Cybercriminals have upped their game by managing to infect a user’s computer by using a bundling scheme whereby even when a user downloads a program from a legit source or vendor, the user still ends up getting infected by a virus.
ChumSearch is one of the programs that users unknowingly download together with the program that they actually wanted to have installed. This is one of the many reasons why a user should be aware of the freeware programs that are included in the package that they wanted to have installed.
How Do You Get Infected?
As mentioned earlier, a user’s computer can get infected through a bundle scheme that cybercriminals have managed to create. Even when a user downloads a program from a legit vendor, it doesn’t lower the risk of being infected considering that the virus could be hidden as a freeware and if unclicked, would still be installed in the user’s computer.
Although there are some websites that advertises certain popular applications that can be downloaded for free- which a user often falls for- but has consequences that come alongside it which is, more often than not, a malware program. For this reason, users must be aware of where and what they download because this was what made the ChumSearch virus infect most users.
What does ChumSearch do?
ChumSearch changes the user’s Internet preference and sets itself as the default browser in a user’s computer, without even asking for permission and without the user’s knowledge on how it happened. What’s worse is that it doesn’t only affect one browser from the computer but is able to cross-over on other browsers, infect and change the default browser into itself. Another annoying thing with this infected browser is that randomly appears or whenever the user clicks anywhere near the browser window.
But the offensive virus doesn’t end there. There are advertisements that pop up on any web page that a user chooses to browse on and these advertisements can be of coupons or block comparisons which are from sites that have been previously visited. These advertisements are called ad-injections.
What makes these advertisements scary is the fact that the basis of such advertisements was taken from a user’s search history. This means that the virus has the capacity to access one’s browser history which technically places the user’s privacy at risk.
This used to be a virus that usually infected users of Windows, but it seemed like the cybercriminals have chosen to widen their victims and have started to target Mac users too. With that said, it’s better to make sure that your computer is protected from the virus. Below are the steps on how to manually remove the virus from your computer.
How to Manually Remove ChumSearch
Switching back the settings of a user’s internet browser should be the first action that a user must do to ensure the safety of his computer. This would manually remove the malware from the user’s computer.
1. Reset Safari
- Go to the Safari Menu after you’ve opened the browser. In the dropdown list, choose Reset Safari.
- Make sure that you’ve checked off all the boxes before you hit Reset.
2. Reset Google Chrome
- Choose the Customize and Control Google Chrome menu icon after you’ve opened Chrome.
- Click Options.
- In the Options window that appears, choose Under the Hood tab and click Reset the defaults button.
3. Reset Mozilla Firefox
- Choose Help-Troubleshooting Information after you’ve opened Firefox.
- Click the Reset Firefox button in the window that appears.
Automatic Removal of ChumSearch using FreshMac
System utilities like FreshMac have the capacity to neutralize and remove any threats that have infected your computer. It cleans the computer from unwanted applications that have been unknowingly downloaded in your computer. It can eliminate tracking cookies, free disk space, and manage startup applications which can decrease the boot up time of the computer.
- Make sure that you’ve downloaded FreshMac in your computer. Once you’ve downloaded the program, run the file to have it installed. A window will appear asking you for the password that would allow the set-up; type on the password and then install the software.
- Once it’s installed, FreshMac will automatically scan your computer from any threats that has infected it.
- A scan report will display what’s wrong in your computer. There will be an option that says Fix Safely. Click on this option to start the cleaning process of your computer from all the issues the scanner has detected.
- If the ChumSearch still appears on the lock screen, then the issue hasn’t been fixed. Go to the Uninstaller option on the FreshMac and look for what seems suspicious. When you’ve found the suspicious entry, click on the Fix Safely option.
- Check the Temp and Startup Apps pane on the interface and remove any suspicious software that are still there.
