AdditionalChannelSearch Adware - How to remove

AdditionalChannelSearch is an adware trojan. It installs without your consent and it exists to advertise to you. It manipulates your web searches and shows unwanted ads. To do this, AdditionalChannelSearch hijacks network and browser settings. Removing AdditionalChannelSearch requires deleting its files and restoring the settings that it modified. Oh, and adware often spreads in groups, so it is advisable to check for infections besides AdditionalChannelSearch.

About AdditionalChannelSearch:

Classification	Adware, trojan.
How AdditionalChannelSearch works	Hides files in system folders to make deleting it more difficult, changes browser settings to promote fake search engines, changes network settings.
How adware gets installed	Included in infected installers of various utility apps, promoted by fake software update warnings.
How to remove AdditionalChannelSearch	Use an antivirus app (Combo Cleaner, Malwarebytes, others) to find and remove malware, delete malicious items manually, restore OS and browser settings.

What is AdditionalChannelSearch malware

Adware infection

If your Mac is infected with AdditionalChannelSearch, you may experience some of these symptoms:

• “AdditionalChannelSearch” appearing in system pop-ups, asking for access and permissions.
• Slow Mac, constant beachballing, apps crash and hang.
• Slow internet, might even drop sometimes.
• Email, iCloud, and other apps not working and certain websites refusing to open.
• Web browsers changing how they deliver your internet search results.
• Pop-up ads filling the browser, new tabs opening unexpectedly.

AdditionalChannelSearch appears to be part of AdLoad, a persistent and dangerous trojan. It is capable of more than just causing some performance issues and browser changes:

• AdditionalChannelSearch can install additional malware.
• It can read your data in the browser and in other online apps (for example, usernames and passwords).
• It modifies network settings (which is why the internet connection might drop sometimes) to send your web traffic through a compromised server.

Trojan

This isn’t a unique threat – AdditionalChannelSearch comes in different names, SmartWebSearch, SkilledDeskSearch, MajorPanelSearch, and others. They’re all part of the same adware family. If one is installed, others might be, too.

AdditionalChannelSearch (and adware like it) come in deceptively designed installers, pretending to be a safe and desirable piece of software. The malicious installers might be presented as PDF converters, coupon collectors, and other useful little apps. This is what makes AdditionalChannelSearch a trojan – that it gets installed by users who are tricked into believing that it’s a safe app.

AdditionalChannelSearch may also hide behind fake warnings about needed software updates. Have you recently come across a warning that your Flash Player is out of date or that a new macOS update is being downloaded? Malicious actors create websites with such fake warnings, found on URLs named Operatenewestintenselyapplication.icu, Yoursafersoftsfinal.info, Launchgreatlyquickfreeware.com, etc. These sites get advertised online, mostly on sites that have no standards for their ads: pirating, free streaming sites, video converters. They also appear on small and old sites that got infected with malicious code. You’re unlikely to encounter AdditionalChannelSearch if you just stick to popular mainstream websites.

How to remove AdditionalChannelSearch

You can remove AdditionalChannelSearch manually, but it’s time-consuming. There are a lot of files and settings that need to be found and dealt with. You could use an anti-malware app, like Combo Cleaner, Malwarebytes, and others to speed up the process and make it safer – as well as to detect additional malware, if there is any. However, even if you go with automatic removal of AdditionalChannelSearch, you might still need to restore some system settings manually.

Delete suspicious files

See if you have a restore point. If anything goes wrong, like if you accidentally delete an important file, it’s good to have a quick way to undo the problem.

Turn on your Mac in safe mode to stop unnecessary software from running. You can do this by holding the Shift button on your keyboard while you’re turning on the computer. Let go of the button when you see “Safe Boot” on your screen.

Look in /Library/LaunchAgents, /Library/LaunchDaemons, ~/Library/LaunchAgents, and ~/Library/Application Support. Search for files and folders that are called “AdditionalChannelSearch” and similar. Also, look for a folder with a long name of random letters and numbers (0-9 and a-f). Delete it. If you’re unsure about a file, look its name up online and scan it with an antivirus app.

If you can’t see the folders that are listed in the above paragraph, then they are hidden (because they contain important files, these folders are harder to access). Open them by typing their name in the Go to Folder dialog. Go to Folder is opened from Finder’s Go menu, it’s the penultimate option in the Go menu.

Don’t forget to delete the installer in Downloads. AdditionalChannelSearch must have arrived in an infected app installer.

Restore settings

Open your web browsers and look for a browser extension named AdditionalChannelSearch. If it’s there, remove them. If you find other suspicious or unfamiliar browser extensions, feel free to remove them, too. Below this post are instructions for doing that.

Check System Preferences for Profiles. Configuration  AdditionalChannelSearch creates configuration profiles to mess with your browser settings. Remove them by selecting each profile and then pressing the minus ‘-‘ button at the bottom.

Check your browser settings and make sure that your new tab page and your default search engine are what you want them to be. Directions for doing that are below, in the following section.

Check your proxy settings. Open System Preferences, find Network, click Advanced and Proxies. Make sure that they’re what your administrator needs them to be.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Restore browser settings

How to remove AdditionalChannelSearch Adware from Safari:Top

Remove malicious extensions

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences.
  
• Select Extensions and uninstall AdditionalChannelSearch Adware and other suspicious extensions.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences and choose General tab. Enter preferable URL to the homepage field.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings(older versions) If you are still experiencing any issues related to AdditionalChannelSearch Adware, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Reset Safari…
  
• Select which options you want to reset (usually all of them come preselected) and click on the Reset button.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

TopHow to remove AdditionalChannelSearch Adware from Google Chrome on Mac:

• Open Chrome browser.
• Enter in the url field “chrome://extensions” address and hit Enter.
• Find AdditionalChannelSearch Adware on the extensions list and click on the recycle bin icon next to it.
• Click on 'Chrome' button at the top left corner. Select 'Preferences' on a drop-down menu box.
• Find 'Search' options on Settings tab. If your search engine is changed, click 'Manage Search Engines' and set your preferred search engine.
• On the same page find 'Show home button' checkbox and change your homepage.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to AdditionalChannelSearch Adware, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• On the 'Preferences' menu window, scroll down to the bottom and find 'Reset settings' button. Click it.
• Confirm your selection and click 'Reset' on the following window.

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program. Top

How To remove AdditionalChannelSearch Adware from Firefox on Mac OS:

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla window and select the “Add-ons” icon (Or press cmd+Shift+A on your keyboard).
• Go through Extensions list, remove everything AdditionalChannelSearch Adware related and items you do not recognise. If you do not know the extension and it is not made by Mozilla, Google, Microsoft, Oracle or Adobe then you probably do not need it.
• Enter “about:preferences” in URL bar and hit enter.
• Open Search settings tab.
• If your search engine is changed, click 'Default Search Engines' and set your preferred search engine.
• If your homepage was changed, click on the Firefox menu in the top right corner, select Preferences-> General. Enter a preferable URL to the home page field.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to AdditionalChannelSearch Adware, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla Firefox window. Click on the Help button.
• Choose Troubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
• Click on the Refresh Firefox button.
• Click on the Refresh Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.

If the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program to identify malicious entries.