Mac Viruses

Searchbaron.com is an annoying search redirect, that is caused by adware, installed on your Mac. It manifests itself in Safari, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox browsers. Searchbaron.com may initiate multiple redirects until it reaches a final destination - search results page. Searchbaron.com redirects are caused by the malicious activity of applications like PasteBoard, Spotlight.app, Space.app. Such apps can be presented by the application, add-on, malicious device profile or just virus file or process. The chain of redirects, that Searchbaron.com starts serves the goal to collect information about user's browsing habits. This data is then actively used by advertising companies to create highly targeted ads.

Smart Mac Tuneup is a rogue optimization program for Mac, that gets stuck in your system, consumes resources and displays annoying alerts and pop-ups about viruses and errors. It looks like a typical application of its kind but generates scan results filled with false positive detections and exaggerated amount of issues. Actually, Smart Mac Tuneup finds problems even on brand new Mac computers. Due to those facts, it is classified as a rogue or potentially unwanted application (PUP), and it is recommended to get rid of it. Smart Mac Tuneup runs on system startup and may not be removed in a regular way.

Ouo.io is a bogus website, that is a part of a huge advertising network. It displays fake pages of Adobe Flash updates, streaming sites, download portals and claims to provide access to restricted content after allowing notifications. Push-notifications is a feature in modern browsers, that allows users to get announcements about important information from online newspapers, Youtube or social networks. This function is exploited by adware to push promotional information via this channel. If you see ads, pop-ups or notifications from Ouo.io, there is a high possibility of malware infection or browser's settings hijack.

Ecosia.org or Ecosia is contradictory search engine and browser add-on, that can override default settings of search, homepage and new tab in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Safari on Windows or Mac OS. On their website, it is stated, that Ecosia is Germany-based internet search engine. It donates 80% of revenue to ecological companies focusing on planting trees. From a technical point of view, this is Bing-affiliated search, that provides results almost identical to Bing.com. The search engine is accompanied by extensions for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox with more than 2 million users. It is difficult to verify whether the statements of developers are true or false, but actions of Ecosia fall into the category of browser hijackers. Many users complained that Ecosia.org appeared in browsers out of nowhere, without their agreement.

Mapsnow.co and Maps Now are, accordingly, unwanted search engine and browser add-on, that modifies and controls browser's settings in Safari, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox on Windows or Mac. Hijacker overrides default or user-installed values of search engine, home page and new tab with www.mapsnow.co website, that, in its turn, redirects search queries to search.yahoo.com. Developers of Maps Now application claim, that it provides quick and convenient access to maps and directions from the start page of your browser. However, in fact, it creates third party search page, with links to well-known online maps, such as Google Maps, Bing Maps and MapQuest. Sole purpose of this extension is to earn on advertising revenue from redirecting to other search engine, and probably, from promoting other websites and programs.

Goto-searchitnow.global.ssl.fastly.net is intermediary domain, used by search hijackers to redirect user's queries from well-known search engines to Searchitnow.info and vice versa. Goto-searchitnow.global.ssl.fastly.net can be seen in Safari, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox on Mac. Probably, it is used to drive traffic through faster cloud servers. If your searches are compromised like this, it means there is an adware module installed on your Mac. It can be presented by application, add-on, malicious device profile or just virus file and process.

Easy Speed Test Access or Search.easyspeedtestaccess.com is nasty browser hijacker and adware, that modifies search engine, homepage and new tab settings in Safari, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. It can infect both Windows and Mac computers. Virus gets access to browsers data by installing extension, users themselves download it from phishing or advertising pages. Add-ons can be called: Easy Speed Test Access, Speed Test, Super Speed Tester, etc. After infiltration, hijacker sets search.easyspeedtestaccess.com as default search and opens it as homepage or new tab at every start. Page looks like typical third-party search engine, with toolbar, quick links to shopping sites and social networks and, in this case, to websites, that provide internet speed testing functionality. Search queries are redirected to search.yahoo.com.

Search Encrypt or Searchencrypt.com is internet search engine, that, according to its developers, prioritises users's privacy while web search. Company, that developed this site is based in Limassol, Cyprus. Search Encrypt uses AES-256 encryption to encode search terms, and creates short-living key to encrypt user's queries. Searchencrypt.com can be used independently, or along with Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox add-ons called Search Encrypt and Privacy Toolkit. Although, website seems to be legitimate, many users complain, that extensions are installed without their consent. Search Encrypt gets its revenue from ads, and advertising policy, as well as encryption technology are not transparent. These facts give a birth to concerns about its safety and privacy. In this tutorial we show how to completely remove Search Encrypt and restore preferred homepage and search engine settings.