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

What is SmartTechLookup

SmartTechLookup is an adware application. By definition, adware is a piece of software which shows ads on a computer. However, people basically use the word ‘adware’ to describe a type of malicious software which shows unwanted advertisements to the user. In many cases, this kind of adware do not have any uninstall procedures and can use technologies that are similar to those used by trojans to penetrate the machine.

Does adware steal your confidential information? The SmartTechLookup adware can monetize its functionality by collecting user info from your browsing sessions. This confidential info, afterwards, can be easily sold 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 delete SmartTechLookup adware, you will need complete the following steps or use free adware removal utility listed below.

How does SmartTechLookup get on your MAC system

Adware usually come bundled with free applications and installs itself without your knowledge. This happens especially when you are installing freeware. The setup files trick you into accepting the installation of additional applications, which you do not really want. Moreover, certain paid software may also install third-party applications which you do not want! Therefore, always download freeware and paid software from reputable download web pages. Use ONLY custom or manual setup type and never blindly click Next button.

Threat Summary

Name	SmartTechLookup, SmartTechLookup 1.0 app
Type	adware software, potentially unwanted program (PUP), Mac malware, Mac virus
Detection Names	Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, Adware.MAC.Generic, MacOS.Agent-MT, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, ApplicUnwnt, OSX.Trojan.Gen, Adware/Adload!OSX and Program:MacOS/Vigram.A
Distribution	Freeware installers, malicious pop-up advertisements, torrent downloads and fake software updaters
Symptoms	Every time you perform an Internet search, your web-browser is redirected to another webpage, unclosable window appear and recommend fake security software, there is an unwanted program in the ‘Applications’ section of the Finder, an unwanted toolbar appears in your web browser, your internet browser start page has replaced and you cannot modify it back, fast Internet but slow browsing speeds.
Removal	SmartTechLookup removal guide

How to remove SmartTechLookup adware

Fortunately, we have an effective way that will help you manually or/and automatically get rid of SmartTechLookup from your web-browser and bring your web browser settings, including new tab page, home page and search provider, back to normal. Below you will find a removal tutorial with all the steps you may need to successfully delete adware and its components. Read it once, after doing so, please bookmark this page (or open it on your smartphone) as you may need to close your web-browser or reboot your MAC system.

To remove SmartTechLookup, execute the following steps:

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

Remove profiles created by SmartTechLookup

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

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

Uninstall SmartTechLookup associated software by using the Finder

Go to the Finder and uninstall dubious programs, all applications you don’t remember installing. It’s important to pay the most attention to apps you have recently installed. If you do not know what a program does, look for the answer on the World Wide Web.

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

Very carefully look around the entire list of applications installed on your MAC system. Most likely, one of them is the SmartTechLookup adware. Once you have found a questionable, unwanted or unused program, right click to it and choose “Move to Trash”. Another way is drag the program from the Applications folder to the Trash.

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

Remove SmartTechLookup related files and folders

Now you need to try to find SmartTechLookup 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.

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

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

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

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

Check for SmartTechLookup 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 SmartTechLookup 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.SmartTechLookup.system.plist, com.installapp.system.plist, com.machelper.system.plist and com.macsearch.system.plist. In most cases, browser hijackers, adware and PUPs create several files with similar names.

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

You can remove SmartTechLookup related files automatically through the use of MalwareBytes AntiMalware. We recommend this free malware removal utility because it can easily remove browser hijackers, adware, PUPs and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and system entries.

Installing the MalwareBytes Free is simple. First you’ll need to download MalwareBytes AntiMalware on your MAC OS by clicking on the link below.

After the downloading process is finished, close all programs and windows on your computer. Open a directory in which you saved it. Run the saved file and follow the prompts.

Once setup is complete, you’ll see window like below.

Now press the “Scan” button for scanning your computer for the SmartTechLookup adware. A system scan may take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your MAC system. While the MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) tool is scanning, you may see number of objects it has identified as being infected by malware.

As the scanning ends, MalwareBytes will display a screen which contains a list of malicious software that has been found. In order to remove all threats, simply press “Quarantine” button.

The Malwarebytes will now remove SmartTechLookup related files.

Remove SmartTechLookup from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

Annoying ads or other symptoms of adware software in your internet browser is a good reason to locate and get rid of malicious extensions. This is an easy way to restore internet 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. When the drop-down menu appears, choose ‘More tools’ and click on ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to remove SmartTechLookup adware 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 SmartTechLookup 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

Run ad blocking application like AdGuard in order to stop ads, malvertisements, pop-ups and online trackers, avoid having to install malicious and adware browser plug-ins and add-ons that affect your MAC performance and impact your MAC OS security. Browse the Internet anonymously and stay safe online!

AdGuard can be downloaded from the following link.

Once the downloading process 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. 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 run your MAC system, AdGuard will start automatically and stop unwanted pop up advertisements, block harmful and misleading web pages.

Finish words

Now your MAC OS should be free of the SmartTechLookup adware. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted ads and intrusive malicious web-pages) and MalwareBytes Free (to periodically scan your machine for new adwares and other malware).

If you are still having problems while trying to delete SmartTechLookup from the Safari, Mozilla Firefox and Chrome, then ask for help here here.