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

What is SearchWebMesh

SearchWebMesh is a potentially unwanted application (PUA) that falls under the category of Adware. Adware is form of software that can cause issues for your MAC. It can generate numerous additional pop up, banner, pop-under and in-text link advertisements flooding on your browser; collect your privacy data 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 malware to get on your MAC.

Another reason why you need to the SearchWebMesh app is its online data-tracking activity. Adware software can have spyware and keyloggers built into the application, leading to greater damage to your MAC and possible invasion of your privacy information.

If you are unfortunate have adware software, you can follow the few simple steps below that will assist you to remove SearchWebMesh and get rid of unwanted advertisements from your web-browser.

How does SearchWebMesh get on your MAC

Adware may be spread with the help of trojan horses and other forms of malware, but most often, adware is bundled within certain free programs. Many creators of free software include optional software in their installer. Sometimes it’s possible to avoid the install of any adware: carefully read the Terms of Use and the Software license, select only Manual, Custom or Advanced setup method, uncheck all checkboxes before clicking Install or Next button while installing new free applications.

Threat Summary

Name	SearchWebMesh, SearchWebMesh 1.0 app
Type	adware software, PUA (potentially unwanted app), Mac virus, Mac malware
Detection Names	ApplicUnwnt, Adware/Adload!OSX, MacOS.Agent-MT, OSX.Trojan.Gen, Adware.MAC.Generic, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, Osx.Adware.Cimpli and Program:MacOS/Vigram.A
Distribution	Free software installers, fake update tools, misleading pop up advertisements and torrent downloads
Symptoms	The web-page links redirect to a web-pages different from what you expected, you experience a huge count of of unwanted ads, new entries appear in your Applications folder, unexpected web browser extensions or toolbars keep coming back, your web-browser settings are being changed without your request, speed test good but internet slow.
Removal	SearchWebMesh removal guide

How to remove SearchWebMesh adware

There are a few methods that can be used to delete adware. But, not all PUPs such as this adware can be completely deleted utilizing only manual methods. In most cases you’re not able to remove any adware utilizing standard Mac options. In order to remove SearchWebMesh you need complete a few manual steps and use reliable removal tools. Most IT security specialists states that MalwareBytes Anti-Malware utility is a right choice. This program is able to scan for and delete SearchWebMesh adware from your MAC and return your web browser settings to defaults.

To remove SearchWebMesh, complete the following steps:

1. Remove profiles created by SearchWebMesh
2. Delete SearchWebMesh related applications through the Finder
3. Remove SearchWebMesh related files and folders
4. Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
5. Remove SearchWebMesh from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
6. How to stay safe online
7. To sum up

Remove profiles created by SearchWebMesh

SearchWebMesh 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.

Click the System Preferences icon ( ) in the Dock, or choose Apple menu ( ) > System Preferences.

In System Preferences, click Profiles, then select a profile related to SearchWebMesh.

Click the minus button ( – ) located at the bottom-left of the Profiles screen to remove the profile.
Note: if you do not see Profiles in the System Preferences, that means there are no profiles installed on your Mac device, which is normal.

Delete SearchWebMesh related applications through the Finder

In order to remove PUPs, browser hijackers and adware, open the Finder and click on “Applications”. Check the list of installed programs. For the ones you do not know, run an Internet search to see if they are browser hijackers, potentially unwanted programs and adware. If yes, uninstall them off. Even if they are just a apps that you do not use, then removing them off will increase your machine start up time and speed dramatically.

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

Very carefully look around the entire list of software installed on your Apple Mac. Most probably, one of them is the SearchWebMesh . Once you have found a questionable, unwanted or unused program, right click to it and choose “Move to Trash”. Another solution is drag the application from the Applications folder to the Trash.

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

Remove SearchWebMesh related files and folders

Now you need to try to find SearchWebMesh 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

If you are still having issues with the SearchWebMesh removal or just wish to check your Mac occasionally for adware and other malicious software, then download MalwareBytes Anti Malware. It’s free for home use, and detects and removes various unwanted software that attacks your machine or degrades MAC performance. MalwareBytes Free can remove adware software, toolbars, browser hijackers and potentially unwanted programs as well as malware, including ransomware and trojans.

MalwareBytes can be downloaded from the following link.

When downloading is finished, run it and follow the prompts. Click the “Scan” button for checking your MAC system for the SearchWebMesh . A scan may take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your machine and the speed of your computer. When a malware, adware or PUPs are detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Make sure to check mark the items that are unsafe and then click the “Quarantine” button.

The MalwareBytes is a free application that you can use to get rid of all detected folders, files, malicious services and so on.

Remove SearchWebMesh from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

If you’re still seeing SearchWebMesh adware software that won’t go away, you might have malicious extensions installed on your web-browser. Check your internet browser for unwanted extensions using the steps below.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
In the top-right corner, expand the Chrome menu. 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 SearchWebMesh 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 issues with SearchWebMesh adware removal, you need to reset Mozilla 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

If you want to get rid of annoying ads, browser redirects and popups, then install an ad blocker program such as AdGuard. It can block unwanted ads and pop-ups, stop web sites from tracking your online activities when using the Firefox, Google Chrome and Safari. So, if you like browse the Internet, but you do not like unwanted ads and want to protect your MAC from malicious websites, then the AdGuard is your best choice.

Please go to the link below to download AdGuard.

Once the downloading process is finished, 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 instructions. Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick instructions that will assist you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you start your Apple Mac, AdGuard will start automatically and stop annoying advertisements, block malicious and misleading websites.

To sum up

Once you have complete the steps outlined above, your MAC OS should be clean from this adware and other malware. The Safari, Chrome and Mozilla Firefox will no longer open any unwanted ads when you browse the Internet. Unfortunately, if the few simple steps does not help you, then you have caught a new adware, 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 SearchWebMesh adware.