Skip to main content

Remove BrowserSafeguard with RocketTab from Mac OS X

Review an aggregated analysis of BrowserSafeguard with RocketTab virus on Mac OS, including the infection’s technical profile and removal steps.

BrowserSafeguard is a lightweight utility intended to provide web browsing security. The bulk of its functionality is concentrated on preventing users from going to unsafe sites and downloading potentially harmful files. It should be mentioned upfront that the app does actually deliver a certain scope of online protection, informing people about suspicious sites in search results and blocking some domains that are blacklisted. Why then is it being looked into from a malware angle? It’s because the program’s free version is ad-supported, and the sponsored information that goes along with its operation on a Mac box is intrusive enough to be regarded as a security concern. The full freeware kit in this case is called BrowserSafeguard with RocketTab, where the latter component of the name denotes a browser extension that runs on Firefox, Chrome and Safari on the system. So if you pick free-of-charge BrowserSafeguard as your basic Internet security tool, you also automatically opt into installing the affiliated add-on which goes pretty harsh on web surfing.

The ads that start showing up after the setup of this application are nearly ubiquitous. They occupy some space both in search engine results and on random web pages that you visit. The implementation is fairly manifold, ranging from text links, coupons and deals – all the way to interstitial ads and big ol’ sponsored sections encapsulating SERPs (search engine results pages). These objects tend to be labeled “Powered by RocketTab”, “Ads by RocketTab” or “RocketTab Ads”, so it’s fairly easy to tell the adware when using the browser. This activity ultimately affects the responsiveness of the web browser as new tabs are being opened and queries are entered in Google, Yahoo! or similar service providers. This is because the adware takes time to figure out what advertisements are relevant to the user, which points to yet another side effect – privacy violation due to mining the personal online data.

Ads by RocketTab in search results

It’s not really fair to blame the contamination on the Mac users, because this explosive bundle often comes with other applications hosting the payload. As a matter of fact, BrowserSafeguard cannot even be downloaded from its home website for the moment, which unambiguously indicates the drive-by model being favored by the adware distributors. As covert as it is, this setup technique can be hindered if a reliable security suite is up and running.

BrowserSafeguard with RocketTab removal consists of the following steps: uninstalling the unwanted program itself and troubleshooting the infected browser. Go ahead and learn the nuances of the cleaning workflow.

BrowserSafeguard with RocketTab manual removal for Mac

The steps listed below will walk you through the removal of this threat. Be sure to follow the instructions in the order specified.

• Go to Finder - Applications

Access the Applications folder on your Mac

• Find the folder for BrowserSafeguard with RocketTab on the screen and drag it to the Trash displayed in the Dock

• Select the Secure Empty Trash feature as shown below

Pick the Secure Empty Trash option

• When a dialog pops up asking if you are sure, click OK to confirm that you would like to permanently erase all items in the Trash

Confirm emptying the Trash

 

Prevent Ads by RocketTab from appearing in web browsers

Settings for the web browser that got hit by BrowserSafeguard with RocketTab virus 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

• 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

• Open Firefox and select HelpTroubleshooting Information

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

Reset Firefox

 

Get rid of BrowserSafeguard with RocketTab 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 BrowserSafeguard with RocketTab 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 BrowserSafeguard with RocketTab 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 BrowserSafeguard with RocketTab 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.
0

Was this article helpful? Please, rate this.

There are no comments yet.
Authentication required

You must log in to post a comment.

Log in