Ib search is an unwanted software of the browser hijacker variety that changes the starting page and search engine of mac browsers to ib-serach.com or another rogue site. Ib search can be dangerous to your Mac because the browser changes could create security weaknesses.
The Ib-search Virus on Mac
Users who have this app on their Macs tend to notice various changes in the way their main browser looks and behaves. For instance, the user’s online searches may get rerouted to fake search engine pages that, instead of showing legitimate search results, try to promote various fake and unreliable pages. If you are not careful and open such a page, you may find yourself getting bombarded by misleading ads, download prompts for more rogue software, and other similar security hazards, You could also end up on a page that has phishing components designed to mislead you into providing sensitive personal details that can later be used for nefarious purposes such as identity or banking theft.
The ib-search virus on Mac
The ib search virus on Mac is a rogue program that introduces a browser hijacker of the same name into the browser. The ib search virus on Mac can compromise the system and expose it to more dangerous threats, including Trojans, Spyware, Trojans, and more.
Ib search itself is not created to inflict damage to Mac’s system or to the data stored on the computer. Instead, the main goal of this and other similar hijacker software is to profit its creators through generating advertising revenue from its aggressive advertisements. It is highly likely that if you have id search added to any of your browsers, the rogue software would begin to flood them with promotional messages, links, banners, and pop-ups that generate small amounts of money for each click the user makes on them. Of course, any interaction with such promotional content is strongly discouraged as it can put your system and virtual privacy at risk.
The ib search virus on Safari
The ib search virus on Safari is a type of browser hijacker that stealthily enters the browser, changes its homepage, and begins to show paid ads and page redirects. The ib search virus on Safari can expose you to unsafe content, jeopardizing your system’s security.
One additional factor that must be taken into account is that most hijackers are programmed to extract various types of data from the browsers that they manage to infect. Usually, the gathered data is non-essential and is mainly used for targeting you with ads tailored to your supposed interests (based on what sites you visit, what content you like on social media, what videos you watch, etc.). However, since it’s rarely explicitly stated what data the hijacker collects, it’s still possible that some of it may be more sensitive. This, combined with the fact that your data may (and likely will) get sold to unnamed third parties, drastically raises the chances of you getting attacked by online scammers and hackers, who use cyber reconnaissance to find new potential targets.
Ibsearch
Ibsearch is a browser component that stealthily enters the browser and makes changes in it without requesting your permission. Ibsearch can get to your Mac if you install a rogue app bundle that carries it, or by giving a notifications permission to the wrong site.
Although Ibsearch is considerably less threatening compared to Ransomware viruses, Trojan Horses, and other similar advanced forms of malware, you shouldn’t underestimate it and if you get it added to your Mac and any of your browsers, you should not delay its removal from the system.
SUMMARY:
Check the Applications folder of the computer (Finder > Applications) for the presence of apps that may be liked to ib search. Anything that doesn’t come from the official Mac App Store and/or that you don’t recognize and don’t trust should probably be deleted by getting dragged to the Trash.
Step 2WARNING! READ CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING!
From the Applications folder, go to Utilities, and there double-click on Activity Monitor to open this app.
In it, you will see a bunch of processes and your task will be to find anything that may be linked to ib search. Normally, if there’s a rogue process present in that list, it will likely have high CPU, memory, and battery life consumption as well as an unusual name. If you see anything like this in there, we suggest first looking it up and if the information you find is from a reliable source and states that the process in question is harmful, then go on and quit that process.
Step 3
There are several folders on your Mac where you can expect to find rogue files that ib search has may have left behind. You must now go to those folders, search them for such files, and delete anything you find.
Start by pressing Command + Shift + G and when the Go to Folder windows gets shown on your screen, use it to visit the following folders (by copy-pasting their addresses in the Go to Folder box and hitting Enter).
/Library/LaunchAgents
~/Library/Application Support
~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
In each folder, scan the most recent files (everything added after the hijacker infected you) with the help of our free scanner shown below (no installation required).
Each file will be scanned with up to 64 antivirus programs to ensure maximum accuracy
This scanner is free and will always remain free for our website's users.
This file is not matched with any known malware in the database. You can either do a full real-time scan of the file or skip it to upload a new file. Doing a full scan with 64 antivirus programs can take up to 3-4 minutes per file.
Each file will be scanned with up to 64 antivirus programs to ensure maximum accuracy
This scanner is based on VirusTotal's API. By submitting data to it, you agree to their Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, and to the sharing of your sample submission with the security community. Please do not submit files with personal information if you do not want them to be shared.
Anything that the scanner detects as a threat must be deleted. Also, in the ~/Library/Application Support, look for entire sub-folders that may be linked to the hijacker. If you see a suspicious sub-folder, open it, scan its files and if any of them get flagged as threats, delete that sub-folder.
Additionally, if you see any of the following files in any of those four folders, delete them without the need to scan them for malware:
com.ib-search.com/ib-search.com
com.ib-search.comDaemon/ib-search.com
com.ib-search.com.plist
com.ib-search.comDaemon.plist
Step 4
Next, click the Apple Logo menu in the top-left corner, go to System Preferences, and open Users & Groups. Now click the first profile from the left, select Login items in the right panel, and see if there are any unknown and suspicious items shown in the list. Click on any such items and then select the minus (“-”) icon below the list to remove them. Now do the same with the other profiles from the left panel.
Also, from System Preferences, go to Profiles, look at what items are shown in the User Profiles list, and if any of the profiles listed there are unknown to you and haven’t been created by you or anyone else who regularly uses the computer, click on such profiles and click the minus (“-”) below the list to delete them. Note that even if a given profile has a seemingly legitimate name (such as Chrome Settings), if you don’t recognize it, you should delete it.
How to remove ib search from Safari?
To remove ib search from Safari without giving it a chance to come back, you must delete all suspicious extensions from the browser:
Start the Safari browser and click Safari from the top.
Open Preferences and select teh Extensions section.
If you see an ib search extension there, delete it.
Delete any other extensions that you don’t recognize or trust.
After the rogue extensions are removed from the browser, restart the Mac, go to Safari again, and check the Extensions section to see if any of the ones you deleted haven’t returned.
If this stops the problems with ib search in Safari, then the problem with this browser has probably been resolved. However, to ensure that ib search stays away from Safari, we also recommend that you do the following.
From the Preferences bar, go to General, look at the homepage address and if it’s currently not the one you prefer but instead one that has been placed there by the hijacker, restore your preferred starting page address.
Also visit the Privacy tab and there click on Manage Website Data, and then Remove All to delete anything that may be related to the hijacker.
Finally, select History from the menu bar, then Clear History, choose the All History setting and delete the browser’s history.
Remove ib search from other browsers
If there are other browsers on your Mac, you must clean them too, making sure that no extensions, data, or settings that may be related to ib search are left in them.
Remove ib search from Google Chrome (and other Chromium-based browsers)
Start by opening the browser and then selecting the icon of its menu that should be in the top-right or, if you are using Opera, the top-left corner. Select Extensions from the menu or, if you are using Google Chrome, first select More Tools and then Extensions.
First, disable the extensions you think should be deleted, and then select the Remove button to uninstall them.
Next, from the browser menu, go to Settings, then select Reset Settings, and click Reset Settings again in the window that shows up to confirm the action – this should bring back the default settings for the browser, revoking any potential changes made by the hijacker.
Remove ib search from Firefox
Start the Mozilla Firefox browser, select the icon with three horizontal lines from the top-right, and go to Add-ons.
Disable the items you suspect of being linked to id software and then remove them.
After that, click the menu again, go to Help > Troubleshooting information. On the page that opens, click Refresh Firefox, confirm the action, and the settings of the browser will be reset to their default state, reversing any unwanted changes that the hijacker may have introduced to the browser.
If ib search is still in any of your browsers
If the hijacker is still in the system and browsers, this may mean you are dealing with a bigger problem such as a Trojan Horse that may be helping ib search stay on your Mac and evade getting removed by you. In such cases, it’s recommended to use a specialized program that will search through the entire system and find every last bit of rogue malware data and/or settings and dispose of them. On the current page, you will find such a tool that we strongly recommend to anyone who is struggling to remove ib search. The tool will aid you with the hijacker’s removal and will also secure your computer by deleting any other threats that may be hiding in its system without you being aware of its presence.
About the author
Brandon Skies
Brandon is a researcher and content creator in the fields of cyber-security and virtual privacy. Years of experience enable him to provide readers with important information and adequate solutions for the latest software and malware problems.
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