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

What is TrustedQuest

TrustedQuest is an adware application that targets Mac platform. Adware can make big problems to your Mac. Adware also known as ‘adware software’ is a form of harmful software that displays advertisements in form of pop up windows, coupons, promos or even fake alerts on the web-browser. Adware software can seriously affect your privacy, your computer’s performance and security.

Even worse, adware can install a component which enables its creator to track which web-sites you visit, which products you look at upon those pages. They are then able to choose the type of advertisements they display you. So, if you had adware software on your MAC, there is a good chance you have another that is gathering and sharing your data with third parties, without your knowledge.

If you are unfortunate have adware, you can follow the few simple steps below that will help you to remove TrustedQuest and get rid of intrusive ads from your browser.

How does TrustedQuest get on your MAC

In most cases, a freeware setup file includes third-party programs like this adware. So, be very careful when you agree to install anything. The best way – is to select a Custom, Advanced or Manual setup mode. Here uncheck all third-party software in which you are unsure or that causes even a slightest suspicion.

Threat Summary

Name	TrustedQuest
Type	adware, potentially unwanted application (PUA), Mac malware, Mac virus
Detection Names	Adware.MAC.Generic, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A, MacOS.Agent-MT, OSX.Trojan.Gen, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, Adware/Adload!OSX, ApplicUnwnt and Osx.Adware.Cimpli
Distribution	Freeware installers, fake updaters, torrent downloads and malicious pop up advertisements
Symptoms	The webpage links redirect to a web-pages different from what you expected, pop ups and new tab pages are loaded without your request, your MAC starts automatically installing unwanted programs, new toolbars in your browser, your web-browser search engine has modified without your permission, slow browsing Internet.
Removal	TrustedQuest removal guide

How to Remove TrustedQuest adware (removal steps)

If you have constant pop-ups or unwanted advertisements, slow MAC OS, freezing computer problems, you are in need of adware software removal assistance. The step-by-step tutorial below will guide you forward to get TrustedQuest removed and will allow you get your MAC OS operating at peak capacity again.

To remove TrustedQuest, complete the following steps:

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

Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device

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

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

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 device, which is normal.

Uninstall TrustedQuest associated software by using the Finder

Go to the Finder and remove questionable apps, all programs you don’t remember installing. It is important to pay the most attention to programs you have recently installed. If you don’t know what a program does, look for the answer on the Internet.

Open Finder and click “Applications” as displayed in the figure below.

You will see a list of programs installed on your MAC. We recommend to pay maximum attention to the program you installed last. Most likely, it’s the TrustedQuest adware software. If you are in doubt, you can always check the application 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, select Finder, then “Empty Trash”.

Remove TrustedQuest related files and folders

Now you need to try to find TrustedQuest 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.

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

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

Some files created by TrustedQuest 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 TrustedQuest 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.machelper.plist, search.plist, com.net-preferences.plist, com.google.defaultsearch.plist, , com.TrustedQuest.service.plist and installapp.plist. Most often, potentially unwanted programs, adware and browser hijackers create several files with similar names.

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

Check for TrustedQuest 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 TrustedQuest 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.macsearch.system.plist, com.installapp.system.plist, com.search.system.plist, com.machelper.system.plist and com.TrustedQuest.system.plist. In most cases, browser hijackers, adware software and potentially unwanted programs create several files with similar names.

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

You can remove TrustedQuest related files automatically through the use of MalwareBytes. We recommend this free malware removal tool because it may easily get rid of adware, toolbars, browser hijackers and potentially unwanted programs with all their components such as files, folders and system entries.

MalwareBytes Free can be downloaded from the following link.

After the downloading process is complete, run it and follow the prompts. Click the “Scan” button . MalwareBytes Anti Malware program will scan through the whole computer for the TrustedQuest . This task can take some time, so please be patient. During the scan MalwareBytes Anti Malware will find threats present on your Apple Mac. You may remove threats (move to Quarantine) by simply click the “Quarantine” button.

The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) is a free program that you can use to delete all detected folders, files, malicious services and so on.

Remove TrustedQuest from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

Annoying TrustedQuest adware or other symptoms of adware software in your web-browser is a good reason to find and remove harmful addons. This is an easy method to recover web-browsers settings and not lose any important information.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
In the top-right corner, expand the Chrome menu. 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 get rid of TrustedQuest 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 TrustedQuest adware removal, you need to reset Mozilla 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

We recommend to install an ad blocking application. The ad blocker tool like AdGuard is a program which basically removes advertising from the Internet and stops access to malicious web sites. Moreover, security experts says that using ad blocker applications is necessary to stay safe when surfing the Web.

1. Please go to the link below to download AdGuard.
   
   

   AdGuard for Mac download
   3677 downloads
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: January 17, 2018
   
2. After the download is done, launch the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. After the installation is complete, click “Skip” to close the install program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial which will assist 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 system, AdGuard will run automatically and stop annoying advertisements, block malicious and misleading web-pages.

Finish words

Now your computer should be free of the TrustedQuest adware. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted pop-up ads and annoying harmful web-sites) and MalwareBytes AntiMalware (to periodically scan your computer for new adwares and other malware).

If you are still having problems while trying to get rid of TrustedQuest from the Firefox, Safari and Google Chrome, then ask for help here here.