Search.linkeymac.com Browser Hijacker Removal

George Herman
George Herman
IT Security Expert

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What is Search.linkeymac.com

A Browser hijacker is a very annoying type of malicious software that takes control over every browser on the infected device. Search.linkeymac.com is a sign that you’ve fallen victim to such malware. The site is known to replace your search engine and act as your new homepage. You won’t be able to escape this website, since you’ll frequently get redirected to it, along with other shady pages. The hijacker will waste no time to cover your screen with all types of advertisement as pop-ups, update messages, alert signs, banners, promotions, exclusive offers, etc. Such content is known to lead to potentially harmful third-party websites that may further damage your Mac. Being a victim of a browser hijacker like Search.linkeymac.com is not only harmful for your device, but for your personal data as well. This malware’s goal is to steal your personal information and sell it to other people for money.

How it is distributed

If you’ve fallen in the Search.linkeymac.com trap, it is very likely that you’ve either clicked on a shady link/ad or have opened an infected attachment from a spam email message. Other means of hijacker distribution includes software bundles, fake updates and torrent files. When installing software that you’ve never heard of before, it is recommended to look into the software company that’s developed it. If the source is not trustworthy, we advise against the app’s installation. But even when you install regular applications, make sure not to leave any checked boxes next to additional software you don’t need. Search.linkeymac.com can infect your browsers if you click on infected links. The same thing applies to advertisements that lead to shady pages.

How it operates

Speaking of advertisements, because of the hijacker’s ability to obtain the victim’s browsing history, they will be specifically customized to appear more attractive. Their goal is to make the user more likely to click on them. For every click on these ads, the browser hijacker will generate monetary revenue for both the creators of the malware, and the sponsored pages. The Search.linkeymac.com malware is more than able to install other unreliable software like toolbars, add-ons and extensions on your browsers without your authorization. So if you see such applications that you don’t remember ever having installed yourself, it is very likely that you’ve fallen victim to a browser hijacker. But this parasite won’t stop there. It will even go as far as to slow down the entire browser and causing it to frequently crash, due to the overwhelming wave of advertisements that gets generated. It’s needless to say that you won’t be able to do any work done online normally. And the thing with this type of malware is, that the longer you stay idle and do nothing to remove it from your Mac, the worse the consequences will get. So the moment you detect it on your device, act quickly and remove it before it’s too late!

Staying safe from Search.linkeymac.com

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 remove Search.linkeymac.com Browser Hijacker from Mac

If you’ve had the misfortune of getting your Mac infected with the Search.linkeymac.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 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 Search.linkeymac.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 Search.linkeymac.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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