What is SmartFunctionSearch
SmartFunctionSearch is a PUP (potentially unwanted program) that belongs to the Adware category . Adware is unwanted software that delivers ads and prompts intrusive advertising popups, while you surf the World Wide Web. Adware may hijack the advertisements of other companies with its own. Most commonly, adware will track your browsing habits and report this info to its authors.
Unwanted ads
Another reason why you need to remove adware is its online data-tracking activity. Adware software can collect a wide variety of your privacy info (your ip address, what is a website you are viewing now, what you are looking for on the Web, which links you are clicking), which can later transfer to third parties.
Therefore, the SmartFunctionSearch is a potentially unwanted program and should be uninstalled sooner. If you noticed any of the symptoms mentioned above, we advise you to follow steps below to remove the adware and remove unwanted advertisements from your browser.
How does SmartFunctionSearch get on your Apple Mac
Most of unwanted ads and pop ups come from web-browser toolbars and/or add-ons, BHOs (browser helper objects) and optional programs. Most commonly, these items claim itself as applications that improve your experience on the Internet by providing a fast and interactive home page or a search provider that does not track you. Remember, how to avoid the unwanted apps. Be cautious, run only reputable programs which download from reputable sources. NEVER install any unknown and questionable software.
Threat Summary
| Name | SmartFunctionSearch, Smart Function Search 1.0 app |
| Type | adware, potentially unwanted application (PUA), popup virus, popups, pop up advertisements |
| Symptoms |
|
| Removal | SmartFunctionSearch removal guide |
How to Remove SmartFunctionSearch adware software
There are a few solutions that can be used to get rid of SmartFunctionSearch adware. But, not all potentially unwanted programs such as this adware can be completely removed using only manual ways. Most commonly you are not able to uninstall any adware using standard Mac OS options. In order to delete adware software you need complete a few manual steps and run reliable removal tools. Most IT security professionals states that MalwareBytes Anti Malware tool is a right choice. The free program is able to scan for and uninstall the SmartFunctionSearch adware from your machine and restore your internet browser settings to defaults.
To remove SmartFunctionSearch, use the following steps:
- Manual SmartFunctionSearch adware software removal
- Automatic Removal of SmartFunctionSearch
- How to stay safe online
- Finish words
Manual SmartFunctionSearch adware software removal
In this section of the blog post, we have posted the steps that will help to remove SmartFunctionSearch adware manually. Although compared to removal utilities, this way loses in time, but you don’t need to install anything on your machine. It will be enough for you to follow the detailed instructions with images. We tried to describe each step in detail, but if you realized that you might not be able to figure it out, or simply do not want to change the Microsoft Windows and web browser settings, then it’s better for you to run utilities from trusted developers, which are listed below.
Remove SmartFunctionSearch related applications through the Finder
Check out the Finder (Applications section) to see all installed apps. If you see any unknown and questionable applications, they are the ones you need to uninstall.
Open Finder and click “Applications”.
Very carefully look around the entire list of applications installed on your MAC. Most likely, one of them is the SmartFunctionSearch adware. If you have many applications installed, you can help simplify the search of malicious software by sort the list by date of installation.
Once you’ve found a suspicious, unwanted or unused application, right click to it and select “Move to Trash”. Another solution is drag the application from the Applications folder to the Trash.
Don’t forget, select Finder -> “Empty Trash”.
Get rid of SmartFunctionSearch from Mozilla Firefox by resetting web-browser settings
Resetting Mozilla Firefox web-browser will reset all the settings to their default values and will remove SmartFunctionSearch ads, malicious add-ons and extensions. Your saved bookmarks, form auto-fill information and passwords won’t be cleared or changed.
First, launch the Firefox and click 
button. It will open the drop-down menu on the right-part of the web browser. Further, press the Help button (
) as displayed below.
In the Help menu, select the “Troubleshooting Information” option. Another way to open the “Troubleshooting Information” screen – type “about:support” in the web-browser adress bar and press Enter. It will show the “Troubleshooting Information” page as shown on the image below. In the upper-right corner of this screen, click the “Refresh Firefox” button.
It will display the confirmation dialog box. Further, click the “Refresh Firefox” button. The Firefox will start a process to fix your problems that caused by the SmartFunctionSearch adware. When, it is finished, click the “Finish” button.
Remove SmartFunctionSearch from Chrome
Reset Google Chrome settings will help you to completely reset your internet browser. The result of activating this function will bring Google Chrome settings back to its default values. This can delete SmartFunctionSearch ads and disable harmful extensions. Essential information like bookmarks, browsing history, passwords, cookies, auto-fill data and personal dictionaries will not be removed.
First run the Google Chrome. Next, click 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 extensions. If the list has the extension signed with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following instructions: Remove Google Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
Open the Chrome menu once again. Further, click the option called “Settings”.
The web browser will show the settings screen. Another way to show the Chrome’s settings – type chrome://settings in the 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, like below and click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
The Google Chrome will show the confirmation prompt as shown on the image below.
You need to confirm your action, click the “Reset” button. The internet browser will start the process of cleaning. After it’s complete, the internet browser’s settings including home page, newtab and search provider by default back to the values which have been when the Chrome was first installed on your computer.
Remove SmartFunctionSearch adware from Safari
If you find that Safari browser settings such as startpage, default search engine and new tab page having been replaced by SmartFunctionSearch , then you may restore your settings, via the reset browser procedure.
Run Safari web-browser. Next, select Preferences from the Safari menu.
First, click the “Security” tab. Here, choose “Block pop-up windows”. It will stop some types of pop ups.
Now, click the “Extensions” tab. Look for questionable addons on left panel, select it, then press the “Uninstall” button. Most important to remove all suspicious addons from Safari.
Once complete, check your start page and search engine settings. Click “General” icon. 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 engine. In some versions of Safari, this setting is in the “Search” tab.
Automatic Removal of SmartFunctionSearch
There are not many good free anti malware applications with high detection ratio. The effectiveness of malicious software removal utilities depends on various factors, mostly on how often their virus/malware signatures DB are updated in order to effectively detect modern malware, adware, browser hijackers and other potentially unwanted programs. We advise to run several applications, not just one. These applications that listed below will help you delete all components of the adware software from your disk and system folders and thereby remove SmartFunctionSearch .
Remove SmartFunctionSearch with MalwareBytes Free
You can remove SmartFunctionSearch adware automatically through the use of MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM). We suggest this free malware removal utility because it can easily remove browser hijacker infection, adware, PUPs and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.
Download MalwareBytes Free from the following link.
20841 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: September 10, 2020
Once the download is complete, close all programs and windows on your Apple Mac. Open a directory in which you saved it. Run the saved file and follow the prompts.
Once setup is finished, you’ll see window as displayed on the screen below.
Now press the “Scan” button to scan for SmartFunctionSearch adware. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your machine and the speed of your MAC OS. While the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware is scanning, you can see how many objects it has identified either as being malicious software.
When MalwareBytes is finished scanning your Apple Mac, a list of all items found is prepared. Review the results once the utility has complete the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply press “Remove Selected Items” button.
The Malwarebytes will now get rid of SmartFunctionSearch and move the selected threats to the program’s quarantine.
How to stay safe online
One of the worst things is the fact that you cannot block all malicious web-pages using only built-in MS Windows capabilities. However, there is a application out that you can use to stop annoying web browser redirects, advertisements and pop ups in any modern browsers including Chrome, Safari and Mozilla Firefox. It is called Adguard and it works very well.
Installing the AdGuard is simple. First you’ll need to download AdGuard on your Windows Desktop by clicking on the link below.
3677 downloads
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: January 17, 2018
When downloading is finished, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen. Follow the prompts.
Each time, when you run your computer, AdGuard will run automatically and stop intrusive pop-ups, block malicious and misleading web sites.
Finish words
Now your machine should be free of the SmartFunctionSearch adware. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted pop-up ads and annoying malicious web-pages) and MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) (to periodically scan your machine for new malware, hijacker infections and adware software). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Mac OS. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new hijackers, harmful apps and adware are released.
If you are still having problems while trying to remove SmartFunctionSearch ads from your web-browser, then ask for help here.
