We understand having adware or viruses on Mac can be irritating. Therefore, to help eliminate it, we’ve developed a security tool that helps deal with multiple kinds of Mac-specific threats. Download Intego Antivirus & protect your Mac from common viruses & malicious content.
However, if you want to manually remove security threats from your Mac, then read the detailed guide below to learn how to quarantine the TapuFind virus from Mac.
| Symptoms | Changes browser’s custom settings, tracks user activity, redirects search results, alters search engine, shows redundant ads, and more. |
| Removal | Scan your Mac with Intego Antivirus and detect all related browser hijacker files. This tool will secure your Mac from all types of old and latest threats. |
What is TapuFind Virus?
| Threat Profile | |
|---|---|
| Name | TapuFind (MacAppExtensions) browser hijacker |
| Category | Mac adware, PUP, browser hijacker, redirect virus |
| Related domains | Search.tapufind.com, tab.tapufind.com |
| Symptoms | Redirects web browser, display unwanted ads, slows down system |
| Distribution Methods | Fake Adobe Flash Player update popups, spam emails, and malware-infected apps |
| Severity Level | Medium |
| Symptoms | Changes browser’s custom settings, tracks user activity, redirects search results, alters search engine, shows redundant ads, and more. |
| Removal | Scan your Mac with Systweak Anti-Malware and detect all related browser hijacker files. This tool will secure your Mac from all types of old and latest threats.
Moreover, it scans startup items, extensions, plug-ins, etc. Most security tools don’t focus on helping boost browsing speed and system performance. |
Technically, TapuFind is not a virus. Instead, it is a combination of adware and browser hijackers. To gain profit from it, threat actors display deceptive alerts on the victim’s web browser and exploit the compromised machine, thereby generating fake traffic to make money.
In addition to this, due to its distribution method, it is also categorized as a potentially unwanted program (PUP). Moreover, it comes bundled with freeware or makes its way into the system as a dubious Adobe Flash Player update.
TapuFind replaces search engines with search.tapufind.com and tab.tapufind.com – the former swaps search engines on the victim’s device whereas the latter forces you to open a new tab each time you use the browser. It is a multi-layered process.
Symptoms you are infected by TapuFind
- Fake popup alerts
- Changes default homepage, search engine, and a new tab open each time you search for something or use the browser.
- Search queries are redirected through search.tapufind.com
- Unwanted browser extensions get installed
- Shows splash screens saying, “Your browser is now up to date,” thereby pretending to inform the target of a successful installation of new features in Safari, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox. Once the user clicks OK, harmful software is downloaded in the background that infects your Mac.
- Tons of ads (pop-ups, banners, hyperlinks, etc.) start
Additional Information:
TapuFind virus runs with admin privileges; hence it never seeks the user’s permission to make changes. And due to these elevated rights, it easily alters victim’s web surfing presets.
MacAppExtensions.app. is a critical and dangerous add-on file related to TapuFind. Therefore, as a part of the cleaning process, we need to ensure this file gets deleted.
How to Manually Get Rid of the TapuFind Virus on Mac
To delete TapuFind from Mac, you will first need to quit any suspicious running process. For this, we will use Activity Monitor as here you can see all running processes. To open Activity Monitor, press Command+Shift+U.
Now, under Activity Monitor, look for TapuFind or other related processes; if you can find any, select, and click the X present at the top left to Quit the running process.
The malicious process usually hides behind the name of a genuine process. Therefore, if you cannot find anything related to TapuFind, look for processes taking unnecessary CPU memory. The ones consuming the outrageous amounts of memory are susceptible.
Afterward, head to the Applications folder and look for suspicious apps:
1. To open the Application folder, press Shift +Command + A
2. Find the TapuFind app or look for suspicious software that you don’t remember downloading.
3. Select > right-click > Move to Trash.
Once you have performed the above action, it’s time to remove adware-generated files and folders. To find them follow the steps below:
1. Open Finder > Go menu > Go to Folder.
2. Type /Library/LaunchAgents into the search box > Go.
3. Look for any suspicious files associated with the TapuFind > right-click Move to Trash. Here are a few examples:
com.tapufind.plist
com.SoftwareUpdater.agent.plist.
installmac.AppRemoval.plist”
“mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist
myppes.download.plis
com.myppes.net-preferences.plist
4. Again open Go to Folder and this time enter:
~/Library/LaunchAgents > Go
You need to follow the same steps and run the following commands:
/Library/LaunchDaemons
~/Library/Application Support
/Library/Application Support
5. Review each folder for suspicious files, items and delete them or drag to Trash.
6. Once done, Empty Trash.
Note: When removing files pay attention. Deleting a system file or an important file might cause a system crash. So, if you are not sure about a file, do not remove it.
Restore Browsers
Finally, let’s restore the browsers and make them work flawlessly. To do so, delete extensions that you don’t recognize or are unnecessary. Moreover, set a preferred homepage and search engine.
To learn how to do that all follow the steps below:
Safari
1. Open Safari.
2. Safari > Preferences > Extensions.
3. Look for dicey extensions and hit Uninstall. Confirm the action when asked.
4. Head to the General tab. Enter the preferred website URL in the Homepage field.
5. Hit Search tab > choose the Search engine.
Chrome
1. Launch Chrome.
2. Copy-paste chrome://extensions into the address bar and hit Enter
3. Remove unwanted extensions.
4. Now copy-paste chrome://settings in the address bar.
5. In the On start-up section, select what you want as the homepage.
6. Click the Search engine tab > select the preferred search engine from the drop-down menu.
Mozilla Firefox
1. Launch Firefox and head to about:addons.
2. Click the Extensions tab on the toolbar.
3. Click the three stacked dots next to the extension you want to delete > click Remove. Confirm the action.
4. Head to about: preferences.
5. Click Home to choose a default homepage.
6. Set the search engine.
You are all set.
How to get rid of the TapuFind virus automatically.
If the aforementioned steps are hard to process for you, try a simpler way discussed below. Using a trusted and reliable anti-malware tool like Intego Antivirus can help you detect and remove potential malicious content in no time. It is a powerful security tool that detects and deletes all infections from Mac. Here’s how it works.
STEP 1 = Download, install and launch Intego Antivirus on your Mac.
STEP 2 = As soon as the product gets launched, you will see a list of all your Intego Applications that get installed in the entire package.
STEP 3 = Select the VirusBarrier option and let the anti-malware protection show its magic. It brings a real-time scanner that constantly watches over your Mac and safeguards it against potential malware, viruses, adware, spyware, worms, rootkits, etc. Make sure to run Full Scan, to ensure that your Mac has no infected files stored.
Once the scanning process gets finished, you get the ability to get rid of the potential malware in no time. You even have the option to Schedule Scans regularly and switch on the Safe Browsing mode to prevent yourself from visiting fraudulent websites.
We hope you will give this tool a try to ensure top-notch protection on your Mac. Do share your feedback with us in the comments box below!
We hope you will give this tool a try. Do share your feedback with us in the comments box below.