How to uninstall SectionChannel app/extension from Mac (Virus removal guide)

What is SectionChannel

SectionChannel is an adware application. The adware can cause all kind of problems within your web browsers, it can cause unwanted redirects, unclosable windows or inline text links with advertising you do not want. These ads are used to promote sales or web-traffic to malicious web sites or publisher in order to make money. So, if you experience unwanted ads and pop ups in your web-browser, it is advised to check your computer for adware or potentially unwanted apps.

Another reason why you need to get rid of the SectionChannel adware is its online data-tracking activity. It can be used to gather your browsing history and user data, including passwords and credit card numbers. In the future, your privacy data can be used for marketing purposes. Do not panic because we have got the solution. Here’s a instructions on how to remove SectionChannel adware from the Apple Mac and free your web-browser of intrusive ads.

How does SectionChannel get on your Apple Mac

Adware usually is bundled within freeware that downloaded from the World Wide Web. Which means that you need to be proactive and carefully read the Terms of use and the License agreement properly. For the most part, adware and potentially unwanted apps will be clearly described, so take the time to carefully read all the information about the software that you downloaded and want to install on your MAC.

Threat Summary

Name	SectionChannel, Section Channel 1.0 app
Type	adware software, PUP (potentially unwanted program), Mac malware, Mac virus
Detection Names	Adware/Adload!OSX, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A, MacOS.Agent-MT, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, ApplicUnwnt, Adware.MAC.Generic and OSX.Trojan.Gen
Distribution	Free software installers, dubious pop up ads, fake updaters and torrent downloads
Symptoms	You keep getting redirected to dubious web-pages, unclosable window appear and recommend fake Jave updates, new entries appear in your Applications folder, an unexpected toolbar appears in your browser, unwanted changes in your browser like displaying new tabs you didn’t open, slow Internet browsing speeds.
Removal	SectionChannel removal guide

How to Remove SectionChannel (removal guidance)

Not all unwanted software such as SectionChannel are easily uninstallable. You might see popups, deals, text links, in-text ads, banners and other type of advertisements in the Safari, Chrome and Firefox and might not be able to figure out the application responsible for this activity. The reason for this is that many unwanted programs neither appear in the Finder. Therefore in order to fully remove SectionChannel, you need to use the following steps. Some of the steps below will require you to close this web site. So, please read the step-by-step guide carefully, after that bookmark it or open it on your smartphone for later reference.

To remove SectionChannel, perform the following steps:

1. Remove profiles created by SectionChannel
2. Delete SectionChannel associated software by using the Finder
3. Remove SectionChannel related files and folders
4. Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
5. Remove SectionChannel from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
6. How to stay safe online
7. Finish words

Remove profiles created by SectionChannel

SectionChannel can make changes to the Mac system such as malicious changes to browser settings, and the addition of malicious system profiles. You need to check the system preferences, find and remove malicious profiles and ensure your settings are as you expect.

Click Apple menu ( ) > System Preferences.

In System Preferences, select Profiles. if there is no Profiles in the list of preferences, that means there are no profiles installed on the Mac device. If there is Profiles in the list, then click on it, then select a profile associated with SectionChannel.

To delete a malicious profile, click on the minus button ( – ) located at the bottom-left of the Profiles screen.

Delete SectionChannel associated software by using the Finder

In order to remove browser hijackers, PUPs and adware software, open the Finder and click on “Applications”. Check the list of installed applications. For the ones you do not know, run an Internet search to see if they are adware, browser hijackers and PUPs. If yes, delete them off. Even if they are just a apps that you do not use, then uninstalling them off will increase your MAC start up time and speed dramatically.

1. Open the Finder.
2. Click “Applications”.
3. It will open a list of all programs installed on the machine.
4. Scroll through the all list, and remove questionable and unknown apps. Pay maximum attention to the program you installed last.
5. Drag the suspicious program from the Applications folder to the Trash.
6. Empty Trash.

Remove SectionChannel related files and folders

Now you need to try to find SectionChannel related files and folders, and then delete them manually. You need to look for these files in certain directories. To quickly open them, we recommend using the “Go to Folder…” command.

SectionChannel creates several files, these files must be found and removed. Below is a list of files associated with this unwanted application.

• /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.SectionChannel.system.plist
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.SectionChannel.service.plist
• /Library/Application Support/.(RANDOM)/System/com.SectionChannel.system
• ~/Library/Application Support/.(RANDOM)/Services/com.SectionChannel.service.app

Some files created by SectionChannel are hidden from the user. To find and delete them, you need to enable “show hidden files”. To do this, use the shortcut CMD + SHIFT + . Press once to show hidden files and again to hide them. There is another way. Click Finder -> Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal. In Terminal, paste the following text: defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES

Press Enter. Hold the ‘Option/alt’ key, then right click on the Finder icon in the dock and click Relaunch.

Click on the Finder icon. From the menu bar, select Go and click “Go to Folder…”. As a result, a small window opens that allows you to quickly open a specific directory.

Check for SectionChannel generated files in the /Library/LaunchAgents folder

In the “Go to Folder…” window, type the following text and press Go:
/Library/LaunchAgents

This will open the contents of the “/Library/LaunchAgents” folder. Look carefully at it and pay special attention to recently created files, as well as files that have a suspicious name. Move all suspicious files to the Trash. A few examples of files: installapp.plist, com.google.defaultsearch.plist, , com.net-preferences.plist, com.machelper.plist, com.SectionChannel.service.plist, search.plist and macsearch.plist. Most often, adware, browser hijackers and PUPs create several files with similar names.

Check for SectionChannel generated files in the /Library/Application Support folder

In the “Go to Folder…” window, type the following text and press Go:
/Library/Application Support

This will open the contents of the “Application Support” folder. Look carefully at its contents, pay special attention to recently added/changed folders and files. Check the contents of suspicious folders, if there is a file with a name similar to com.SectionChannel.system, then this folder must be deleted. Move all suspicious folders and files to the Trash.

Check for SectionChannel generated files in the “~/Library/LaunchAgents” folder

In the “Go to Folder…” window, type the following text and press Go:
~/Library/LaunchAgents

Proceed in the same way as with the “/Library/LaunchAgents” and “/Library/Application Support” folders. Look for suspicious and recently added files. Move all suspicious files to the Trash.

Check for SectionChannel generated files in the /Library/LaunchDaemons folder

In the “Go to Folder…” window, type the following text and press Go:
/Library/LaunchDaemons

Carefully browse the entire list of files and pay special attention to recently created files, as well as files that have a suspicious name. Move all suspicious files to the Trash. A few examples of files to be deleted: com.machelper.system.plist, com.macsearch.system.plist, com.SectionChannel.system.plist, com.installapp.system.plist and com.search.system.plist. In most cases, adware, potentially unwanted programs and browser hijackers create several files with similar names.

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

If you carefully followed the previous steps, then you should be able to get rid of SectionChannel. Of course, very often potentially unwanted programs, browser hijackers and adware software hides on a Mac computer, disguising itself as legitimate apps and files. Therefore, in some cases, it is difficult for an inexperienced user to decide whether a particular file is part of PUPs, browser hijackers and adware. Therefore, we suggest you to use MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) to scan the Mac.

1. Visit the following page to download the latest version of MalwareBytes for Apple Mac.
   
   

   Malwarebytes Anti-malware (Mac)
   20842 downloads
   Author: Malwarebytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: September 10, 2020
   
2. After the downloading process is done, close all programs and windows on your computer. Open a directory in which you saved it. Run the downloaded file and follow the prompts.
3. Click the “Scan” button to look for SectionChannel . Depending on your MAC, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour.
4. After the scanning is complete, MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) will open you the results. Review the scan results and then click “Quarantine”.

Remove SectionChannel from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

If you have ‘SectionChannel adware’ removal problem, then remove unwanted addons can help you. In the steps below we’ll show you the method to remove malicious extensions without reinstall. This will also allow to get rid of SectionChannel from your internet browser.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
In the top right hand corner, click on ‘three vertical dots’, and this will open up the main menu on Chrome. In the menu go to ‘More tools’, then ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to remove SectionChannel by reset Chrome settings.	Click on ‘menu’ button and select ‘Add-ons’. Go to ‘Extensions’ tab. To uninstall an add-on, click on ‘Remove’ button next to it. If you are still experiencing problems with SectionChannel adware software removal, you need to reset Firefox browser.
Safari
On the top menu select ‘Safari’, then ‘Preferences’. Select ‘Extensions’ tab. Select an extension you want to delete and click ‘Uninstall’ button next to it.

How to stay safe online

To put it simply, you need to use an ad-blocker utility (AdGuard, for example). It’ll stop and protect you from malicious webpages, unwanted ads and pop ups. To be able to do that, the ad-blocking program uses a list of filters. Each filter is a rule that describes a malicious web-page, an advertising content, a banner and others. The ad blocker program automatically uses these filters, depending on the websites you are visiting.

1. AdGuard can be downloaded from the following link.
   
   

   AdGuard for Mac download
   3677 downloads
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: January 17, 2018
   
2. When downloading is complete, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. Once the installation is finished, click “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will allow you get to know AdGuard better.
4. In most cases, the default settings are enough and you don’t need to change anything. Each time, when you launch your MAC, AdGuard will start automatically and stop unwanted ads, block malicious and misleading web pages.

Finish words

Now your machine should be clean of the SectionChannel adware. We suggest that you keep MalwareBytes Free (to periodically scan your MAC for new adwares and other malware) and AdGuard (to help you block annoying pop ups and malicious web-pages). Moreover, to prevent any adware, please stay clear of unknown and third party software.

If you need more help with SectionChannel related issues, go to here.