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

What is SelectorComponent

According to security researchers, SelectorComponent is an adware application that targets Mac computers. Adware is form of malicious software that displays unwanted ads, redirects search requests to advertising web-sites and collects confidential data for marketing purposes. Adware software can display banner advertisements, full-screen advertisements, popups, videos, or other varieties of online advertising. Adware software can attack your MAC OS’s browsers such as Firefox, Safari and Google Chrome. Maybe you approve the idea that the advertisements or pop-ups is just a small problem. But these annoying advertisements eat Apple Mac resources and slow down your machine performance.

Another reason why you need to delete SelectorComponent is its online data-tracking activity. It can gather privacy info, including:

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

If you are unfortunate have adware, you can follow the step-by-step guidance below that will assist you to remove SelectorComponent and get rid of unwanted advertisements from your browser.

How does SelectorComponent get on your MAC system

Adware software usually is bundled with some free programs that users download off of the Net. So, think back, have you ever download and run any free applications. 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 select the ‘Manual’ or ‘Advanced’ setup method, when installing anything downloaded from the Internet.

Threat Summary

Name	SelectorComponent, SelectorComponent 1.0 app
Type	adware, potentially unwanted program (PUP), Mac malware, Mac virus
Detection Names	ApplicUnwnt, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, Adware/Adload!OSX, Adware.MAC.Generic, OSX.Trojan.Gen, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A and MacOS.Agent-MT
Distribution	Freeware installers, fake update tools, dubious pop-up ads and torrent downloads
Symptoms	Every time you perform an Internet search, your browser is redirected to another web-site, unexpected advertisements appear on web sites that you are visiting, there is an unwanted program in the ‘Applications’ section of the Finder, new toolbars suddenly installed on your web browser, unwanted changes in your browser like displaying new tabs you didn’t open, low ping but slow Internet.
Removal	SelectorComponent removal guide

How to remove SelectorComponent adware

The following steps will help you to delete SelectorComponent ads from Safari, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. Moreover, the step-by-step tutorial below will help you to delete malware, hijackers, potentially unwanted programs and toolbars that your Apple Mac may be infected. Please do the tutorial step by step. If you need assist or have any questions, then ask for our assistance or type a comment below. 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 Apple Mac.

To remove SelectorComponent, follow the steps below:

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

Remove profiles created by SelectorComponent

SelectorComponent 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 SelectorComponent.

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.

Delete SelectorComponent related software through the Finder

Check the list of installed apps and uninstall all unknown or questionable apps. This is an important step, it so often happens that PUPs, browser hijackers and adware are built into free software, so by removing these programs you can get rid of intrusive ads and internet browser redirects.

Open Finder and click “Applications” like below.

You will see a list of programs installed on your MAC. We recommend to pay maximum attention to the program you installed last. Most probably, it’s the SelectorComponent adware. If you are in doubt, you can always check the program by doing a search for her name in Google, Yahoo or Bing.

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

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

Remove SelectorComponent related files and folders

Now you need to try to find SelectorComponent 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

If you carefully followed the previous steps, then you should be able to remove SelectorComponent. Of course, very often browser hijackers, adware and potentially unwanted programs hides on a Mac computer, 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, potentially unwanted programs and browser hijackers. Therefore, we advise you to run MalwareBytes to scan the Mac computer.

MalwareBytes can be downloaded from the following link.

When downloading is done, close all apps and windows on your computer. Run the saved file. Follow the prompts.

The MalwareBytes will automatically start and you can see its main screen as shown on the screen below.

Now press the “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the SelectorComponent adware. Depending on your Apple Mac, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. While the MalwareBytes tool is scanning, you may see how many objects it has identified as being affected by malicious software.

Once finished, the results are displayed in the scan report. When you are ready, click the “Quarantine” button. The MalwareBytes will remove SelectorComponent adware and move the selected items to the Quarantine.

Remove SelectorComponent from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

Annoying SelectorComponent adware or other symptoms of adware in your internet browser is a good reason to find and get rid of harmful plugins. This is an easy way to restore web 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. 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 SelectorComponent 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 SelectorComponent adware 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 an ad-blocking tool such as AdGuard will protect you from malicious advertisements and content. Moreover, you may find that the AdGuard have an option to protect your privacy and block phishing and spam websites. Additionally, ad blocking programs will help you to avoid unwanted pop-up ads and unverified links that also a good way to stay safe online.

Installing the AdGuard is simple. First you’ll need to download AdGuard on your MS Windows Desktop by clicking on the following link.

When downloading is finished, 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 guide that will help you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you run your MAC system, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop intrusive pop-ups, block harmful and misleading websites.

To sum up

We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted pop-ups and intrusive malicious web-sites) and MalwareBytes Anti Malware (to periodically scan your MAC system for new adware softwares and other malicious software).

If you are still having problems while trying to get rid of SelectorComponent from the Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Safari, then ask for help here here.