How to uninstall ParameterBuffer app/extensiopn from Mac (Virus removal guide)

What is ParameterBuffer

ParameterBuffer is a malicious application that belongs to the Adware category. Adware is a part of malicious software created to throw advertisements up on your browser screen. ParameterBuffer generates money for its developer by occasionally showing tons of ads and popup deals. You might experience a change in your homepage or search engine, new tabs opening or even a redirect to malicious and scam sites.

The worst is, the ParameterBuffer adware can collect personal information, including:

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

Therefore, the ParameterBuffer adware is quite dangerous. So, we recommend you remove it from your Apple Mac as quickly as possible. Follow the tutorial presented below to uninstall ParameterBuffer and get rid of unwanted ads from Google Chrome, Safari and Firefox.

How does ParameterBuffer get on your machine

Adware usually gets on Mac computers as a part of free applications or fake updates. So, when you installing freeware, carefully read the disclaimers, select the Custom or Advanced installation mode to watch for third-party applications that are being installed, because some of the software are PUAs and adware software.

Threat Summary

Name	ParameterBuffer
Type	adware, potentially unwanted program (PUP), Mac malware, Mac virus
Detection Names	Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A, Adware/Adload!OSX, ApplicUnwnt, MacOS.Agent-MT, OSX.Trojan.Gen and Adware.MAC.Generic
Distribution	Free software installers, dubious pop up ads, fake updaters and torrent downloads
Symptoms	Every time you perform an Internet search, your web browser is redirected to another web page, popups and newtabs are loaded without your request, there is an unwanted application in the ‘Applications’ section of the Finder, unwanted web browser toolbars, your web-browser search engine has replaced without your permission, fast Internet but slow browsing speeds.
Removal	ParameterBuffer removal guide

How to remove ParameterBuffer adware

We can assist you delete ParameterBuffer from your browsers, without the need to take your machine to a professional. Simply follow the removal steps below if you currently have the unwanted adware on your MAC and want to get rid of it. If you have any difficulty while trying to remove the adware, feel free to ask for our assist in the comment section below. Read this manual carefully, bookmark it or open this page on your smartphone, because you may need to close your browser or reboot your machine.

To remove ParameterBuffer, use the following steps:

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

Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device

ParameterBuffer 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 ParameterBuffer.

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 device, which is normal.

Remove ParameterBuffer related applications through the Finder

In order to remove ParameterBuffer you need to do is to remove unknown and suspicious programs from your Apple Mac using the Finder. When removing potentially unwanted programs, browser hijackers and adware, check the list of installed programs and try to find suspicious programs and delete them all. Pay special attention to recently installed programs, as it’s most probably that ParameterBuffer сame along with it.

Make sure you have closed all web-browsers and other applications. Next, delete any unknown and suspicious programs from machine using the Finder.

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

Look around the entire list of software installed on your machine. Most probably, one of them is the ParameterBuffer adware software. Select the dubious program or the program that name is not familiar to you and delete it.

Drag the suspicious program from the Applications folder to the Trash.

Most important, don’t forget, select Finder -> Empty Trash.

Remove ParameterBuffer related files and folders

Now you need to try to find ParameterBuffer 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.

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

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

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

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

Check for ParameterBuffer 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 ParameterBuffer 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.ParameterBuffer.system.plist, com.search.system.plist, com.macsearch.system.plist, com.installapp.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

We recommend using MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM). You may download and install MalwareBytes Free to find and remove ParameterBuffer associated applications from your Mac device. When installed and updated, the malware remover automatically detects and deletes all security threats exist on the computer.

Installing the MalwareBytes is simple. First you’ll need to download MalwareBytes AntiMalware on your MS Windows Desktop from the link below.

Once the download is finished, close all apps and windows on your MAC OS. Run the saved file. Follow the prompts.

The MalwareBytes Free will automatically start and you can see its main screen as displayed below.

Now click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the ParameterBuffer adware. This procedure may take some time, so please be patient. During the scan MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) will detect threats exist on your MAC OS.

After MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) has finished scanning your MAC system, you’ll be shown the list of all found threats on your machine. Review the scan results and then click the “Quarantine” button. The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware will remove ParameterBuffer and move the selected threats to the Quarantine.

Remove ParameterBuffer from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

If you have ‘ParameterBuffer adware’ removal problem, then remove unwanted addons can help you. In the steps below we will show you the method to remove harmful add-ons without reinstall. This will also help to remove ParameterBuffer adware 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. Select ‘More tools’, then ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to remove ParameterBuffer 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 problems with ParameterBuffer 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

To put it simply, you need to use an ad blocking utility (AdGuard, for example). It’ll block and protect you from malicious websites, unwanted ads and pop-ups. To be able to do that, the ad blocking program uses a list of filters. Each filter is a rule that describes a malicious web page, an advertising content, a banner and others. The ad-blocking program automatically uses these filters, depending on the web-pages you’re visiting.

Click the link below to download AdGuard.

Once the download is done, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen. Follow the prompts.

Each time, when you run your MAC system, AdGuard will start automatically and stop annoying popup ads, block malicious and misleading web sites.

Finish words

We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted popups and intrusive malicious web-pages) and MalwareBytes Anti Malware (to periodically scan your Apple Mac for new malware, browser hijackers and adware software). 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, malicious software and adware are released.

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