AuraSearch Mac Virus - How to remove

AuraSearch is a malicious app that infects Macs, changes their internet settings, disrupts the online functionality, and spies on the victims’ browsing activity. It should be removed as soon as it’s discovered.

However, deleting AuraSearch is not so simple – this app is persistent and it might return after you delete it normally. There are settings and additional files that you need to remove manually in order to keep AuraSearch off of your Mac.

About AuraSearch in short:

Classification	Adware, browser hijacker.
How to remove AuraSearch	Delete the files and settings used by AuraSearch, remove the AuraSearch app, find and remove all malware with antivirus apps, like Combo Cleaner, Malwarebytes, and others, check your browser settings.
Problems caused by AuraSearch	Unexpected websites opening in your browser, some websites and some apps not working, unusually many ads on webpages, private browsing data exposed to the actors behind AuraSearch.
How adware infects Macs	It’s promoted online with misleading ads and fake security warnings, it’s installed together with other adware infections.

How to remove AuraSearch

AuraSearch is a browser hijacker and an adware infection. To remove it, here’s what you can do:

• Find and fix System Preferences that AuraSearch uses to remain installed.
• Find and delete files that are left behind by AuraSearch.
• Delete the app.
• Review your browser settings and fix them as needed.

Check System Preferences

You can remove AuraSearch by opening your Applications folder and dragging AuraSearch to Trash. But, in some cases, AuraSearch might return – or it might be replaced with an identical app, such as ChangeParameter, SearchRange, and others.

In such a case, you can remove AuraSearch, but you need to put a bit of work into getting rid of this persistent infection.

Start your Mac in safe mode. This will stop all unnecessary apps, including malicious apps, from running (until the next reboot). Start your Mac and hold the Shift key as it’s booting until you see the Apple logo.

Now, open your System Preferences and look for these settings:

• Open Profiles. Delete unknown and suspicious configuration profiles by selecting them and then pressing the minus ‘-‘ button at the bottom.
• Click on Network -> Advanced -> Proxies. Look at the list on the left. Deselect all proxies that you didn’t set up.
• Check your Users & Groups -> Login Items. Remove all the items that you don’t want to automatically run with your Mac.

These settings are used by AuraSearch to help it stay installed and to control your Mac. For instance, configuration profiles are used to force settings on your Mac. Malicious apps abuse them often.

Delete AuraSearch and its files

You can look for malicious files used by AuraSearch in the folders ~/Library/LaunchAgents, ~/Library/Application Support, /Library/Application Support, and /Library/LaunchDaemons. You can open these folders by opening the Finder menu and clicking Go -> Go to Folder. You can also open Finder -> Go -> Computer and search for the term “AuraSearch” to find files that have it in their names – and delete them.

Whether you do that or not, it’s advisable to scan your computer with an anti-malware app, such as Combo Cleaner, Malwarebytes, and others. Remember – AuraSearch is very likely to have been installed together with other malicious apps, especially with browser hijackers. These infections also need to be found and deleted.

What is AuraSearch?

Browser hijacker

AuraSearch (or AuraSearchDaemon) is a malicious app. It has been around since at least mid-2019 (Discussions.apple.com). It appears on Macs as a mysterious application that starts running when you open a web browser.

AuraSearch does a lot to change your online experience:

• It changes your default search engine to an unexpected site.
• It logs your search terms and your browsing history.
• It might inject ads into the webpages that you visit.
• AuraSearch might redirect all of your online traffic through a proxy.
• Some websites don’t load because of AuraSearch’s interference.
• Web browsers, email clients, and other online apps might hang, crash, or not work correctly.

In addition to all that, AuraSearch might install other malicious apps on your device. It might install other search hijackers or malicious browser extensions. Instructions for checking your browser settings can be found at the bottom of this page.

Installed without permission

The app AuraSearch has no useful features. Users don’t download and install it on purpose. Instead, AuraSearch infects Macs with the help of fake warnings and misleading ads.

Fake Flash Player pop-ups are very popular in spreading malware. While browsing the web, you might see a page saying that your Flash Player is out-of-date and be offered a file to download and run – but this file is always infected with malware. The real Flash Player is hardly used anymore at all.

Other times, regular free apps have adware like AuraSearch embedded in their installers. The apps aren’t harmful, but they offer AuraSearch and other items as optional offers in such a way that you might miss them when installing them.

Using an anti-malware app can help you avoid such infections. Apps like AuraSearch are detected by antivirus scanners as Malware, Adware, AdLoad, etc. Just scan your downloaded files and don’t run them if they’re detected. In addition, you can set up your Mac to only run trusted apps (Support.apple.com).

Automatic Malware removal tools

Check your browser settings

How to remove AuraSearch Mac Virus from Safari:Top

Remove malicious extensions

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences.
  
• Select Extensions and uninstall AuraSearch Mac Virus 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 AuraSearch Mac Virus, 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 AuraSearch Mac Virus from Google Chrome on Mac:

• Open Chrome browser.
• Enter in the url field “chrome://extensions” address and hit Enter.
• Find AuraSearch Mac Virus 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 AuraSearch Mac Virus, 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 AuraSearch Mac Virus 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 AuraSearch Mac Virus 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 AuraSearch Mac Virus, 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.