Mac-online-security-check.com Redirect/PUP Removal

George Herman
George Herman
IT Security Expert

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What is Mac-online-security-check.com

Mac-online-security-check.com is a website, whose main goal is to display fake ads and messages, stating that the user’s computer has been infected by a dangerous virus. And, in order to ‘fix’ the issue, the victim has to download a fake program, by spending a large amount of money. Such advertisements and error alerts are false, but can be very convincing. That’s why you need to remove the cause of this intrusive redirect.

How it is distributed

If you constantly get redirected to this page, it means that you have a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP) on your Mac. Such unwanted program is often installed via software bundles, freeware or by visiting infected sites. In order to assure that no program can slip by unnoticed during an installation, you need to pay close attention and opt for a Custom/Advanced setup. Through it, you will see if there are any additional programs included with the software you want. We highly suggest to uncheck the box next to such optional installations, as they are most likely malicious programs, waiting to infect your device.

How it operates

You should be aware that the PUP that’s showing you the Mac-online-security-check.com website uses scare tactics, to make you fall right into its trap. Once the parasite is installed on your computer, you might start seeing shady pop-ups, push notifications, banners, fake alerts, etc. that will try to redirect you to websites promoting malicious software. Such false messages might state that numerous threats have been detected on your Mac and you must act immediately by installing more dubious programs. Do not believe such lies! You need to remove the parasite behind this website, before it is able to infect your computer with an actual virus that can cause real damages!

Staying safe from Mac-online-security-check.com Redirect/PUP

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 Mac-online-security-check.com Redirect/PUP from Mac

If you’ve had the misfortune of getting your Mac infected with the Mac-online-security-check.com Redirect/PUP, 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 Mac-online-security-check.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 Mac-online-security-check.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.

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