Remove ProcessBrand Adware From Mac

Simple Steps To Delete ProcessBrand Adware

ProcessBrand Adware has been identified by security experts as a very notorious computer infection which tends to silently enter the Mac PCs and contribute tons of malicious activities in the background. After getting infected with this potentially unwanted program (PUP), you will have to deal with tons of intrusive ads and pop-ups all the time that will make your web surfing very complex and problematic. These ads are in multiple formats such as deals, offers, banners, coupons, discounts, surveys etc. which look very attractive and can easily gain users’ attention.

Depth Analysis of ProcessBrand Adware:

Ads by ProcessBrand Adware work on pay-per-click mechanism and earn profits for the creators upon being clicked. The more you tap on those adverts, the more advertisers generate income. They often include sponsored links and redirect people to third-party web pages that are trying to increase their popularity and gain more visits. However, some sites might be potentially dangerous and filled with malevolent contents. Visiting on such precarious domains may result in more malware infections. You might be taken to web portals where you are presented with fake security alerts, error messages, update notifications etc. and then tricked into installing shady application.

ProcessBrand Adware also includes traits of a browser hijacker and makes alterations to default browser’s settings without seeking for any approval. All of a sudden you will notice your homepage, search engine and new tab addresses are replaced with another perilous URL. You are forced to use a fake search engine which only produces inorganic results mixed with commercial contents and sponsored links right at the top. This perilous hijacker inserts multiple spying cookies on the affected browser and keeps tracking victims’ web activities. ProcessBrand Adware gathers browsing-related data such as URLs of visited sites, entered search queries, links clicked on etc.

This nasty PUP also gathers personal and sensitive information relating to credit card and bank details that can be misused by the scammers for fraudulent transactions or purchases. It eats up huge amount of memory resources and slows down the overall PC performance drastically. Due to this, machine begins responding slower than ever before and takes more than usual time to complete any task. This precarious malware may trigger many other hazardous issues inside the compromised machines such as hard drive crash, software failure, boot errors, application malfunctioning and so on. And hence, an instant ProcessBrand Adware removal is strongly recommended.

Ways To Spread ProcessBrand Adware:

Most of the times, these potentially unwanted applications are spread through software bundling method along with regular software. Third-parties include additional objects along with their programs which also manage to get into the system when users download and install the freeware using the Quick, Default or Recommended options. These configuration settings usually don’t reveal the components that are added to the pack which secretly enter the PC without being noticed by the users.

And hence, it is necessary to choose only reliable channels to download software and avoid third-party downloaders, installers, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks, and other untrustworthy sources. Moreover, always opt for Custom or Advanced configuration settings to install program where you can de-select the objects that give a concerning look. In case your machine is already infected with this PUP, you must remove ProcessBrand Adware from the Mac computer without wasting any time.

Remove Files and Folders Related to ProcessBrand Adware

Open the “Menu” bar and click the “Finder” icon. Select “Go” and click on “Go to Folder…”

Step 1: Search the suspicious and doubtful malware generated files in /Library/LaunchAgents folder

Type /Library/LaunchAgents in the “Go to Folder” option

In the “Launch Agent” folder, search for all the files that you have recently downloaded and move them to “Trash”. Few of the examples of files created by browser-hijacker or adware are as follow, “myppes.download.plist”, “mykotlerino.Itvbit.plist”, installmac.AppRemoval.plist”, and “kuklorest.update.plist” and so on.

Step 2: Detect and remove the files generated by the adware in “/Library/Application” Support folder

In the “Go to Folder..bar”, type “/Library/Application Support”

Search for any suspicious newly added folders in “Application Support” folder. If you detect any one of these like “NicePlayer” or “MPlayerX” then send them to “Trash” folder.

Step 3: Look for the files generated by malware in /Library/LaunchAgent Folder:

Go to Folder bar and type /Library/LaunchAgents

You are in the “LaunchAgents” folder. Here, you have to search for all the newly added files and move them to “Trash” if you find them suspicious. Some of the examples of suspicious files generated by malware are “myppes.download.plist”, “installmac.AppRemoved.plist”, “kuklorest.update.plist”, “mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist” and so on.

Step4: Go to /Library/LaunchDaemons Folder and search for the files created by malware

Type /Library/LaunchDaemons in the “Go To Folder” option

In the newly opened “LaunchDaemons” folder, search for any recently added suspicious files and move them to “Trash”. Examples of some of the suspicious files are “com.kuklorest.net-preferences.plist”, “com.avickUpd.plist”, “com.myppes.net-preference.plist”, “com.aoudad.net-preferences.plist” and so on.

Step 5: Use Combo Cleaner Anti-Malware and Scan your Mac PC

The malware infections could be removed from the Mac PC if you execute all the steps mentioned above in the correct way. However, it is always advised to be sure that your PC is not infected. It is suggested to scan the work-station with “Combo Cleaner Anti-virus”.

Once the file gets downloaded, double click on combocleaner.dmg installer in the newly opened window. Next is to open the “Launchpad” and press on “Combo Cleaner” icon. It is advised to wait until “Combo Cleaner” updates the latest definition for malware detection. Click on “Start Combo Scan” button.

A depth scan of your Mac PC will be executed in order to detect malware. If the Anti-virus scan report says “no threat found” then you can continue with guide further. On the other hand, it is recommended to delete the detected malware infection before continuing.

Now the files and folders created by the adware is removed, you have to remove the rogue extensions from the browsers.

Remove ProcessBrand Adware from Internet Browsers

Delete Doubtful and Malicious Extension from Safari

Go to “Menu Bar” and open “Safari” browser. Select “Safari” and then “Preferences”

In the opened “preferences” window, select “Extensions” that you have recently installed. All such extensions should be detected and click the “Uninstall” button next to it. If you are doubtful then you can remove all the extensions from “Safari” browser as none of them are important for smooth functionality of the browser.

In case if you continue facing unwanted webpage redirections or aggressive advertisements bombarding, you can reset the “Safari” browser.

“Reset Safari”

Open the Safari menu and choose “preferences…” from the drop-down menu.

Go to the “Extension” tab and set the extension slider to “Off” position. This disables all the installed extensions in the Safari browser

Next step is to check the homepage. Go to “Preferences…” option and choose “General” tab. Change the homepage to your preferred URL.

Also check the default search-engine provider settings. Go to “Preferences…” window and select the “Search” tab and select the search-engine provider that you want such as “Google”.

Next is to clear the Safari browser Cache- Go to “Preferences…” window and select “Advanced” tab and click on “Show develop menu in the menu bar.“

Go to “Develop” menu and select “Empty Caches”.

Remove website data and browsing history. Go to “Safari” menu and select “Clear History and Website Data”. Choose “all history” and then click on “Clear History”.

Remove Unwanted and Malicious Plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox

Delete ProcessBrand Adware add-ons from Mozilla Firefox

Open the Firefox Mozilla browser. Click on the “Open Menu” present in the top right corner of the screen. From the newly opened menu, choose “Add-ons”.

Go to “Extension” option and detect all the latest installed add-ons. Select each of the suspicious add-ons and click on “Remove” button next to them.

In case if you want to “reset” the Mozilla Firefox browser then follow the steps that has been mentioned below.

Reset Mozilla Firefox Settings

Open the Firefox Mozilla browser and click on “Firefox” button situated at the top left corner of the screen.

In the new menu, go to “Help” sub-menu and choose “Troubleshooting Information”

In the “Troubleshooting Information” page, click on “Reset Firefox” button.

Confirm that you want to reset the Mozilla Firefox settings to default by pressing on “Reset Firefox” option

The browser will get restarted and the settings changes to factory default

Delete Unwanted and Malicious Extensions from Google Chrome

Open the chrome browser and click on “Chrome menu”. From the drop down option, choose “More Tools” and then “Extensions”.

In the “Extensions” option, search for all the recently installed add-ons and extensions. Select them and choose “Trash” button. Any third-party extension is not important for the smooth functionality of the browser.

Reset Google Chrome Settings

Open the browser and click on three line bar at the top right side corner of the window.

Go to the bottom of the newly opened window and select “Show advanced settings”.

In the newly opened window, scroll down to the bottom and choose “Reset browser settings”

Click on the “Reset” button on the opened “Reset browser settings” window

Restart the browser and the changes you get will be applied

The above mentioned manual process should be executed as it is mentioned. It is a cumbersome process and requires a lot of technical expertise. And hence it is advised for technical experts only. To be sure that your PC is free from malware, it is better that you scan the work-station with a powerful anti-malware tool. The automatic malware removal application is preferred because it doesn’t requires any additional technical skills and expertise.

Download the application and execute it on the PC to begin the depth scanning. Once the scanning gets completed, it shows the list of all the files related to ProcessBrand Adware. You can select such harmful files and folders and remove them immediately.