How to remove Search.playsearchnow.com (Mac)

What is Search.playsearchnow.com

Search.playsearchnow.com and PlaySearchNow are, respectively, bothersome search hijacker and extension for Safari, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox browsers running on Mac OS. PlaySearchNow is add-on, that installs in browsers, in the first place, and then captures search engine and homepage settings. Malware modifies them to search.playsearchnow.com, which looks characteristically for this type of threats. If users start using new engine, their searches will be redirected to Yahoo, Bing or some unknown third-party resource. The purpose of applications like this is to get revenue from advertising generated by people using this rogue search. Users should be aware, that along with search redirects, PlaySearchNow gets access to some browsing data, like history, cookies etc. This may this may have negative consequences for overall security of your Mac and privacy in the future. Use guide on this page to remove Search.playsearchnow.com hijacker and PlaySearchNow extension from your browsers and reset browser settings.

How Search.playsearchnow.com infected your Mac

Search.playsearchnow.com can be set as your default homepage and search engine during installing third-party programs. This distribution method called bundling. Website promotes downloads of simple programs like PDF readers or converters, media players, file-archiving programs and other utilities from unknown vendors. Installers of such programs offer to install additional software like PlaySearchNow. Use antivirus or anti-malware programs to protect your Mac. In order to remove Search.playsearchnow.com we recommend using Spyhunter for Mac.

Download Search.playsearchnow.com Removal Tool for Mac

Download SpyHunter for Mac

To remove Search.playsearchnow.com completely we recommend you to use CleanMyMac. It can help you remove files, folders and registry keys of Search.playsearchnow.com and uninstall hijackers, toolbars and unwanted add-ons from Safari browser.

Remove Search.playsearchnow.com manually for free

Here is the manual step-by-step tutorial for full Search.playsearchnow.com removal from your computer. This works 99% and was checked with the latest versions of Search.playsearchnow.com installer on operating systems with latest updates and browser versions.

Remove Search.playsearchnow.com from Applications

Remove Search.playsearchnow.com from Mac:

1. In the Finder sidebar, click Applications.
2. PlaySearchNow might have an Uninstaller. If you see Uninstall PlaySearchNow or PlaySearchNow Uninstaller, double-click it and follow the onscreen instructions.
3. Otherwise, drag PlaySearchNow or PlaySearchNow.app from the Applications folder to the Trash (located at the end of the Dock).
4. Then choose Finder > Empty Trash.

Cannot uninstall Search.playsearchnow.com

If you can’t uninstall Search.playsearchnow.com using instructions above, or it keeps coming back, you can use free AppCleaner for Mac to remove all residual data and libraries of Search.playsearchnow.com. Follow instructions below:

1. Download free AppCleaner.
2. Drag PlaySearchNow from Applications folder to AppCleaner window.
3. Choose files and folders you want to remove along with Search.playsearchnow.com.
4. Click Delete button.

Remove Search.playsearchnow.com add-on from your browsers

Removing Search.playsearchnow.com from Applications often does not bring the desired effect. It is browser extension and it may still be active in Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Here are instructions on how to remove Search.playsearchnow.com extension from your browsers manually.

Safari:

1. Start Safari on your Mac, click Safari to open drop-down menu and choose Preferences
2. Click Extensions tab.
3. Find PlaySearchNow extension.
4. Click Uninstall button to remove it.

Google Chrome:

1. Start Google Chrome browser
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) chrome://extensions/.
3. Find PlaySearchNow extension.
4. Click the trash can icon to remove it.

Mozilla Firefox:

1. Start Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) about:addons.
3. Choose PlaySearchNow extension.
4. Click Disable or Remove button.

Reset browser settings

To finish Search.playsearchnow.com removal reset your browser settings to make sure, there are no leftover items in browser folders.

Reset Safari:

1. Start Safari on your Mac, click Safari to open drop-down menu and choose Preferences
2. Go to the Privacy section of Safari’s preferences.
3. Click Remove All Website Data button.
4. In opened window click Remove Now button to remove data stored by websites in Safari.
5. Go to the Advanced section of Safari’s preferences.
6. Click the Show Develop menu in menu bar option.
7. In the menu click Develop and select Empty Caches from this menu.
8. Again, go to Safari menu and choose Clear History….
9. Choose to clear all history and click Clear History button.

Reset Google Chrome:

1. Start Google Chrome browser
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) chrome://settings/.
3. Scroll down and find Show advanced settings link.
4. Click on it and scroll down to the bottom again.
5. Click Reset settings button and click Reset to confirm.

Reset Mozilla Firefox:

1. Start Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) about:support.
3. Click Refresh Firefox… button.
4. Click Refresh Firefox to confirm.

Remove following files and folders of Search.playsearchnow.com


~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.logicalsearch.plist
~/Library/LaunchAgents/pronto.notification.plist
~/Library/LaunchAgents/pronto.update.plist
~/Library/Safari/Extensions/PlaySearchNow.safariextz


How to protect Mac OSX from adware like Search.playsearchnow.com

Mac OSX is known to be one of the safest operating systems, and for a long time there was no need in antivirus products for Mac. But with growing popularity of Mac computers and notebooks and evolving technology, viruses, trojans, adware, toolbars, hijackers and other malware paved the way for Mac users. We recommend you to use most advanced antivirus for Mac available – BitDefender Antivirus.