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

What is ElementarySignalSearch

ElementarySignalSearch is a PUA (potentially unwanted application) that falls under the category of Adware . Adware can cause many troubles such as unwanted advertisements and pop ups on your web-browser, irrelevant search results that redirect to malicious websites, browser crashes and slow loading web-sites. Adware usually gets installed as a part of some freeware. Do not be surprised, it happens, especially if you are an active Web user.

Another reason why you need to remove the ElementarySignalSearch adware is its online data-tracking activity. It is able to collect lots of your personal info (your ip address, what is a web page you are viewing now, what you are looking for on the World Wide Web, which links you are clicking), which can later transfer to third parties.

Therefore it’s very important to follow the step-by-step tutorial below immediately. The few simple steps will assist you to remove ElementarySignalSearch as well as clean your web-browser from unwanted advertisements. What is more, the few simple steps below will allow you remove other harmful software such as unwanted toolbars and browser hijackers that can be installed onto MAC along with the adware.

How does ElementarySignalSearch get on your computer

Adware may be spread with the help of trojan horses and other forms of malicious software, but in many cases, adware spreads bundled with certain free programs. Many developers of free applications include additional software in their setup file. Sometimes it’s possible to avoid the install of any adware: carefully read the Terms of Use and the Software license, select only Manual, Custom or Advanced installation option, reject all checkboxes before clicking Install or Next button while installing new free software.

Threat Summary

Name	ElementarySignalSearch, ElementarySignalSearch 1.0 app
Type	adware software, PUP (potentially unwanted program), Mac malware, Mac virus
Detection Names	OSX.Trojan.Gen, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, ApplicUnwnt, Adware/Adload!OSX, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, MacOS.Agent-MT and Adware.MAC.Generic
Distribution	Freeware installers, dubious pop up advertisements, fake updaters and torrent downloads
Symptoms	Your web-browser is redirected to web-sites you did not want, unwanted advertising links appear on websites that you are visiting, your computer starts automatically installing unexpected apps, unwanted toolbars on your desktop, unwanted changes in your browser like displaying new tabs you did not open, your internet browser slows to a crawl.
Removal	ElementarySignalSearch removal guide

How to remove ElementarySignalSearch from Mac computer

Fortunately, it is not hard to remove ElementarySignalSearch adware. In the following instructions, we will provide two methods to free your computer of this adware. One is the manual removal solution and the other is automatic removal solution. You can choose the way that best fits you. Please follow the removal tutorial below to remove ElementarySignalSearch adware right now!

To remove ElementarySignalSearch, perform the steps below:

1. Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device
2. Remove ElementarySignalSearch associated software by using the Finder
3. Remove ElementarySignalSearch related files and folders
4. Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
5. Remove ElementarySignalSearch from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
6. How to stay safe online
7. To sum up

Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device

ElementarySignalSearch can install a configuration profile on the Mac system to block changes made to the browser settings. Therefore, you need to open system preferences, find and delete the profile installed by the adware.

Click the System Preferences icon ( ) in the Dock, or choose Apple menu ( ) > System Preferences.

In System Preferences, click Profiles, then select a profile related to ElementarySignalSearch.

Click the minus button ( – ) located at the bottom-left of the Profiles screen to remove the profile.
Note: if you do not see Profiles in the System Preferences, that means there are no profiles installed on your Mac computer, which is normal.

Remove ElementarySignalSearch associated software by using the Finder

In order to get rid of ElementarySignalSearch you need to do is to delete unknown and questionable programs from your computer using the Finder. When uninstalling PUPs, adware and browser hijackers, check the list of installed programs and try to find dubious applications and uninstall them all. Pay special attention to recently installed programs, as it’s most likely that ElementarySignalSearch сame along with it.

Open Finder and click “Applications” as on the image below.

You will see a list of apps installed on your MAC system. We recommend to pay maximum attention to the program you installed last. Most likely, it is the ElementarySignalSearch . If you are in doubt, you can always check the program by doing a search for her name in Google, Yahoo or Bing.

After the program which you need to delete is found, simply right click on its name, and select “Move to Trash”.

Don’t forget, choose Finder, then “Empty Trash”.

Remove ElementarySignalSearch related files and folders

Now you need to try to find ElementarySignalSearch 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.

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

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

Some files created by ElementarySignalSearch 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 ElementarySignalSearch 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: macsearch.plist, com.ElementarySignalSearch.service.plist, search.plist, installapp.plist, com.net-preferences.plist, com.machelper.plist and com.google.defaultsearch.plist, . Most often, browser hijackers, PUPs and adware create several files with similar names.

Check for ElementarySignalSearch 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.ElementarySignalSearch.system, then this folder must be deleted. Move all suspicious folders and files to the Trash.

Check for ElementarySignalSearch 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 ElementarySignalSearch 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.ElementarySignalSearch.system.plist, com.macsearch.system.plist, com.machelper.system.plist, com.installapp.system.plist and com.search.system.plist. In most cases, adware, PUPs and browser hijackers create several files with similar names.

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

If you’re still having problems with the ElementarySignalSearch removal or just wish to check your Mac occasionally for adware and other malicious software, then download MalwareBytes Free. It is free for home use, and searches for and removes various unwanted applications that attacks your MAC system or degrades MAC OS performance. MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) can get rid of browser hijackers, potentially unwanted programs, adware and toolbars as well as malware, including ransomware and trojans.

1. Please go to the following link to download MalwareBytes.
   
   

   Malwarebytes Anti-malware (Mac)
   20841 downloads
   Author: Malwarebytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: September 10, 2020
   
2. Once the downloading process is finished, please close all applications and open windows on your MAC. Run the downloaded file. Follow the prompts.
3. The MalwareBytes will start and display the main window.
4. Further, press the “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the ElementarySignalSearch . While the MalwareBytes Anti Malware utility is checking, you can see how many objects it has identified as being infected by malware.
5. When MalwareBytes Free has completed scanning your machine, you can check all threats found on your MAC OS.
6. Review the report and then click the “Remove Selected Items” button.
7. Close the Anti Malware and continue with the next step.

Remove ElementarySignalSearch from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

This step will show you how to remove malicious plugins. This can delete ElementarySignalSearch adware and fix some browsing problems, especially after adware infection.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
In the top right corner, click on Chrome’s main menu button, represented by three vertical dots. 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 delete ElementarySignalSearch adware software 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 issues with ElementarySignalSearch adware 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

The AdGuard is a very good ad-blocking application for the Chrome, Safari and Mozilla Firefox, with active user support. It does a great job by removing certain types of intrusive advertisements, popunders, pop-ups, annoying new tabs, and even full page ads and website overlay layers. Of course, the AdGuard can stop harmful web-pages automatically or by using a custom filter rule.

Installing the AdGuard is simple. First you will need to download AdGuard on your Microsoft Windows Desktop from the following link.

When the downloading process is complete, run the downloaded file. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen.

Follow the prompts. AdGuard will then be installed. A window will show up asking you to confirm that you want to see a quick guidance. Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick guide that will assist you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you start your machine, AdGuard will start automatically and stop intrusive popups, block malicious and misleading web pages.

To sum up

Now your Apple Mac should be free of the ElementarySignalSearch adware. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted pop-up advertisements and intrusive harmful web-sites) and MalwareBytes AntiMalware (to periodically scan your MAC for new malware, hijackers 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, malicious apps and adware software are released.

If you are still having problems while trying to delete ElementarySignalSearch from your browser, then ask for help here.