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How to get rid of Bing redirect virus on Mac?

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Just like Google has its search engine, and Apple has Safari, Microsoft created Bing. Bing may not be as popular, but it’s a legitimate search engine. How do you get rid of a Bing redirect virus? Seeing as you’ve searched for ways to stop redirecting your searches to Bing, it means that you’ve been affected by the Browser Hijacker. The Browser Hijacker frustrates a user to turn your search from your default site to Bing.com forcefully. So, how to get rid of Bing redirect virus on Mac to overcome this frustration. Let’s examine the answer step by step;

What is a Bing Browser Hijacker?

Browser hijacker is a form of Malware that alters your computer’s settings such that it limits your default browser’s settings and bars you from changing the settings back to their default. What you get after this alteration is that you get unsolicited adverts in the form of redirects and a total replacement of your default search engine to either Bing or a questionable search engine.

What a Browser Hijacker does, is to direct web traffic towards specific products and services, which may also be questionable. The hacker then earns advertising revenue out of your inconvenience. Malware usually doesn’t come alone, and it could be a gateway to even more significant threats such as keyloggers, spyware, and viruses. Spyware is Malware that steals vital information such as usernames and passwords for essential profiles such as bank transfers. 

How Does a Bing Virus Redirect Infect your Mac?

There are many ways to infect your Mac with a Browser Hijacker:

1. Software Bundling

Bundled Software combines several single software programs to be installed as one. These include the main software program you meant to establish and several other purported programs to work together with the leading Software. This is how hackers add Malware into an installation. Most times, when we install Software in our PCS, we don’t check what we are doing, we are just keen to finish, and hackers take advantage of the “Next” effect. When installing Software, we click next to the end without knowing what we agree to.

2. Installing Software from 3rd Party Sites

It’s good to install Software from official websites and if you don’t, just like in software bundling, be keen on what you’re saying yes to. Ensure that you’re installing the intended Software alone and not extra unwanted Software. Software from third-party sites is known as freeware.

3. Free Online Streaming Sites

Have you ever tried watching a movie from these free streaming sites and noticed pop-ups and pop-unders every few minutes? Browser Hijackers could cause this. Free websites and Software usually have these sorts of caveats. 

Does a Bing Browser Hijacker infect your Mac?

You will see several peculiar behaviors in your PC once it’s infected. Examples of these signs include:

  • You key in a search, and it redirects you to different websites.
  • Once you key in your search, a myriad of adverts pop up.
  • Your website loads at a snail’s pace.
  • Surprise toolbars on your web browser that you didn’t install or consent to.

How to Get Rid of Bing Redirect Virus on Mac Browser

How to get rid of Bing redirect virus on Mac, is not a difficult question to answer. We have prepared some steps for you to follow and get rid of them.

1. Identify and Remove malicious Profiles from your Mac

Configuration Profiles are primarily used to modify settings for Mac computers to give them privileges they otherwise wouldn’t typically have. You can set up different settings for emails, Wi-Fi, VPNs, and any Apple device using these configuration profiles.

Steps to remove malicious profiles:

  1. Go to the Apple Menu on your Mac and Choose System Preferences. 
  2. Choose Profiles, and you won’t see any profiles if you hadn’t installed configuration files before this.
  3. Select the suspicious profiles, one by one, and then click Remove. This process removes the programs, their data, and settings from your PC.

2. Remove any Malware from Mac

  1. Go to the Apple Menu.
  2. On the top-right corner, check the program icons, and if you see a program you didn’t install, click “Quit”.
  3. Go to the Finder app on your dock, choose “Applications”.
  4. A list of the programs installed on your PC will come up, and you can remove any malicious apps by moving the icons to Trash.
  5. Right-click the Trash icon and select “Empty Trash” to clear everything you sent to Trash, including the suspicious programs. 
How to get rid of Bing redirect virus on Mac

3. Remove Bing Search Redirect from Safari

You might be wondering now how to get rid of Bing redirect virus on Mac Safari, so follow the given steps;

Safari

  1. On your Mac, go to “Safari” and choose “Preferences.”
  2. Find the “Homepage” option on the menu, check what the drop-down says because sometimes hackers change the Homepage.
  3. Go to extensions.
  4. Locate “Bing search” and uninstall it.

Sometimes you can change the preference, and it changes right back.

  1. Go to Safari’s “Preferences.”
  2. When it opens, go to the General icon.
  3. Go to “Homepage” and manually fill your preferred Homepage
  4. In the same area, go to the top of the window and pick one icon
  5. Confirm that you want to change the Homepage
  6. Go back to the General icon, and check whether there’s a change

4. Delete Safari’s Preferences File to Remove Browser Hijacker’s Settings

You have tried all the three options above, and nothing worked. This could be because the Hijacker has installed already managed preferences to change the Homepage automatically. The only way to fix this is by removing the Preferences file.

  1. Close Safari
  2. Go to Finder and choose “Go.” 
  3. Click “Go to Folder”
  4. Insert this path link, then click Go: ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist
  5. If there’s a file that follows this path, Trash it and empty Trash.
  6. Reopen Safari and try browsing again

5. Remove Browser Hijacker from Google Chrome

  1. On your Mac, open Google Chrome
  2. Go to the URL bar and type chrome:// extensions, then click “Enter.”
  3. Analyze the current extensions and if you find a suspicious one, Remove it.
  4. Go back to the extensions and choose “Search Engine.”
  5. Choose your preferred browser
How to get rid of Bing redirect virus on Mac?

Conclusion

How to get rid of the Bing Redirect Virus on Mac, we have answered your question in detail. We’ve seen the different ways you can get your Mac infected by Malware. To prevent the hassle of troubleshooting and fixing Malware, refrain it from installing alien programs on your Mac. There are apps in the market that protect your Mac from Malware. Find the best one for you and install it.

What do you think?

Written by Nudrat Naheed

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