How to Remove ShoreCreative Mac Virus

George Herman
George Herman
IT Security Expert

Get a FREE scan to check for ShoreCreative problems

Some infections like this ShoreCreative 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.

Anti-Malware

SpyHunter Anti-Malware FREE 15-day trial available.

What Is ShoreCreative Mac Virus?

remove shore creative mac virus

ShoreCreative is an adware that targets Mac devices and delivers advertisements to users’ browsers. Once installed, ShoreCreative will redirect URLs and display advertisements. This program will redirect URLs from search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo! and other websites to potentially malicious sites. These programs may contain pop-up ads, which may be disguised as an important message from a system administrator for your security or the necessity to update a program. The installation of these programs is usually not an accident. It is done intentionally to make money by delivering fake messages and advertisements from its own authors. This program may also enter your Mac along with other software downloaded from the Internet. Many download managers offer additional programs and options which users can select during installation. If you did not uncheck to install a program and later changed your mind, you need to remove it completely.

How Is ShoreCreative Mac Virus Distributed?

This adware is distributed mainly as a bundle with other software. The bundles can be distributed using several methods that include; email attachments, links in websites and on peer-to-peer file sharing networks. When installing ShoreCreative on Mac users should pay attention to what they are downloading because the programs might be distributed together with dangerous files or not verified at all. It is recommended by many antivirus programs that users should always choose Advanced or Custom installation options. In this way you will be able to see what additional programs will be installed with the chosen one.

How harmful is ShoreCreative hijacker? 

ShoreCreative is a part of an advertising network. It uses misleading techniques, such as modifying search engine results and displaying pop-ups, in order to increase program popularity. These techniques attract more users to install and then run the adware on their machines. The main purpose of these ad networks is to increase revenue. They are also used by cyber criminals to spread malware and ultimately gain access to your Mac. The purpose of this adware is to deliver advertisements that may be dangerous for users’ Mac devices. These ads may appear as pop-ups, advertising banners, in-text links and more. These ads are usually created by third-parties and are used to display misleading information that can trick users into clicking on them. The most common phishing scams will tell you to update your software which leads you to download a malicious file.

How did I get infected?

Adware may infect computers when using unofficial or pirated versions of some applications. These programs are usually designed to increase the popularity of their developers. They often provide free programs but with the risk of containing other malicious software. They can also be downloaded from third-party websites that offer a free download and installation of their software but always could lead you to a third-party site that can install unwanted software on your Mac device. Furthermore, if the downloaded application uses third-party ad networks that can install adware on Mac devices upon installation.

How can I Remove ShoreCreative virus ?

Step 1: Uninstall ShoreCreative 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 ShoreCreative virus

ShoreCreative stop

  • Select Quit

ShoreCreative info

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

force quit ShoreCreative

Step 2: Remove ShoreCreative – 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 ShoreCreative is removed from the browser  we recommend to scan with a reputable antimalware program like SpyHunter for Mac

Step 3: Scan for and remove ShoreCreative 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.

ShoreCreative malware Frequently Asked Questions:

  • How do I get rid of ShoreCreative?

ShoreCreative 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 ShoreCreative infection in your Mac?

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

Your browser’ s search queries are redirected through ShoreCreative.com

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

  • How do I remove ShoreCreative 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 ShoreCreative?
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. SpyHunter Anti-Malware overview and also the reasons why we recommend it for malware elimination.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *