How to get rid of Search.w8mnlb.com redirect from Chrome, Firefox, Safari

What is Search.w8mnlb.com?

According to cyber threat analysts, Search.w8mnlb.com is a website that’s promoted by browser hijackers. Typically, browser hijackers make changes to the default homepage and search engine of user browsers, making it difficult to change them back. Browser hijackers may also include unwanted advertisements and pop-ups to show up in the infected browsers. Browser hijackers are usually installed with freeware or shareware download off from third-party websites; they can also be found inside legitimate web pages and applications.

Unwanted search ads

When you’re performing searches using the web browser that has been affected by Search.w8mnlb.com, the search results will be returned from Bing, Yahoo or Google Custom Search. The makers of the browser hijacker are most probably doing this to generate advertisement money from the ads shown in the search results.

As well as unwanted web-browser redirects to Search.w8mnlb.com, the hijacker can gather your Web surfing activity by recording IP addresses, web pages visited, web-browser version and type, URLs visited, Internet Service Provider (ISP) and cookie information. Such kind of behavior can lead to serious security problems or user data theft. This is another reason why the hijacker that redirects the web-browser to Search.w8mnlb.com should be uninstalled sooner.

If you are unfortunate have browser hijacker, adware software or malware running on your MAC OS, you can follow the few simple steps here to get rid of Search.w8mnlb.com from the MAC system.

How can a browser hijacker get on your MAC system

The majority of browser hijackers get onto Mac computers by being attached to freeware or even paid software which Net users can easily download online. The install packages of such software, most commonly, clearly display that they will install bundled apps. The option is given to users to stop the installation of any third-party applications. So, in order to avoid the install of any browser hijackers: read all disclaimers and install screens very carefully, choose only Custom or Advanced installation mode and disable all bundled applications in which you are unsure.

Threat Summary

How to remove Search.w8mnlb.com

There are a simple manual guide below which will assist you to get rid of Search.w8mnlb.com from your Mac. The most effective way to remove this browser hijacker is to follow the manual removal instructions and then run MalwareBytes automatic tool (it is free). The manual solution will help to weaken this browser hijacker and these malicious software removal tools will completely delete Search.w8mnlb.com redirects and return the Firefox, Chrome and Safari settings to default.

To remove Search.w8mnlb.com, follow the steps below:

1. Remove profiles created by Search.w8mnlb.com
2. Check the list of installed software
3. Remove Search.w8mnlb.com related files and folders
4. Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
5. Remove Search.w8mnlb.com from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
6. How to stop Search.w8mnlb.com redirect

Remove profiles created by Search.w8mnlb.com

Browser hijackers 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 related to Search.w8mnlb.com.

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 software

One of the first things to attempt for removal of browser hijacker is to check your Mac device installed programs screen and look for unwanted and dubious apps. If there are any software you do not recognize or are no longer using, you should remove them. If that doesn’t work, then you may need to use malicious software removal utility such as MalwareBytes Anti-Malware.

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

Carefully browse through the list of installed software and remove all suspicious and unknown apps.

When you’ve found anything questionable that may be the browser hijacker that responsible for web-browser redirect to the unwanted Search.w8mnlb.com website or other potentially unwanted program, then right click this program and select “Move to Trash”. Once complete, Empty Trash.

Remove Search.w8mnlb.com related files and folders

Now you need to try to find Search.w8mnlb.com 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.

Browser hijackers creates several files, these files must be found and removed. Some files created by malware 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 Search.w8mnlb.com related 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.w8mnlb.service.plist, macsearch.plist, search.plist, installapp.plist, com.machelper.plist and com.net-preferences.plist. Most often, browser hijackers, potentially unwanted programs and adware create several files with similar names.

Check for Search.w8mnlb.com related 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.w8mnlb.system, then this folder must be deleted. Move all suspicious folders and files to the Trash.

Check for Search.w8mnlb.com related 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 Search.w8mnlb.com related 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.machelper.system.plist, com.macsearch.system.plist, com.search.system.plist, com.w8mnlb.system.plist and com.installapp.system.plist. In most cases, adware, browser hijackers and PUPs create several files with similar names.

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

We recommend using MalwareBytes to scan the Mac computer for browser hijackers, PUPs and adware software. This free tool is an advanced malicious software removal program developed by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This program uses the world’s most popular anti-malware technology. It is able to help you get rid of adware and other security threats from your Mac for free.

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

   Malwarebytes Anti-malware (Mac)
   19037 downloads
   Author: Malwarebytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: September 10, 2020
   
2. After the downloading process is complete, close all programs and windows on your MAC OS. Open a folder in which you saved it. Run the downloaded file and follow the prompts.
3. Click the “Scan” button to search for hijacker that causes the Search.w8mnlb.com web-page to appear. A scan may take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your MAC OS and the speed of your MAC OS. While the utility is scanning, you may see number of objects and files has already scanned.
4. After that process is finished, MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) will create a list of unwanted programs and browser hijacker. Review the report and then click “Quarantine”.

Remove Search.w8mnlb.com from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

This step will show you how to delete harmful extensions. This can remove Search.w8mnlb.com redirects and fix some surfing issues, especially after hijacker infection.

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. Select ‘More tools’, then ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to get rid of Search.w8mnlb.com 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 issues with Search.w8mnlb.com 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 stop Search.w8mnlb.com redirect

In order to increase your security and protect your MAC OS against new annoying ads and malicious web-sites, you need to run ad-blocking program that blocks an access to malicious ads and web sites. Moreover, the application can stop the show of intrusive advertising, which also leads to faster loading of web pages and reduce the consumption of web traffic.

1. Installing the AdGuard is simple. First you’ll need to download AdGuard on your computer by clicking on the link below.
   
   

   AdGuard for Mac download
   3208 downloads
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: January 17, 2018
   
2. Once the download is finished, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. Once 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 allow 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 launch your MAC, AdGuard will start automatically and stop annoying ads, block Search.w8mnlb.com, as well as other harmful or misleading websites.

Finish words

Now your machine should be clean of the hijacker that responsible for browser redirect to the Search.w8mnlb.com web page. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted ads and intrusive harmful webpages) and MalwareBytes (to periodically scan your machine for new malware, hijackers and adware software). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Mac OS. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new hijackers, malicious software and adware software are released.

If you are still having problems while trying to remove Search.w8mnlb.com from your internet browser, then ask for help here.

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