Io-search.com Browser Hijacker Removal

George Herman

IT Security Expert

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What is Io-search.com

Io-search.com is a website you get redirected to due to a browser hijacker infection on your Mac. This site can replace your homepage, new tab pages, and even become your preferred search engine, all without your authorization. To be precise, nothing the malicious software does will be with your knowledge or consent. The parasite will cover your screen with multiple intrusive ads and pop-ups, aiming to create revenue through the pay-per-click method. As a result of the nasty browser hijacker activity on your Mac, your browser will become unresponsive to your actions, and your private data will no longer be secure.

How it is distributed

Browser hijackers are most commonly distributed via third-party installations. Parasites such as hijackers can be found posing as additional software. Sadly, the existence of such bonus content is often being neglected and can result in a computer virus infection. Most users are known to rush every action they take during an installation process, and in result, hidden parasites get automatically installed without their knowledge. In order to avoid this, you need to pay close attention to the install setup and be on the lookout for any bonus content. It’s best to opt out of such optional installations because more often than not, they turn out to be malware in disguise.

How it operates

As we already mentioned, browser hijackers will produce an enormous amount of advertisements. But what you don’t realize is that the parasite will monitor your online activity and collect data such as web history, search queries, etc., in order to create targeted sponsored content that you’ll be most attracted to. This is a serious breach in your privacy! It’s also possible for information like passwords, IP addresses, Login credentials, credit card numbers to get obtained by shady third-parties, seeking to sell this data for their benefit. Such ads may also redirect you to dubious pages that can potentially infect your computer with viruses. And as if that’s not bad enough, your web browser will also pay the consequences of the hijacker intrusion. Due to all the heavy ad attacks thrown by the parasite every day, sooner or later your web app will stop responding to your online actions, and your internet connection will drop in speed. The only way for you to return to a normal browsing experience and protect your privacy is to remove the nasty Io-search.com browser hijacker from your Mac before it is too late!

Staying safe from Io-search.com browser hijacker

Apart from having a reliable AV software installed on your Mac, there are other things you can do to ensure your device’s safety. We highly recommend you to:

• Pay close attention when you install third-party software, especially torrent files, so you don’t install shady additional applications that you don’t want. In most cases, that’s how malicious parasites are able to infect your computer;
• Read any Terms and Conditions you see, so you know exactly what you agree to. The last thing you want is to unknowingly give permission to a nasty virus to infiltrate your Mac;
• Follow links that lead to trustworthy sites only;
• It is best to visit only reliable and official websites. You never know what dangers might lurk behind an unfamiliar site;
• No matter how attractive an ad is, if you are not familiar with the website it redirects to, it might be best to steer clear of it and not click;
• Always check the sender’s email address before opening a message. If it states that it’s from an official company, compare the email with the one given in their official page. If there is no match, delete the message, since it most likely is fake and has malicious aims;
• Don’t open email attachments from unknown senders. More often than not, such files carry infections that can seriously damage your computer.

How to manually remove Io-search.com browser hijacker from Mac

If you’ve had the misfortune of getting your Mac infected with the Io-search.com browser hijacker, the instructions below can help you to remove it manually. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Go to Utilities. You can do that by using the ⇧+⌘+U key combination, or by going to Finder and choosing Utilities from the Go main menu at the top.

2. Find Activity Monitor and double-click it.

3. A list will be displayed. Find any processes that seem suspicious to you and use the ‘Force Quit‘ option to quit them completely.

4. Open Finder. Click on the Go button from the main menu at the top, and choose Applications. An alternative way is to use the ⇧+⌘+A key combination.

5. Look for any suspicious applications, especially ones with a name similar to Io-search.com. If any are found, right-click on them and select the ‘Move to Trash‘ option.

6. Remove any related left-over files by going to Finder‘s search bar and typing the name of the app you want to remove. Make sure to modify the two drop down menus above to ‘System Files‘ and ‘Are Included‘, so that any hidden files are visible for you to remove. Once you find the files you want to remove, simply drag them to Trash.

7. All that’s left for you to do is remove any related extensions to Io-search.com from your Mac browsers.

For Mozilla Firefox extensions:

• Open the Firefox browser and from the ‘burger’ menu in the top right corner of the window select ‘Add-ons’.
• Select any suspicious extensions that may be related to the virus and click ‘Remove’.

For Google Chrome extensions:

• Open the Chrome browser and select Tools > Extensions from the menu (the three dots in the top right corner of the browser window).
• Locate any suspicious extensions that may be related to the virus and remove them.

For Safari extensions:

• Open the Safari browser. From the Safari menu choose Preferences. Select Extensions from the options at the top.
• Find any extensions you think are related to the virus, select them and click ‘Uninstall’. A new window will show up asking for confirmation. Click Uninstall again, for the extension to get deleted permanently from your browser.