How to get rid of Yahoo search on Mac

IF your Mac opens Yahoo every time you try to surf the internet, you may have been infected by a computer virus.

Here’s how to fight the bug and get rid of Yahoo search on your Apple Mac computer.

1

What is the Yahoo redirect virus?

The Yahoo redirect virus is a browser hijacker that forces your computer to see Yahoo as the default search engine.

This malware redirects you to Yahoo via multiple other websites.

These other websites then receive any ad revenue made through clicks on Yahoo’s website, as well as your data and internet activity.

This is not Yahoo’s fault but it is important that you stop it happening to avoid damage to your Mac.

How to get rid of Yahoo search on Mac

If you want to get rid of this malicious malware from your Mac, follow these steps.

1. Click on the Go button on your Mac’s Finder bar at the top of the screen and select Utilities.
2. Double click on the Activity Monitor inside Utilities.
3. Look for a Process Name that appears suspicious. This will be something that appears unfamiliar.

4. Select it and click on the Stop icon in the top left-hand corner of the screen.
5. Select Force Quit.
6. Click on the Go button again and select Go to Folder.
7. Type /Library/LaunchAgents and click Go.
8. Delete any recently added files that look unfamiliar.
9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 for ~/Library/Application Support, ~/Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons.
10. Click on the Go button again and this time select Applications.
11. Delete any apps that you do not recognise.
12. Click on the Apple menu and select System Preferences.
13. Click on Users & Groups and then Login Items.
14. Select the item which is not familiar and click on the minus button to delete it.
15. Finally, select Profiles in System Preferences and click on the minus button to delete any suspicious looking User Profiles.

These steps will remove the underlying cause of the virus, but you still need to delete them from your browser afterwards.

How to disable Yahoo search in Safari

1. Open Safari and click on the Safari menu at the top of the screen.
2. Select Preferences and click on the Advances tab.
3. Tick the box saying ‘Show Develop menu in menu bar’.
4. Click on the Develop button in the Safari menu and select Empty Caches.
5. Then select History in the Safari menu and click on Clear History.
6. Select All History and then Clear History again.
7. On Safari Preferences, click Privacy and then Manage Website Data.
8. Click Remove All – beware that this will log you out of some services.
9. Restart Safari.

How to remove Yahoo search in Chrome

1. Open Chrome and click on the three dots on the top right-hand side of the screen, next to your Chrome profile.
2. Select Settings and then Advanced.

3. Scroll down to the Reset Settings section and click Reset Settings in the pop-up box.
4. Restart Chrome.

This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk