Malware- Searchpulse Infection On Macs

Generally I’ve found Macs to be incredibly resistant to Viruses and Malware. Its one of the reason many of us have remained loyal Mac users over the years: Apple has been very good about providing and updating security on the Mac operating system.

However… I recently repaired a Macbook Pro with a Malware infection called Search Pulse. We believe the Searchpulse Malware had been inadvertently installed through a fake update of some sort (we think it was a fake Flash update).

This is the second time I’ve seen this Malware recently. Its super frustrating as it can’t be taken off with great malware removal software (like Malwarebytes). The security updates on the Macbook were up to date and Malwarebytes was running. Even after all this, the Malware persisted!

After Searchpulse lands on your Mac, the Malware then installs itself into your Safari, Chrome, or Firefox browser. Instead of opening to a Google, Bing, or other search engine, it opens to a fake “Search Pulse” page. Any information that is typed in can be recorded. Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal as you’d simply go into your preferences to restore your search engine preferences back to their original settings. However, with Searchpulse, you are prevented your from restoring your preferred search engine! The settings are literally greyed out and unchangeable. Removing Searchpulse should have been as easy as loading up software like Malwarebytes (which I recommend for most malware issues).

However, in this case, I had to manually go into some of the basic system loading software and delete code that prevented a user from restoring their search engine settings.

So, not to scare anyone, but…. be careful anytime your web browser asks you instal software- especially if its a pop-up in your web browser. It can look very legit- and be hiding some nasty and annoying surprises. If you run into the Search Pulse issue, let Mac Mojo know, as we’d be happy to get your search settings back where they should be. Thanks!