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

What is HdTrack

According to security professionals, HdTrack is an application that acts as Adware. Adware is form of software which displays unwnated ads, redirects search results to advertising web-pages and collects user data for marketing purposes. Adware can attack your computer’s browsers such as the Safari, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. The HdTrack adware can display banner advertisements, full-screen advertisements, pop-ups, videos, or other varieties of online advertising. Maybe you approve the idea that the advertisements or pop-ups is just a small problem. But these unwanted ads eat system resources and slow down your Mac performance.

Does adware steal your privacy data? Adware can install a component that enables its creator to track which websites you visit, which products you look at upon those pages. They are then able to choose the type of advertisements they show you. So, if you had adware on your Apple Mac, there is a good chance you have another that is gathering and sharing your data with third parties, without your say-so.

Take a deep breath. Learn everything you should know about HdTrack removal, how to get rid of unwanted ads from your web-browser and computer. Find the best free adware removal tools here!

How does HdTrack get on your machine

Adware usually is bundled within certain free programs that users download off of the World Wide Web. So, think back, have you ever download and run any freeware. In order to avoid infection, in the Setup wizard, you should be be proactive and carefully read the ‘Terms of use’, the ‘license agreement’ and other installation screens, as well as to always choose the ‘Manual’ or ‘Advanced’ installation option, when installing anything downloaded from the Internet.

Threat Summary

Name	HdTrack
Type	adware, PUP (potentially unwanted program), Mac malware, Mac virus
Detection Names	Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A, ApplicUnwnt, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, MacOS.Agent-MT, Adware.MAC.Generic, Adware/Adload!OSX and OSX.Trojan.Gen
Distribution	Freeware installers, torrent downloads, fake updaters and shady popup ads
Symptoms	Every time you perform an Internet search, your internet browser is redirected to another web-site, advertising banners appear in places they shouldn’t be, there is an unexpected program in the ‘Applications’ section of the Finder, new extensions suddenly installed on your web browser, your internet browser settings are being changed without your request, slow Internet or slow browsing.
Removal	HdTrack removal guide

How to remove HdTrack

In many cases adware software requires more than a simple uninstall through the use of the Finder in order to be fully uninstalled. For that reason, our team designed several removal methods that we’ve combined in a detailed instructions. Therefore, if you have the HdTrack adware on your MAC and are currently trying to have it uninstalled then feel free to follow the tutorial below in order to resolve your problem. Certain of the steps below will require you to close this website. So, please read the steps carefully, after that bookmark it or open it on your smartphone for later reference.

To remove HdTrack, complete the following steps:

1. Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device
2. Remove HdTrack related apps through the Finder
3. Remove HdTrack related files and folders
4. Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
5. Remove HdTrack from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
6. How to stay safe online

Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device

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

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

Remove HdTrack related apps through the Finder

Some browser hijackers, adware and PUPs can be removed by uninstalling the free software they came with. If this way does not succeed, then looking them up in the list of installed programs in the Finder. Use the “Move to Trash” command in order to delete them.

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

Carefully browse through the list of installed applications and delete all suspicious and unknown applications.

Once you have found anything dubious that may be the HdTrack adware or other PUP, then right click this program and choose “Move to Trash”. Once complete, Empty Trash.

Remove HdTrack related files and folders

Now you need to try to find HdTrack 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

We recommend using MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) to scan the Mac device for browser hijackers, adware and PUPs. This free tool is an advanced malicious software removal application developed by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This application uses the world’s most popular antimalware technology. It’s able to help you remove ransomware and other security threats from your Mac for free.

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

Once the download is finished, run it and follow the prompts. Press the “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the HdTrack . A scan may take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your MAC system and the speed of your Apple Mac. When a threat is found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the scanning is done. Review the results once the utility has finished the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply click the “Quarantine” button.

The MalwareBytes AntiMalware is a free program that you can use to remove all detected folders, files, malicious services and so on.

Remove HdTrack from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

If you have ‘HdTrack adware’ removal problem, then remove unwanted plugins can help you. In the steps below we will show you the way to remove malicious addons without reinstall. This will also allow to get rid of HdTrack adware software from your internet browser.

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

It is also critical to protect your browsers from malicious web pages and ads by using an ad-blocker application such as AdGuard. Security experts says that it’ll greatly reduce the risk of malicious software, and potentially save lots of money. Additionally, the AdGuard can also protect your privacy by blocking almost all trackers.

Please go to the link below to download AdGuard.

When the downloading process 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 tutorial. Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will help you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you run your MAC, AdGuard will run automatically and stop annoying pop up ads, block malicious and misleading webpages.

To sum up

Now your Apple Mac should be free of adware software. We suggest that you keep MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) (to periodically scan your MAC for new adware and other malware) and AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted pop-up advertisements and harmful web sites). Moreover, to prevent any adware, please stay clear of unknown and third party applications.

If you need more help with HdTrack related issues, go to here.