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Remove MacSmart ads from Mac OS X (Safari, Chrome, Firefox removal)

Learn what side effects the MacSmart add-on has on the infected Mac machine and get easy-to-follow removal instructions to stop the ads from popping up.

Staying informed about up-to-date discounts and different sorts of commercial online deals might certainly be in demand, but a lot depends on the way this data is delivered to computer users. Perhaps the key criterion is moderate intrusiveness, and that’s where the MacSmart app fails big time. This is an add-on that works on the Mac versions of Safari, Chrome and Firefox. When installed, it displays sponsored information on arbitrary web pages in an extremely annoying fashion. In this case, the compromised Mac user has no influence on how many ads are displayed and how they affect the site layout. At the end of the day, there remains little space on visited websites as the ads cover nearly half of the content. The obtrusive objects, signed "Ads by MacSmart" or "Brought to you by MacSmart", are oriented towards Internet shopping, where the user gets to see and compare deals from popular e-shopping services.

MacSmart website

Whether or not you get infected is mainly dependent on how attentive you are when downloading stuff on the web. That’s because MacSmart tends to spread with third-party application installs, following the so-called principle of bundling. This means some free video downloaders or entertainment software involved in the distribution of this adware go with the bad payload which is an opt-out. Therefore carefully reading the terms of service for freeware or shareware that’s being downloaded might prevent the user from getting infected.

MacSmart removal means the noxious ads will no longer appear, hence a better browsing experience and, quite possibly, intact online privacy. Regarding the latter benefit, it has to do with the fact that this adware does some user activity tracking for more accurate product advertising. It may seem at first sight that getting rid of it is a matter of uninstalling the add-on from browsers, which is unfortunately a delusion. This potentially unwanted browser helper object is aggressive and persistent, which is why the cleaning guide below is mandatory to follow.

MacSmart manual removal for Mac

To begin with, settings for the web browser that got hit by the MacSmart adware should be restored to their default values. The overview of steps for this procedure is as follows:

1. Reset Safari

• Open the browser and go to Safari menu. Select Reset Safari in the drop-down list

• Make sure all the boxes are ticked on the interface and hit Reset

Resrt Safari

2. Reset Google Chrome (if affected by the MacSmart virus)

• Open Chrome and click the Customize and Control Google Chrome menu icon

• Select Options for a new window to appear

• Select Under the Hood tab, then click Reset to defaults button

Reset Chrome

3. Reset Mozilla Firefox (if affected)

• Open Firefox and select HelpTroubleshooting Information

• On the page that opened, click the Reset Firefox button

Reset Firefox

 

Get rid of MacSmart virus using Combo Cleaner automatic removal tool

The Mac maintenance and security app called Combo Cleaner is a one-stop tool to detect and remove MacSmart ads virus. This technique has substantial benefits over manual cleanup, because the utility gets hourly virus definition updates and can accurately spot even the newest Mac infections.

Furthermore, the automatic solution will find the core files of the malware deep down the system structure, which might otherwise be a challenge to locate. Here’s a walkthrough to sort out the MacSmart ads issue using Combo Cleaner:

  1. Download Combo Cleaner installer. When done, double-click the combocleaner.dmg file and follow the prompts to install the tool onto your Mac.

    Download Combo Cleaner

    By downloading any applications recommended on this website you agree to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. The free scanner checks whether your Mac is infected. To get rid of malware, you need to purchase the Premium version of Combo Cleaner.

  2. Open the app from your Launchpad and let it run an update of the malware signature database to make sure it can identify the latest threats.
  3. Click the Start Combo Scan button to check your Mac for malicious activity as well as performance issues.

    Combo Cleaner Mac scan progress

  4. Examine the scan results. If the report says “No Threats”, then you are on the right track with the manual cleaning and can safely proceed to tidy up the web browser that may continue to act up due to the after-effects of the malware attack (see instructions above).

    Combo Cleaner scan report – no threats found

  5. In case Combo Cleaner has detected malicious code, click the Remove Selected Items button and have the utility remove MacSmart ads threat along with any other viruses, PUPs (potentially unwanted programs), or junk files that don’t belong on your Mac.

    Combo Cleaner – threats found

  6. Once you have made doubly sure that the malicious app is uninstalled, the browser-level troubleshooting might still be on your to-do list. If your preferred browser is affected, resort to the previous section of this tutorial to revert to hassle-free web surfing.
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