According to security researchers, AccessibleBoost is an adware program. Adware is type of malware that presents unwanted ads on a MAC system, redirects search requests to advertising web-pages and gathers sensitive info for marketing purposes. Adware can display banner advertisements, full-screen ads, popups, videos, or other varieties of online advertising. Adware can attack your MAC OS’s web browsers like the Safari, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. Maybe you approve the idea that the advertisements or pop ups is just a small problem. But these ads eat computer resources and slow down your MAC performance.
Unwanted ads
Does adware steal your confidential information? Adware is often harmless, but sometimes the adware software you inadvertently download can also be spyware. Spyware can sometimes seek out your confidential data stored on the Apple Mac, collect this information and use it to steal your identity.
How does AccessibleBoost get on your machine
Adware may be spread with the help of trojan horses and other forms of malware, but most often, adware software is bundled within certain free software. Many authors of free programs include additional software in their setup file. Sometimes it is possible to avoid the setup of any adware software: carefully read the Terms of Use and the Software license, select only Manual, Custom or Advanced installation option, disable all checkboxes before clicking Install or Next button while installing new free software.
Threat Summary
| Name | AccessibleBoost, Accessible Boost 1.0 app |
| Type | adware, potentially unwanted application (PUA), pop-up virus, popup advertisements, pop ups |
| Symptoms |
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| Removal | AccessibleBoost removal guide |
How to remove AccessibleBoost
Not all unwanted apps such as AccessibleBoost are easily uninstallable. You might see pop ups, deals, text links, in-text ads, banners and other type of advertisements in the Firefox, Chrome and Safari and might not be able to figure out the application responsible for this activity. The reason for this is that many undesired apps neither appear in the Finder. Therefore in order to completely get rid of AccessibleBoost , you need to execute the following steps. Read it once, after doing so, please bookmark this page (or open it on your smartphone) as you may need to close your browser or restart your computer.
To remove AccessibleBoost, use the following steps:
- How to manually remove AccessibleBoost
- Automatic Removal of AccessibleBoost adware
- How to stay safe online
- To sum up
How to manually remove AccessibleBoost
This part of the blog post is a step-by-step tutorial that will show you how to get rid of AccessibleBoost manually. You just need to follow every step. In this case, you do not need to download any additional tools.
Remove potentially unwanted programs through the Finder
Some PUPs, browser hijacking applications and adware may be deleted by uninstalling the freeware they came with. If this way does not succeed, then looking them up in the list of installed apps in Finder. Use the “Move to Trash” command in order to remove them.
Open Finder and click “Applications”.
It will show a list of all programs installed on your Apple Mac. Scroll through the all list, and remove any questionable and unknown software. Right click to suspicious application and select “Move to Trash”. Another way is drag the application from the Applications folder to the Trash.
Most important, scroll through the all list, and move to trash any unknown applications. Don’t forget, select Finder -> Empty Trash.
Delete AccessibleBoost from Mozilla Firefox by resetting browser settings
If the Firefox internet browser is hijacked by AccessibleBoost and you want to recover the Mozilla Firefox settings back to their default state, then you should follow the steps below. However, your saved passwords and bookmarks will not be changed, deleted or cleared.
Press the Menu button (looks like three horizontal lines), and press the blue Help icon located at the bottom of the drop down menu as shown in the following example.
A small menu will appear, click the “Troubleshooting Information”. On this page, press “Refresh Firefox” button like below.
Follow the onscreen procedure to restore your Firefox web-browser settings to their default values.
Remove AccessibleBoost adware from Google Chrome
Use the Reset web-browser tool of the Google Chrome to reset all its settings like newtab, search provider by default and startpage to original defaults. This is a very useful utility to use, in the case of adware infection.
- First, start the Chrome and click the Menu icon (icon in the form of three dots).
- It will show the Google Chrome main menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions.
- You’ll see the list of installed extensions. If the list has the plugin labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following instructions: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
- Now open the Chrome menu once again, press the “Settings” menu.
- Next, click “Advanced” link, that located at the bottom of the Settings page.
- On the bottom of the “Advanced settings” page, click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
- The Google Chrome will show the reset settings dialog box as on the image above.
- Confirm the web browser’s reset by clicking on the “Reset” button.
- To learn more, read the blog post How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.
Get rid of AccessibleBoost from Safari
By resetting Safari web browser you restore your internet browser settings to its default state. This is good initial when troubleshooting problems that might have been caused by the AccessibleBoost adware.
Run Safari web-browser. Next, select Preferences from the Safari menu.
First, click the “Security” tab. Here, choose “Block pop-up windows”. It will block some types of pop-ups.
Now, click the “Extensions” tab. Look for dubious add-ons on left panel, select it, then click the “Uninstall” button. Most important to delete all suspicious add-ons from Safari.
Once complete, check your startpage and search engine settings. Click “General” tab. Make sure that the “Homepage” field contains the website you want or is empty.
Make sure that the “Search engine” setting shows your preferred search provider. In some versions of Safari, this setting is in the “Search” tab.
Automatic Removal of AccessibleBoost adware
Manual removal is not always as effective as you might think. Often, even the most experienced users can not completely remove AccessibleBoost . So, we recommend to check your machine for any remaining harmful components with free adware removal applications below.
Use MalwareBytes to remove AccessibleBoost adware software
You can remove AccessibleBoost adware automatically through the use of MalwareBytes Free. We advise this free malicious software removal utility because it may easily get rid of hijacker, adware, PUPs and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.
Download MalwareBytes Free on your MAC by clicking on the link below.
20842 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: September 10, 2020
After the download is done, close all software and windows on your MAC OS. Run the saved file. Follow the prompts.
The MalwareBytes will automatically start and you can see its main screen like below.
Now click the “Scan” button . MalwareBytes Anti-Malware program will scan through the whole computer for the AccessibleBoost . While the MalwareBytes Free is scanning, you can see count of objects it has identified either as being malicious software.
When MalwareBytes Anti-Malware is done scanning your MAC, a list of all threats found is created. You may delete threats (move to Quarantine) by simply click “Remove Selected Items” button. The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware will start to remove AccessibleBoost .
How to stay safe online
Use an ad-blocking utility like AdGuard will protect you from harmful ads and content. Moreover, you may find that the AdGuard have an option to protect your privacy and block phishing and spam webpages. Additionally, ad blocking programs will help you to avoid unwanted pop-up ads and unverified links that also a good way to stay safe online.
Installing the AdGuard is simple. First you will need to download AdGuard from the link below. Save it on your Windows desktop.
3677 downloads
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: January 17, 2018
Once the download is done, launch the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen. Follow the prompts.
Each time, when you start your computer, AdGuard will start automatically and stop undesired popups, block malicious and misleading web-pages.
To sum up
Once you have finished the few simple steps outlined above, your MAC OS should be clean from this adware and other malware. The Safari, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome will no longer display any unwanted ads when you surf the Internet. Unfortunately, if the few simple steps does not help you, then you have caught a new adware, and then the best way – ask for help.
Please create a new question by using the “Ask Question” button in the Questions and Answers. Try to give us some details about your problems, so we can try to help you more accurately. Wait for one of our trained “Security Team” or Site Administrator to provide you with knowledgeable assistance tailored to your problem with the AccessibleBoost adware.
