If you are using a Mac OS, have you ever experienced an ad suddenly popping out while you are browsing? This is very common because this is a form of AdChoices.
Don’t get me wrong. AdChoices is a legitimate ad network and it helps promote products and services on the Internet, but it is also a platform where criminals can send you malicious ads.
It is very alarming indeed so if you are thinking of a way to remove AdChoices from your Mac OS, this is a step-by-step removal method for Safari, Chrome and Firefox browsers.
Reset Your Browsers
If you want to remove AdChoices adware from your Mac OS, the first thing that you have to do is to reset your browsers.
If you think that your browser is affected by this virus, don’t hesitate to reset them as soon as possible. Here is a simple guide on how you can do it.
- Reset Your Google Chrome – Open your chrome browser and click on the Customize and Control Google Chrome icon. Click Options and a new window will appear. After that, go to Under the Hood tab then restore your default settings.
- Reset Your Mozilla Firefox – Open your Firefox browser and click on the Help – Troubleshooting Information. After that, you will see Reset Firefox button on the page. Click that and restore your default settings.
- Reset Safari – After opening the browser, go to Safari Menu and select the Reset Safari from the list. Check all the boxes in the prompt before you reset.
This is definitely a good choice, but there are times when some people don’t want to reset their browsers to default settings because of many things. There are times when you don’t want to delete your history or you are currently logged in on multiple sites.
Well, it is a bit of a hassle to log in to all your accounts after you reset the browser so you are thinking of a different solution for this problem.
Aside from resetting the browser, there is also another way to remove it and we will discuss it below.
Remove AdChoices Adware with Freshmac Automatic Removal Tool
There are times when resetting your browser won’t remove the AdChoices adware. If it worked, then good for you, but if not, you need another alternative.
When it comes to any malicious codes or viruses on your Mac, you need an application that would help remove all the viruses and provide security features to make sure that this problem won’t happen again in the future.
The Freshmac Application is the best software that you can use to remove the malicious codes on your Mac OS.
This tool is not only used for removing viruses on your Mac OS because it also has the ability to improve system performance. It will also provide protection for your operating system by removing any tracking cookies in the system.
It can help free up disk space and also manage the start apps so the boot time of your computer will be reduced.
Now, we will help you remove the AdChoices adware on your computer through the Freshmac application. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to use this application.
#1: Download the Freshmac Installer
This is pretty basic if you will ask me because the first thing that you have to do is to check out its official website and download the installer from there.
Click the Freshmac installer after downloading and the installer window will appear. Before the software will be fully installed, a dialogue box will appear and it will ask for your password to install the setup. Just type in the password and install the software.
#2: Automatic Scan
After the installation, the software will automatically scan the system. Don’t be alarmed because it is how it always works. It will immediately perform a scan on your system as soon as the installation is finished.
There are 5 steps in the scanning process and you will have to wait for the scan to finish. It will scan the cache of your Mac OS, logs, languages, trash and it will also check some privacy issues on your Mac OS.
#3: Remove the Issues Detected By Freshmac
Once the scan is done, it will display the health status of the system and all the issues that it has detected based on the categories mentioned above.
The scan will indicate the number of issues found based on the category and you will also see the severity of the issue.
The GUI of Freshmac is pretty straightforward so you can easily understand if there are issues on your Mac OS. You can also view the specific issues found for every category by clicking on that specific category.
You have to click the Fix Safely button to remove all the junk files and fix the other issues found after the scan.
#4: Check If AdChoices was Removed
The next step is to make sure that your Mac is free from Adchoices adware. If you still see the lock screen, it means that it is not yet removed.
You should go to the uninstaller button found below the Privacy Cleaner category. Check the entries that look suspicious to you and uninstall them one by one.
You should also go and check Temp and Startup Apps to see if there are any malicious items that are not yet removed. If you will do this, you can expect that these AdChoices adware will not cause you any trouble in the future.
Conclusion
Although AdChoice is a legit advertising platform, it is not always safe. There are so many hackers that are using this tool to spread viruses and malware. If you are not aware of this, your computer might be compromised.
The worst thing is that they might get access to your personal accounts. A lot of bad things can happen because of a simple malware attack so you have to be well-informed to prevent these things from causing troubles for you.
