How to remove Safe Finder virus from Mac in Safari, Chrome, Firefox

Safe Finder is a type of browser hijacker that consumes and manipulates your Mac's browsers. A browser hijacker is essentially a virus, or malicious software, that alters the behaviour of your browser and its settings without your consent.

Safe Finder is just one of many mutations of such a browser hijacker, but most of them are pretty much the same. They will clutter your Mac with adware redirects and completely ruin your experience of browsing the internet, so it's time to get rid of this software - be it manually or with Safe Finder removal software.

Before covering how to remove it, it's important to know how to spot one. If your homepage or default search engine has been changed, this is the biggest giveaway. Also, being redirected constantly, as well as having more aggressive ad pop-ups than usual.

Applications and Login Items

First and foremost, you do not want Safe Finder to start every time you turn on the Mac. So, head to the Login Items under System Preferences > Users & Groups and then click on your username. Under the Login Items tab, you will find all of the programs that automatically start when the Mac is turned on. Uncheck SafeFinder and any other suspicious apps by hitting the (-) button.

Next, head to the Applications folder and search for suspicious apps - you may not know exactly what you're looking for, but try and look out for apps you don't recognise. Perhaps you can Google what they are using on your phone or another device.

When you find the suspected apps, drag them into the Trash and empty the Trash. Also, look in the Profiles folder and if there's a profile called "AdminPrefs", click it then press the (-) button to delete it.

Removing SafeFinder from the browsers

So even if you have deleted the app, your browser settings are likely still in a bad state. First, let's begin with Safari. Open the browser up and click on the menu and hit Preferences. Go to the General tab and change the Homepage URL. Also, change the default search engine under the Search tab.

Also, head to Finder, Go, then press Go To Folder and type in "~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist" and delete the file. Now restart Safari and even the Mac itself.

It's also important to do the same process for other browsers, such as Chrome and Firefox. These are even easier, as you simply head to the Settings page of either one and change the search engine and home page.

However, there is a faster way to do all of the above, which is to use a malware removal program. Although it's not always easy to find a clean, well-functioning one, credible ones can remove browser hijackers and other nasty software at the click of a button. You can also try uninstalling the browsers and reinstalling them, which may actually be faster than individually changing the settings. However, you need to ensure the files are deleted from Applications before making these changes, otherwise, they will not be gone for good.