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

What is AphroditeLookup

AphroditeLookup is a malicious application that falls under the category of Adware. Adware is a type of malicious software designed to display unwanted ads that appear in unclosable windows or in-text links on the computer screen. In order to show unwanted adverts as often as possible the AphroditeLookup adware can change web browser settings. You may even find that your Mac settings are hijacked. The adware developers do so in order to make profit via third-party ad network. Thus every your click on the adverts makes money for them.

Another reason why you need to remove AphroditeLookup is its online data-tracking activity. It can monetize its functionality by collecting confidential information from your browsing sessions. This information, later, can be easily transferred to third parties. This puts your personal data at a security risk.

Adware is usually written in ways common to malware, spyware and browser hijackers. In order to remove AphroditeLookup adware, you will need perform the following steps or use free adware software removal utility listed below.

How does AphroditeLookup get on your MAC

The majority of adware come as a part of free programs or even paid software which Internet users can easily download online. The setup files of such applications, most often, clearly show that they will install bundled applications. The option is given to users to block the install of any optional programs. So, in order to avoid the setup of any adware: read all disclaimers and install screens very carefully, choose only Custom or Advanced installation mode and reject all bundled applications in which you are unsure.

Threat Summary

Name	AphroditeLookup, AphroditeLookup 1.0 app
Type	adware, potentially unwanted program (PUP), Mac virus, Mac malware
Detection Names	MacOS.Agent-MT, ApplicUnwnt, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, OSX.Trojan.Gen, Adware/Adload!OSX, Adware.MAC.Generic, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload and Program:MacOS/Vigram.A
Distribution	Freeware installers, misleading popup advertisements, fake update tools and torrent downloads
Symptoms	Your browser is redirected to webpages you did not want, ads appear in places they shouldn’t be, your Apple Mac starts automatically installing unwanted programs, an unwanted extension appears in your web-browser, unwanted changes in your browser such as displaying new tabs you did not open, fast Internet but slow browsing speeds.
Removal	AphroditeLookup removal guide

How to remove AphroditeLookup from Mac

When the adware gets installed on your MAC without your knowledge, it is not easy to uninstall. In many cases, there is no Uninstall program which simply remove the adware from your MAC. So, we advise using well-proven free specialized tool such as MalwareBytes. But the best method to get rid of AphroditeLookup will be to perform several manual steps, after that additionally use antimalware utilities.

To remove AphroditeLookup, follow the steps below:

1. Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device
2. Delete AphroditeLookup associated software by using the Finder
3. Remove AphroditeLookup related files and folders
4. Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
5. Remove AphroditeLookup from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
6. How to stay safe online

Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device

AphroditeLookup 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. If there is Profiles in the list, then click on it, then select a profile related to AphroditeLookup.

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

Delete AphroditeLookup associated software by using the Finder

Some of browser hijackers, PUPs and adware can be removed using the Move to Trash tool that can be found in the Finder. So, if you are running any version of Mac and you have noticed an unwanted program, then first try to delete it through the Finder.

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 AphroditeLookup adware software. Once you have found a questionable, unwanted or unused program, right click to it and choose “Move to Trash”. Another way is drag the application from the Applications folder to the Trash.

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

Remove AphroditeLookup related files and folders

Now you need to try to find AphroditeLookup 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

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

Installing the MalwareBytes is simple. First you will need to download MalwareBytes Anti Malware from the following link.

When downloading is complete, close all windows on your computer. Further, run the saved file. Follow the prompts.

The MalwareBytes Free will automatically launch and you can see its main window as shown in the following example.

Next, press the “Scan Now” button to perform a system scan with this tool for the AphroditeLookup adware. This process may take some time, so please be patient. When a threat is detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the scanning is complete.

When finished, MalwareBytes will show a list of found items. When you are ready, click the “Quarantine” button.

The MalwareBytes AntiMalware will remove AphroditeLookup adware software and move the selected threats to the Quarantine.

Remove AphroditeLookup from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

If you have ‘AphroditeLookup ‘ removal problem, then remove unwanted extensions can help you. In the steps below we will show you the solution to get rid of harmful extensions without reinstall. This will also allow to remove AphroditeLookup adware software from your web browser.

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 remove AphroditeLookup 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 AphroditeLookup adware software 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

In order to increase your security and protect your MAC against new unwanted ads and harmful web pages, you need to run ad-blocker program that stops an access to harmful advertisements and web-pages. Moreover, the application can stop the open of intrusive advertising, that also leads to faster loading of web pages and reduce the consumption of web traffic.

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

   AdGuard for Mac download
   3686 downloads
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: January 17, 2018
   
2. When the download is done, launch the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. When the setup is finished, press “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial which will assist you get to know AdGuard better.
4. In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you run your machine, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop annoying ads, block malicious and misleading web sites.

To sum up

Once you have done the tutorial above, your machine should be clean from this adware and other malicious software. The Chrome, Safari and Mozilla Firefox will no longer display any unwanted ads when you surf the Internet. Unfortunately, if the 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 AphroditeLookup adware.