ExpandedSkill Adware - How to remove

ExpandedSkill is Mac malware. It manipulates settings and installs additional browser extensions. It also collects data about the victim’s browsing habits and controls which websites open in their browser. Overall, ExpandedSkill acts like adware and spyware. It should be removed by deleting not just its app, but also the settings that it created and the junkware that came with it.

ExpandedSkill in short:

Classification	Adware, browser hijacker.
How ExpandedSkill affects the Mac	Changes the behavior of web browsers to spy on the victim and to redirect links.
How it spreads	Advertised on unsafe websites, downloaded in infected installers or in fake installers.
How to remove ExpandedSkill	Delete all malicious items manually and with an anti-malware app (Combo Cleaner, Malwarebytes, and others), fix the settings that ExpandedSkill changed.

What is ExtendedLibrary

Browser hijacker

ExpandedSkill is a malicious app that causes a lot of unwanted effects on the infected Mac:

• Browser redirects to Bing, Yahoo, or another site even though the default search engine settings are not changed.
• It causes some links to not work right and some websites to not load or to be replaced by others.
• It logs data about the user’s browsing activities.
• Thanks to ExpandedSkill, some online apps might crash or not work right.

Your macOS might warn you that ExpandedSkill can harm your computer and should be removed. Because it is dangerous – it’s a type of adware. It’s part of a dangerous malware family. These adware infections are able to change network settings of the infected Macs, which causes unexpected redirects and problems with various apps. And these infections install malicious browser extensions on browsers.

Sometimes, they even come with a Mac cleaner app, one of those apps that manipulate people into paying for “protection” by pretending to detect a bunch of problems with their computer.

Unsurprisingly, ExpandedSkill gets detected by multiple anti-malware programs: Virustotal.com.

Trojan

ExpandedSkill might come with a fake or infected app installer. Did you recently download and install anything? Were the installation instructions unusual?

Flash Player is often abused for spreading ExpandedSkill-like malware. Scammers take the name and image of Flash Player and use them to dress up their malware. They use pop-ups online to tell people that their Flash Player is outdated.

ExpandedSkill is very similar to WebFunctionSearch, SmartQuestSearch, ExtendedLibrary, NetModuleSearch, and others. You might be able to see a pattern in these names. These apps might replace each other by downloading the other app in the background.

ExpandedSkill might even show pop-ups that cover up system warnings, like the one below. This way, when ExpandedSkill asks you to trust it and to give it various permissions. MacOS Catalina introduced some new security features but scammers continue to come up with ways to evade them.

How to remove ExpandedSkill

The ExpandedSkill app needs to be deleted, as well as the malicious browser extensions. There are also various settings and setting files that need to be removed.

To begin with, start your Mac in safe mode. Turn on your Mac and then hold the Shift button while it’s booting until you see the word “Safe Boot” on the screen.

Delete malicious items

To find and delete malware, use an anti-malware app, like Combo Cleaner, Malwarebytes, or another app that you trust. They should detect ExpandedSkill and/or the apps that came alongside it, including the infected installer, bad browser extensions, and the optimizer app (such as Smart Mac Booster).

Review your apps (in Finder, Applications) and browser extensions yourself, as well.

Remove unwanted entries in System Preferences, Users & Groups, select Login Items. You can find System Preferences in the Apple menu.

Fix hijacked settings

ExpandedSkill might not be removed so easily. If you tried to delete it and saw it return on its own, that’s because of certain settings on your Mac. You need to fix them and delete ExpandedSkill at the same time.

In System Preferences, look for an icon called Profiles. Open it and then select and delete all the items that you did not add.

Open Finder, Go, Computer, and search for “ExpandedSkill”. Delete all the items that come up.

The instructions for restoring your browser settings are at the bottom.

Finally, in System Preferences, go to Network, Advanced, Proxies. Check if a proxy (in the protocol box) is selected. If one is and if you didn’t do it, deselect and click OK.

Then, reboot your Mac to exit safe mode and ExpandedSkill should be gone for good.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Restore browser settings

How to remove ExpandedSkill 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 ExpandedSkill 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 ExpandedSkill, 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 ExpandedSkill Adware from Google Chrome on Mac:

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