Remove ApplicationWork “Virus” (Mac Guide)

ApplicationWork

If you came to “How to remove guide” because you have found a suspicious app called ApplicationWork “Virus” on your system, then here we will tell you everything you need to know about this application other software components similar to it. To your relief, ApplicationWork “Virus” is not some nasty Ransomware, a Trojan Horse or a dangerous virus. It belongs to a category of software better known as browser hijackers and the apps that belong to this category are generally considered as nothing more than aggressive online advertising tools. All the representatives of this category typically have the same symptoms. Once they become part of the system, the browser hijackers usually set a new default search engine and replace the main home page URL with a new one. Furthermore, once they enter popular browsers like Safari, Firefox and Chrome, page-redirects, ads, pop-ups random invasive commercial messages and other irritating contents are likely to start showing up on the screen. These changes and other intrusive activities may take place in any browser that you are using as your main and this means that even safe and highly secure browsers like Safari, Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Explorer, Opera  can be invaded. If you have already tried to restore the settings of your browser to their original state and to remove the nagging ads or to uninstall the imposed modifications, however, then you probably have already realized that this may actually turn out to be a rather tricky task. And indeed, as long as an application like ApplicationWork is operating on your system, you will likely be powerless against its imposed settings and changes. The only way to get rid of all the ads, new tabs, sponsored search engine tools and homepage domains is to correctly detect and remove the components of the browser hijacker from the system. For this, we have prepared a very detailed set of removal instructions below which you can use to uninstall ApplicationWork “Virus”.

Can ApplicationWork “Virus” expose your system to danger?

From a legal point of view, most browser hijackers applications, including ApplicationWork, are not seen as threatening or illegal software. These pieces of software generally serve the needs of the online advertising industry and are programmed to promote a variety of different products, services, websites, etc. on the users’ screens.

There are a number of reasons why it would be desirable to remove an application such as ApplicationWork from your system, though. For example, its constant generation of various ads, banners, pop-ups, and automatic redirects may have an unpleasant effect on the productivity of your system as a whole as well as on the performance of your browser, as it can start spending large amounts of system resources on its advertising activities. As a result of that, your browser may start working slower than normal and may crash from time to time while, at the same time, your system may experience moments of freezing and unresponsiveness. But if this is not enough for you to decide to get rid of the browser hijacker, we need to warn you to be careful with its ads because, as appealing as some of them may seem, there is always a risk of landing on something misleading. In this regard, we strongly advise you to not come into contact with the advertisements that ApplicationWork generates as sometimes people with malicious intentions may secretly hide threats like Ransomware, Spyware or other nasty viruses in some of the many adverts that may get displayed on your screen.

SUMMARY:

Name	ApplicationWork
Type	Browser Hijacker
Danger Level	Medium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk)
Symptoms	It is typical for the browser hijackers to replace the homepage URL or the main search engine with a sponsored one.
Distribution Method	Software bundling is a common distribution method along with free downloads, ads, spam messages, torrents and automatic installers.
Detection Tool	parasite may reinstall itself multiple times if you don't delete its core files. We recommend downloading ComboCleaner to scan for malicious programs. This may save you hours and cut down your time to about 15 minutes. Download ComboCleaner Anti-Malware More information on ComboCleaner, steps to uninstall, EULA and Privacy Policy. If ComboCleaner detects a malware, you will have to purchase a license to remove it.

Remove ApplicationWork “Virus”

The first thing you need to do is to Quit Safari (if it is opened). If you have trouble closing it normally, you may need to Force Quit Safari:

You can choose the Apple menu and click on Force Quit.

Alternatively you can simultaneously press ⌘ (the Command key situated next to the space bar), Option (the key right next to it) and Escape (the key located at the upper left corner of your keyboard).

If you have done it right a dialog box titled Force Quit Applications will open up.

In this new dialog window select Safari, then press the Force Quit button, then confirm with Force Quit again.

Close the dialog box/window.

WARNING! READ CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING!

Start Activity Monitor by opening up Finder, then proceed to

Once there, look at all the processes: if you believe any of them are hijacking your results, or are part of the problem, highlight the process with your mouse, then click the “i” button at the top. This will open up the following box:

Now click on Sample at the bottom:

Do this for all processes you believe are part of the threat, and run any suspicious files in our online virus scanner, then delete the malicious files:

The next step is to safely launch Safari again. Press and hold the Shift key while relaunching Safari. This will prevent Safari’s previously opened pages from loading again. Once Safari is opened up, you can release the Shift key.

On the off chance that you are still having trouble with scripts interrupting the closing of unwanted pages in Safari, you may need to take some additional measures.

First, Force Quit Safari again.

Now if you are using a Wi-Fi connection turn it off by selecting Wi-Fi off in you Mac’s Menu. If you are using a cable internet (Ethernet connection), disconnect the Ethernet cable.

Re-Launch Safari but don’t forget to press and hold the Shift button while doing it, so no previous pages can be opened up. Now, Click on Preferences in the Safari menu,

and then again on the Extensions tab,

Select and Uninstall any extensions that you don’t recognize by clicking on the Uninstall button. If you are not sure and don’t want to take any risks you can safely uninstall all extensions, none are required for normal system operation.

The threat has likely infected all of your browsers. The instructions below need to be applied for all browsers you are using.

Again select Preferences in the Safari Menu, but this time click on the Privacy tab,

Now click on Remove All Website Data, confirm with Remove Now. 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.

Still in the Preferences menu, hit the General tab

Check if your Homepage is the one you have selected, if not change it to whatever you prefer.

Select the History menu this time, and click on Clear History. This way you will prevent accidentally opening a problematic web page again.

 How to Remove ApplicationWork From Firefox in OSX:

Open Firefox, click on  (top right) ——-> Add-ons. Hit Extensions next.

The problem should be lurking somewhere around here –  Remove it. Then Refresh Your Firefox Settings.

How to Remove ApplicationWork From Chrome in OSX:

 Start Chrome, click  —–>More Tools —–> Extensions. There,  find the malware and  select  .

 Click  again, and proceed to Settings —> Search, the fourth tab, select Manage Search Engines.  Delete everything but the search engines you normally use. After that Reset Your Chrome Settings.

If the guide doesn’t help, download the anti-virus program we recommended or try our free online virus scanner. Also, you can always ask us in the comments for help!