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

What is SearchWebActively

SearchWebActively is an adware application that targets Mac computers. Adware is a form of malicious software that displays unwanted ads on the web-browser. Some of these advertisements are scams or fake ads developed to trick users. Even the harmless ads can become really irritating. Adware software can be installed accidentally and without users knowing about it, when users open email attachments, install free programs.

The worst is, adware can install a component which enables its creator to track which websites you visit, which products you look at upon those pages. They are then able to select the type of advertisements they display you. So, if you had adware software on your MAC, there is a good chance you have another that is collecting and sharing your personal data with third parties, without your knowledge.

If you are unfortunate have adware, you can follow the few simple steps below that will assist you to uninstall SearchWebActively and get rid of intrusive ads from your web-browser.

How does SearchWebActively get on your Apple Mac

These days certain freeware makers bundle potentially unwanted apps, browser hijackers and adware with a view to making some money. So, whenever you install a new freeware that downloaded from the Web, be very careful during installation. Carefully read the EULA (a text with I ACCEPT/I DECLINE button), select custom or manual installation type, uncheck all additional programs.

Threat Summary

Name	SearchWebActively
Type	adware, potentially unwanted program (PUP), Mac malware, Mac virus
Detection Names	Osx.Adware.Cimpli, OSX.Trojan.Gen, ApplicUnwnt, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, Adware/Adload!OSX, MacOS.Agent-MT, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A and Adware.MAC.Generic
Distribution	Freeware installers, fake updaters, shady popup ads and torrent downloads
Symptoms	Your web browser is redirected to web sites you did not want, undesired advertising links appear on web-sites that you are visiting, there is an unexpected application in the ‘Applications’ section of the Finder, new toolbars suddenly installed on your browser, unexpected changes in your browser such as displaying new tabs you didn’t open, slow Internet browsing speeds.
Removal	SearchWebActively removal guide

How to remove SearchWebActively from Mac

We can assist you remove SearchWebActively from your browsers, without the need to take your Apple Mac to a professional. Simply follow the removal instructions below if you currently have the annoying adware software on your MAC OS and want to get rid of it. If you’ve any difficulty while trying to delete the SearchWebActively adware, feel free to ask for our help in the comment section below. Certain of the steps will require you to restart your MAC system or exit this website. So, read this guidance carefully, then bookmark this page or open it on your smartphone for later reference.

To remove SearchWebActively, use the steps below:

1. Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device
2. Check the list of installed programs
3. Remove SearchWebActively related files and folders
4. Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
5. Remove SearchWebActively from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
6. How to stay safe online

Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device

SearchWebActively 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 adware.

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

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

Check the list of installed programs

In order to remove browser hijackers, PUPs and adware, open the Finder and click on “Applications”. Check the list of installed apps. For the ones you do not know, run an Internet search to see if they are adware, browser hijackers and potentially unwanted programs. If yes, uninstall them off. Even if they are just a apps that you do not use, then removing them off will increase your MAC system start up time and speed dramatically.

Open Finder and click “Applications” like below.

You will see a list of programs installed on your MAC system. We recommend to pay maximum attention to the program you installed last. Most probably, it’s the SearchWebActively . 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 delete is found, simply right click on its name, and choose “Move to Trash”.

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

Remove SearchWebActively related files and folders

Now you need to try to find SearchWebActively 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

You can delete SearchWebActively related files automatically through the use of MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM). We recommend this free malware removal tool because it may easily remove toolbars, browser hijackers, PUPs and adware with all their components such as files, folders and system entries.

Click the following link to download the latest version of MalwareBytes for Mac.

After the download is finished, close all windows on your MAC OS. Further, run the saved file. Follow the prompts.

The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) will automatically start and you can see its main window such as the one below.

Next, click the “Scan Now” button for checking your MAC for the SearchWebActively . This process can take quite a while, so please be patient. While the MalwareBytes Free is scanning, you can see number of objects it has identified either as being malicious software.

As the scanning ends, MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) will open a list of all threats found by the scan. Make sure to check mark the threats that are unsafe and then click the “Quarantine” button.

The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) will begin to remove SearchWebActively adware.

Remove SearchWebActively from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

Remove unwanted addons is a easy solution to remove SearchWebActively and revert back browser’s settings which have been replaced by adware software.

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, select ‘More tools’ and click on ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to remove SearchWebActively adware 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 SearchWebActively 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

If you browse the Net, you can’t avoid malicious advertising. But you can protect your web-browser against it. Download and run an adblocker program. AdGuard is an ad-blocker which can filter out a ton of of the malicious advertising, blocking dynamic scripts from loading malicious content.

Visit the following page to download AdGuard.

After the downloading process 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 guide. Press “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick guide which will allow you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you start your MAC OS, AdGuard will start automatically and stop intrusive pop-ups, block harmful and misleading webpages.

To sum up

We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted popups and intrusive malicious web sites) and MalwareBytes Anti Malware (to periodically scan your MAC system for new adwares and other malicious software).

If you are still having problems while trying to remove SearchWebActively from the Chrome, Safari and Mozilla Firefox, then ask for help here here.