phishing and spam web-pages. Additionally, ad blocker software will allow you to avoid annoying pop-up advertisements and unverified links that also a good way to stay safe online.

1. Installing the AdGuard is simple. First you will need to download AdGuard from the link below.
   
   

   AdGuard for Mac download
   3771 downloads
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: January 17, 2018
   
2. When the download is done, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. Once the installation is done, press “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will help you get to know AdGuard better.
4. In most cases, the default settings are enough and you don’t need to change anything. Each time, when you launch your machine, AdGuard will start automatically and stop intrusive ads, block malicious and misleading web-sites.

Finish words

After completing the few simple steps outlined above, your machine should be free from PublicToolboxLookup and other malicious software. The Chrome, Firefox and Safari will no longer redirect you to unwanted web pages and online 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.