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

What is InitialWebTool

InitialWebTool is a malicious app that belongs to the Adware family. Adware is form of software designed to insert advertising into your Internet surfing or even desktop experience. Adware software can be developed to modify your home page, search engine, search results, or even add toolbars to your browser. InitialWebTool run in the background when you’re online, and it can slow down your computer and affect its performance.

The worst is, the adware software can collect sensitive information, including:

• IP addresses;
• URLs visited;
• search queries/terms;
• clicks on links and ads;
• browser version information.

If you are unfortunate have adware software, then follow the simple steps below that will allow you to delete InitialWebTool and get rid of intrusive advertisements from your internet browser.

How does InitialWebTool get on your computer

The adware was probably installed on your machine when you installed certain free programs like Email checker, PDF creator, video codec, etc. Because more often than not, adware can be bundled with the installation files of Softonic, Cnet, Soft32, Brothersoft or other similar software download web pages. Thus, you must be very careful when running any files downloaded from the World Wide Web! Always read the User Agreement, Software License and Terms of Use carefully. In the installation wizard, you should select the Advanced, Custom or Manual installation option to specify which components and additional programs to install.

Threat Summary

Name	InitialWebTool, InitialWebTool 1.0 app
Type	adware, PUP (potentially unwanted program), Mac virus, Mac malware
Detection Names	MacOS.Agent-MT, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, OSX.Trojan.Gen, ApplicUnwnt, Adware/Adload!OSX, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, Adware.MAC.Generic and Program:MacOS/Vigram.A
Distribution	Freeware installers, shady pop-up advertisements, fake update tools and torrent downloads
Symptoms	Every time you perform an Internet search, your internet browser is redirected to another web site, popup advertisements won’t go away, your MAC OS starts automatically installing unwanted software, unexpected internet browser addons or toolbars keep coming back, unwanted changes in your web browser like displaying new tabs you did not open, your web-browser slows to a crawl.
Removal	InitialWebTool removal guide

How to remove InitialWebTool adware

Without a doubt, the adware is harmful to your MAC system. So you need to quickly and completely delete InitialWebTool. To remove this adware, you can use the manual removal guidance that are given below or free malicious software removal utility like MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) (it is free). We advise you use automatic removal way that will help you to remove InitialWebTool easily and safely. Manual removal is best used only if you are well versed in MAC or in the case where adware is not deleted automatically. Some of the steps below will require you to close this web-page. So, please read the steps carefully, after that bookmark it or open it on your smartphone for later reference.

To remove InitialWebTool, perform the steps below:

1. Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device
2. Check the list of installed applications
3. Remove InitialWebTool related files and folders
4. Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
5. Remove InitialWebTool from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
6. How to stay safe online

Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device

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

In System Preferences, click Profiles, then select a profile associated with InitialWebTool.

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 computer, which is normal.

Check the list of installed applications

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

Open Finder and click “Applications” as shown on the image below.

You will see a list of apps installed on your Apple Mac. We recommend to pay maximum attention to the program you installed last. Most likely, it’s the InitialWebTool adware. If you’re in doubt, you can always check the program by doing a search for her name in Google, Yahoo or Bing.

When the application which you need to delete is found, simply right press on its name, and select “Move to Trash”.

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

Remove InitialWebTool related files and folders

Now you need to try to find InitialWebTool 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

Manual InitialWebTool removal requires some computer skills. Some files and system entries that created by the adware software can be not fully removed. We advise that run MalwareBytes Free to scan the Mac computer. Moreover, this application will allow you to remove browser hijackers, potentially unwanted programs, adware software and toolbars that your machine can be affected too.

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

   Malwarebytes Anti-malware (Mac)
   20986 downloads
   Author: Malwarebytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: September 10, 2020
   
2. After the downloading process is finished, please close all applications and open windows on your MAC system. Run the downloaded file. Follow the prompts.
3. The MalwareBytes will start and open the main window.
4. Further, click the “Scan” button . MalwareBytes Free application will scan through the whole Apple Mac for the InitialWebTool adware software. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your computer and the speed of your MAC. During the scan MalwareBytes will detect threats present on your MAC system.
5. After the scan is done, MalwareBytes Anti Malware will create a list of unwanted programs and adware software.
6. Once you’ve selected what you wish to delete from your Apple Mac press the “Remove Selected Items” button.
7. Close the Anti Malware and continue with the next step.

Remove InitialWebTool from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

Remove unwanted extensions is a simple method to remove InitialWebTool and restore browser’s settings which have been modified by adware.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
In the top-right corner, expand the Google Chrome menu. When the drop-down menu appears, select ‘More tools’ and click on ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to remove InitialWebTool 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 InitialWebTool adware software 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

In order to increase your security and protect your computer against new annoying ads and malicious web-sites, you need to use ad-blocking program that blocks an access to harmful ads and websites. Moreover, the program may stop the open of intrusive advertising, that also leads to faster loading of web pages and reduce the consumption of web traffic.

Download AdGuard by clicking on the following link.

Once the download is done, 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 guidance that will allow you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you launch your machine, AdGuard will start automatically and stop annoying ads, block harmful and misleading web sites.

To sum up

Now your MAC OS should be clean of the InitialWebTool adware. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted ads and intrusive harmful websites) and MalwareBytes (to periodically scan your computer for new malicious software, hijackers and adware). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Mac operating system. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new hijackers, harmful apps and adware software are released.

If you are still having problems while trying to remove InitialWebTool from your browser, then ask for help here.