How to uninstall UltraSearch Engine from Chrome, Firefox, Safari

What is UltraSearch Engine?

According to computer security experts, UltraSearch Engine is a browser hijacker. A common tactic used by the developers behind browser hijackers is to modify browser’s settings such as start page, new tab page and default search provider so that the hijacked browser goes to a web page under the authors’ control. UltraSearch Engine can take over your internet browser and force you to use an unwanted website as your home page, new tab and search engine. When UltraSearch Engine in the machine, it can gather personal information such as search queries as well as browsing history. So if you find this unwanted software on the MAC you need to remove it ASAP.

If your computer is affected with UltraSearch Engine browser hijacker you will be forced to use its own search provider. It could seem not to be dangerous, but you still should be very careful, since it may display annoying and malicious ads created to mislead you into buying certain questionable apps or products, provide search results which may redirect your internet browser to some deceptive, misleading or malicious web-sites. We suggest that you use only the reliable search engine like Google, Yahoo or Bing.

In addition to the above, UltraSearch Engin can collect lots of personal data about you that can be later sold to third party companies. You don’t know if your home address, account names and passwords are safe. And of course you completely do not know what will happen when you click on any ads on the UltraSearch Engine web-site.

Take a deep breath. Learn everything you should know about UltraSearch Engine removal, how to remove hijacker from your internet browser and machine. Find the best free malware removal utilities here!

How can a browser hijacker get on your machine

Browser hijackers gets onto MAC computers by being attached to various free software. This means that you need to be very careful when installing software downloaded from the Internet. Be sure to read the Terms of Use and the Software license, select only the Manual, Advanced or Custom setup option, switch off all additional modules and programs are offered to install.

Threat Summary

Name	UltraSearch Engine
Type	search engine hijacker, PUP, browser hijacker, start page hijacker, redirect virus
Affected Browser Settings	homepage, newtab page URL, search provider
Distribution	free applications setup files, misleading pop-up ads, fake update tools
Symptoms	You experience a ton of of unwanted ads. Every time you perform an Internet search, your browser is re-directed to another webpage. New entries appear in your Programs folder. Unwanted web browser toolbars on your desktop. Unexpected changes in your browser such as using a new default search engine.
Removal	UltraSearch Engine removal guide

How to remove UltraSearch Engine from Chrome, Firefox, Safari

There are a few methods that can be used to remove UltraSearch Engine. But, not all browser hijackers can be completely uninstalled utilizing only manual ways. In many cases you are not able to delete any browser hijackers utilizing standard Apple Mac options. In order to remove UltraSearch Engine you need complete a few manual steps and use reliable removal utilities. Most IT security professionals states that MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) utility is a right choice. The free program is able to scan for and delete UltraSearch Engine from your MAC and revert back your browser settings to defaults.

To remove UltraSearch Engine, execute the steps below:

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

Remove profiles created by UltraSearch Engine

UltraSearch Engine can install a configuration profile on the Mac system to block changes made to the browser settings. Therefore, you need to open system preferences, find and delete the profile installed by the browser hijacker.

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 UltraSearch Engine.

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.

Uninstall UltraSearch Engine associated software by using the Finder

It is of primary importance to identify and remove PUPs, adware and browser hijackers through ‘Applications’ section of your Finder.

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

It will display a list of all programs installed on your Apple Mac. Scroll through the all list, and delete any dubious and unknown apps. Right click to questionable program and choose “Move to Trash”. Another method is drag the application from the Applications folder to the Trash.

Most important, scroll through the all list, and move to trash any unknown applications. Don’t forget, select Finder -> Empty Trash.

Remove UltraSearch Engine related files and folders

Now you need to try to find UltraSearch Engine 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.

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

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

Some files created by UltraSearch Engine 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 UltraSearch Engine 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, installapp.plist, com.machelper.plist, search.plist, macsearch.plist, com.google.defaultsearch.plist, and com.UltraSearchEngine.service.plist. Most often, browser hijackers, adware and PUPs create several files with similar names.

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

If you carefully followed the previous steps, then you should be able to get rid of UltraSearch Engine. Of course, very often browser hijackers, adware software and potentially unwanted programs hides on a Mac device, disguising itself as legitimate apps and files. Therefore, in some cases, it is difficult for an inexperienced user to decide whether a particular file is part of adware, browser hijackers and potentially unwanted programs. Therefore, we suggest you to use MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) to scan the Mac device.

1. Click the following link to download the latest version of MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) for Mac OS.
   
   

   Malwarebytes Anti-malware (Mac)
   20850 downloads
   Author: Malwarebytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: September 10, 2020
   
2. Once the downloading process is complete, please close all software and open windows on your MAC. Run the downloaded file. Follow the prompts.
3. The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware will run and display the main window.
4. Further, click the “Scan” button to search for UltraSearch Engine browser hijacker. While the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware utility is scanning, you can see how many objects it has identified as being affected by malicious software.
5. When finished, MalwareBytes will show you the results.
6. Review the results once the tool has complete the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply press the “Remove Selected Items” button.
7. Close the AntiMalware and continue with the next step.

Remove UltraSearch Engine from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

An unwanted homepage or other symptoms of the hijacker in your web-browser is a good reason to find and remove harmful addons. 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 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 delete UltraSearch Engine hijacker 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 UltraSearch Engine 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.

Run AdBlocker to block UltraSearch Engine and stay safe online

The AdGuard is a very good ad blocking program for the Safari, Chrome and Firefox, with active user support. It does a great job by removing certain types of intrusive ads, popunders, pop ups, intrusive newtab pages, and even full page advertisements and web page overlay layers. Of course, the AdGuard can stop the UltraSearch Engine redirect automatically or by using a custom filter rule.

1. Visit the following page to download AdGuard.
   
   

   AdGuard for Mac download
   3686 downloads
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: January 17, 2018
   
2. When the downloading process is done, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. When the install is finished, click “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that 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 start your computer, AdGuard will run automatically and stop unwanted advertisements, block UltraSearch Engine redirects, as well as other malicious or misleading webpages.

To sum up

After completing the step-by-step guidance outlined above, your MAC should be clean from this browser hijacker and other malware. The Safari, Chrome and Mozilla Firefox will no longer display the UltraSearch Engine site on startup. Unfortunately, if the steps does not help you, then you have caught a new browser hijacker, 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 UltraSearchEngine hijacker.