The Cocoshamen is a potentially unwanted application (PUA) from the group of browser hijackers. It replaces your Firefox, Safari and Chrome’s new tab, startpage and default search provider and can redirect your internet browser to unwanted Search.cocoshamen.com webpage. Of course, it is not a malicious software or virus in the “general meaning” of this word. It’ll not delete or damage your files, but it can modify some MAC system’s settings or download and install other harmful software. So, you’d better to get rid of Search.cocoshamen.com hijacker using the tutorial below and thereby revert back your favorite home page and search engine.
http://search.cocoshamen.com/
The Search.cocoshamen.com browser hijacker may also modify the default search engine that will virtually block the possibility of finding information on the Internet. The reason for this is that the Search.cocoshamen.com search results may display a large amount of ads, links to undesired and ad websites. Only the remaining part is the result of your search request, loaded from the major search providers such as Google, Yahoo or Bing.
While the Search.cocoshamen.com browser hijacker is active, you won’t be able to return the Mozilla Firefox, Safari and Chrome’ settings such as new tab page, search provider by default and startpage. If you try to set your startpage to be Google, Bing or Yahoo, those settings will be automatically changed to Search.cocoshamen.com with the next computer reboot. But this does not mean that you should just ignore it or get along with this fact. Because this is not the best option, due to the Search.cocoshamen.com you can have problems with the Safari, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, annoying ads and even personal data theft.
As evident, the hijacker infection is a potentially unwanted program and should not be used. If you noticed any of the symptoms mentioned above, we advise you to complete steps below to get rid of the browser hijacker and remove Search.cocoshamen.com from your web browser settings.
Remove Search.cocoshamen.com from Apple Mac
Fortunately, it is not hard to remove the Search.cocoshamen.com browser hijacker infection. In the following guidance, we will provide two methods to free your computer of this hijacker. One is the manual removal method and the other is automatic removal solution. You can select the solution that best fits you. Please follow the removal tutorial below to remove Search.cocoshamen.com right now!
To remove Search.cocoshamen.com, complete the steps below:
- How to remove Search.cocoshamen.com without any software
- Search.cocoshamen.com search automatic removal
- Run AdBlocker to stop Search.cocoshamen.com and stay safe online
- How does your machine get infected with Search.cocoshamen.com hijacker infection
- To sum up
How to remove Search.cocoshamen.com without any software
The guidance will help you get rid of Search.cocoshamen.com home page. These Search.cocoshamen.com removal steps work for the Mozilla Firefox, Chrome and Safari, as well as every version of Microsoft Windows operating system.
Remove potentially unwanted programs using the Finder
Some PUPs, browser hijacking apps and adware can be deleted by uninstalling the free applications they came with. If this way does not succeed, then looking them up in the list of installed software in the Finder. Use the “Move to Trash” command in order to remove them.
Make sure you have closed all web-browsers and other apps. Next, uninstall any undesired and suspicious apps from MAC using the Finder.
Open Finder and click “Applications”.
Look around the entire list of applications installed on your machine. Most probably, one of them is the browser hijacker responsible for redirections to Search.cocoshamen.com. Select the suspicious program or the application that name is not familiar to you and uninstall it.
Drag the questionable application from the Applications folder to the Trash.
Most important, don’t forget, choose Finder -> Empty Trash.
Delete Search.cocoshamen.com start page from Google Chrome
In this step we are going to show you how to reset Chrome settings. potentially unwanted programs like the Search.cocoshamen.com can make changes to your browser settings including newtab, home page and search engine, add toolbars and unwanted extensions. By resetting Chrome settings you will remove Search.cocoshamen.com and reset unwanted changes caused by browser hijacker. When using the reset feature, your personal information such as passwords, bookmarks, browsing history and web form auto-fill data will be saved.
First launch the Google Chrome. Next, press the button in the form of three horizontal dots (
).
It will display the Chrome menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions. Carefully browse through the list of installed plugins. If the list has the addon signed with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following instructions: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
Open the Chrome menu once again. Further, click the option called “Settings”.
The browser will show the settings screen. Another solution to open the Chrome’s settings – type chrome://settings in the internet browser adress bar and press Enter
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and press the “Advanced” link. Now scroll down until the “Reset” section is visible, as shown on the image below and click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
The Chrome will display the confirmation dialog box as shown in the figure below.
You need to confirm your action, press the “Reset” button. The web-browser will start the procedure of cleaning. When it is done, the browser’s settings including search engine, new tab and start page back to the values which have been when the Google Chrome was first installed on your Apple Mac.
Get rid of Search.cocoshamen.com from Safari
The Safari reset is great if your browser is hijacked or you have unwanted add-ons or toolbars on your web-browser, that installed by a malware.
Click Safari menu and choose “Preferences”.
It will open the Safari Preferences window. Next, click the “Extensions” tab. Look for unknown and suspicious addons on left panel, select it, then press the “Uninstall” button. Most important to remove all unknown plugins from Safari.
Once complete, click “General” tab. Change the “Default Search Engine” to Google.
Find the “Homepage” and type into textfield “https://www.google.com”.
Delete Search.cocoshamen.com from Mozilla Firefox by resetting web-browser settings
Resetting Firefox internet browser will reset all the settings to their original state and will remove Search.cocoshamen.com, malicious add-ons and extensions. It’ll save your personal information like saved passwords, bookmarks, auto-fill data and open tabs.
First, open the Mozilla Firefox and click 
button. It will display the drop-down menu on the right-part of the internet browser. Further, press the Help button (
) as shown in the figure below.
In the Help menu, select the “Troubleshooting Information” option. Another way to open the “Troubleshooting Information” screen – type “about:support” in the internet browser adress bar and press Enter. It will show the “Troubleshooting Information” page as displayed below. In the upper-right corner of this screen, press the “Refresh Firefox” button.
It will show the confirmation dialog box. Further, click the “Refresh Firefox” button. The Mozilla Firefox will start a procedure to fix your problems that caused by the hijacker that cause a redirect to Search.cocoshamen.com page. After, it is complete, press the “Finish” button.
Search.cocoshamen.com search automatic removal
Run malware removal tools to delete Search.cocoshamen.com automatically. The free applications utilities specially made for browser hijacker, adware and other potentially unwanted software removal. These tools can get rid of most of browser hijacker from Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Safari. Moreover, it can remove all components of Search.cocoshamen.com from system folders and system drives.
How to remove Search.cocoshamen.com with MalwareBytes AntiMalware
Remove Search.cocoshamen.com browser hijacker manually is difficult and often the browser hijacker is not completely removed. Therefore, we recommend you to use the MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) that are completely clean your MAC system. Moreover, the free application will allow you to get rid of malware, potentially unwanted programs, toolbars and ‘ad supported’ software that your Apple Mac may be infected too.
MalwareBytes can be downloaded from the following link.
20842 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: September 10, 2020
Once downloading is complete, close all applications and windows on your MAC OS. Run the saved file. Follow the prompts.
The MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) will automatically start and you can see its main screen like below.
Now click the “Scan” button . MalwareBytes Free utility will begin scanning the whole computer to find out browser hijacker infection responsible for redirections to Search.cocoshamen.com. Depending on your computer, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. While the utility is scanning, you may see how many objects and files has already scanned.
Once the checking is done, MalwareBytes will prepare a list of unwanted programs adware. In order to remove all threats, simply click “Remove Selected Items” button. The MalwareBytes Free will remove browser hijacker which cause Search.cocoshamen.com website to appear.
Run AdBlocker to stop Search.cocoshamen.com and stay safe online
We suggest to install an ad blocking program which can stop Search.cocoshamen.com and other annoying web pages. The ad-blocker tool like AdGuard is a application which basically removes advertising from the Internet and blocks access to malicious websites. Moreover, security experts says that using ad blocker applications is necessary to stay safe when surfing the Internet.
- Download AdGuard from the link below.
AdGuard for Mac download
3677 downloads
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: January 17, 2018
- After the downloading process is complete, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
- After the installation is finished, press “Skip” to close the setup application and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will allow you get to know AdGuard better.
- In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you start your Apple Mac, AdGuard will run automatically and block pop-up ads, Search.cocoshamen.com redirect, as well as other malicious or misleading websites.
How does your machine get infected with Search.cocoshamen.com hijacker infection
Many hijacker infections like Search.cocoshamen.com come from web-browser toolbars, web browser extensions, BHOs (browser helper objects) and third-party programs. In most cases, these items claim itself as programs that improve your experience on the Internet by providing a fast and interactive startpage or a search engine that does not track you. Remember, how to avoid the unwanted apps. Be cautious, start only reputable applications which download from reputable sources. NEVER install an unknown and suspicious program.
To sum up
Now your Apple Mac should be free of the hijacker responsible for redirects to Search.cocoshamen.com. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted pop up ads and annoying malicious web pages) and MalwareBytes Free (to periodically scan your MAC OS for new malware, hijackers and ad supported software). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Mac operating system. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new browser hijacker infections, harmful apps and adware are released.
If you are still having problems while trying to remove Search.cocoshamen.com from your internet browser, then ask for help here.
