How to Remove akamaihd.net Mac Virus?

George Herman
George Herman
IT Security Expert

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Some infections like this akamaihd.net virus can regenerate themselves. There is no better way to detect, remediate and prevent malware infection, than to use a professional anti-malware software like SpyHunter. One Application that is capable of solving all MAC problems.

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What Is akamaihd.net Mac Virus?

remove akamaihd.net mac virus chrome firefox safari

 

Akamai.hd is a content delivery platform used by some of the world’s biggest tech companies to stream audio and video and host downloads. It’s not a virus or malware itself. Still, there are browser hijackers that exploit Akamai.hd hosting. That means that these hijackers have the Akamai.hd name in them. Not all malware that includes this name is actually hosted on Akamai.hd servers. But many are, so it’s best to avoid any browser extension that contains “Akamai.hd” or “AkamaiHosted” in its description. In all of these cases, it’s a sign that the extension will deliver other malicious programs and viruses onto your Mac. It’s not easy for the average user to tell where a browser extension is hosted, but you should take a close look if it contains “Akamai” or “Akamai Hosted.” If you see that, it’s important to research the credibility of the site where the information is hosted and check reviews and online discussions. This can be a good way to make sure that you’re dealing with an honest developer.

How Is akamaihd.net Mac Virus Distributed?

Akamai.hd is distributed through a browser extension installer. When the user installs an Akamai extension, it connects to akamaihd.net and retrieves the first fake icon for their system extension in addition to other information about the user’s web browser and OS. In this way, these extensions serve as a means for akamaihd.net to determine which users are prone to infection. These fake extensions are commonly disguised as a Google Chrome extension named “Akamai.hd-savers”. The akamaihd.net Mac virus serves up fake updates for Flash Player, Java and other commonly-used apps and programs. These updates are often placed in RSS feeds and are encased in iframes that make it seem as if the update is originating from a legitimate source. The user, thinking the update is legit, downloads the file which contains an executable installer.

How harmful is akamaihd.net hijacker? 

It is not very harmful, however it is recommended to be removed as soon as possible. The akamaihd.net Mac virus does not collect personally identifiable information or financial data. The only thing it does is change your web browser’s default search and home page to akamaihd.net. All changes that are made to the user’s system are made through third-party extensions, plugins, add-ons, and helper objects. If a user installs any of these items on their Mac through an installer, they will be vulnerable to this attack. It is also worth noting that akamaihd.net hijacker is considered as a trojan or potentially unwanted program because it can be installed onto the user’s Mac through an installer and it will show fake alerts about updates for Flash player, Java, QuickTime, and other popular programs.

How did I get infected?

You may have received this infection through email. Whenever threats are emailed onto your Mac, the user will be asked to download the .DMG file which is labeled as an “Akamai.hd update”. The akamaihd.net installation will sometimes be malicious and might try to install additional files onto your computer. It will install multiple third-party extensions and plugins that are commonly used by cyber criminals in order to make their websites load faster along with a browser helper object called WebBrowserPassViewer.

How can I remove akamaihd.net virus ?

Step 1: Uninstall akamaihd.net and remove related files and objects

  • Open your Finder –> Click on GO –>Click on Utilities

macos utilities

  • Find Activity Monitor and open it

activity monitor macos

  • Review all the processes in Activity Monitor and write down the ones related to akamaihd.net virus

akamaihd.net stop

  • Select Quit

akamaihd.net info

  • To kill the malicious process, choose the Force Quit option.

force quit akamaihd.net

Step 2: Remove akamaihd.net – related extensions from Safari / Chrome / Firefox

The first thing you need to do is to make sure Safari is not running. If you have troubles closing it, you may need to Force Quit Safari - (Start Activity Monitor by opening up Finder, then proceed to Application --> Utilities --> Activity monitor. Locate the Safari process and force quit it.

Safely launch Safari again by holding the Shift key and clicking on the Safari application icon - This will prevent Safari’s previously opened malicious web pages.

In case that you still are having trouble with scripts interrupting the closing of unwanted pages, please do the following:

  • Force Quit Safari again.
  • Disconnect form Internet and try again.

Then Re-Launch Safari but don’t forget to press and hold the Shift button to prevent pop-ups. Then, click on Preferences.

  • Carefully take a look at your default home page and change it if the hijacker altered it.

  • Then go to the Extensions tab and make sure there are no unknow extensions installed.

  • Next step is to click on Privacy tab

  • Manage website data

  • Here you can remove any unwanted website data or just remove them all. Please, keep in mind that after you do this all stored website data will be deleted. You will need to sign-in again for all websites that require any form of authentication.
  • The next step is to Clear History (if you want), select the tab.

  • Click the menu next to clear and choose a time period — if you want to completely reset Safari, choose all history.
  • Press Clear History
  • To remove from Chrome, open the browser and click the icon with the three dots located in the top-right.
  • Select to More Tools --> Extensions and review what Chrome Extensions are present in the browser
  • Remove the ones that you do not recognize.

bad toolbar

  • If the parasite continues to disrupt your browsing with Chrome, this is what else you can do:
    1. Click again the menu of Google Chrome, and open Settings.
    2. Select the Search Engine from the left panel, review the available search engines and change the default to your preference.default search engine
    3. Then, click on Manage Search Engines, review the list of search engine availabilities and if any of the listed items looks suspicious, click the three-dots next to them, and delete.suspicious search engine
    4. Click on Privacy and Security in the left panel, select the Clear browsing data option, check every box except the Passwords one, and click Clear Data.clear browsing data
    5. Next step is to clear Notifications, select the Site settings option in the Privacy and Security section, then locate Notifications.clear notifications
    6. Review the listed websites in the Allow to send notifications section and if any of the entries shown there seem dubious or related to the browser hijacker, select the three dots next to the object and click on Remove.
  • Start Mozilla Firefox
  • On the top right click the three dashes

  • go to add-ons and themes
  • The add-ons manager will open
  • Carefully review review four Firefox Extensions
  • If any unwanted extension is present, click on the three horizontal dots and then Remove

  • After the extension is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red dot in the top left and start it again.
To make sure akamaihd.net is removed from the browser  we recommend to scan with a reputable antimalware program like SpyHunter for Mac

Step 3: Scan for and remove akamaihd.net files from your Mac

Fix your browser settings with SpyHunter Anti-Malware

Once you download and install SpyHunter for Mac run a scan.

Once the scan is complete, your mac will be virus free.

akamaihd.net malware Frequently Asked Questions:

  • How do I get rid of akamaihd.net?

akamaihd.net is a Browser hijacker – malicious software that can be installed by third-party applications or websites. They usually change the settings of web browsers and search engines to display certain ads, pop-ups, banners, etc.

  • What are the symptoms of akamaihd.net infection in your Mac?

akamaihd.net becomes your web browser’s built-in search engine.

Your browser’ s search queries are redirected through akamaihd.net.com

The “akamaihd.net” browser extension or some shady software is installed on your Mac.

  • How do I remove akamaihd.net from my browser?

In Internet Explorer, click the gear icon on the top left and select Manage add-ons. Under Add-on Types, select Search Providers. Select your search engine from the list of providers and click Remove to remove it. In Google Chrome, go to Settings (at the top right) and choose Search in the On Startup drop down menu.

  • How do I uninstall akamaihd.net?
If you made a mistake when installing an app on your mac, the easiest way to uninstall it is by right clicking on its icon in your dock, then going to ‘move to trash’. Once it’s gone, restart your mac. If that didn’t work for you, try rebooting and looking for an icon opening up. Once you’ve found that, go to utilities/get info, then go to the ‘Applications’ tab and look for the app. Right-click it and select ‘Get Info’ and then look for the option to ‘Uninstall this Version’. If that doesn’t work, restart your mac again. If you don’t have any luck you can always use the SpyHunter free uninstall.

How to Make Your Mac Run Faster?

You might be wondering how to make your Mac run faster? It is a common misconception that the more processing power you have, the faster your computer will run. In reality, it’s actually about what’s going on in your processor and memory. For the average person using a computer for just general applications like word processing and web browsing, you don’t need much in the way of computing power.

– Use an SSD drive instead of a hard disk drive.

– Double your RAM if possible.

– Disable System Integrity Protection (SIP). (Attention! – do this only if you know the consequences.)

References:

  1. More about pop-up advertisements on Wikipedia.
  2. MacOS malware
  3. Information on Browser Hijackers
  4. SpyHunter Anti-Malware overview and also the reasons why we recommend it for malware elimination.

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