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Remove PhantomRich Adware Virus Removal Guide

PhantomRich is a potentially unwanted program that injects ads into the websites you visit and changes your default search engine or homepage.PhantomRich is bundled with other software that you download from the Internet.

 

What is PhantomRich?

PhantomRich is a Google Chrome extension that changes your homepage and hijacks the search engine you’re browsing. It then displays unregulated, unwanted ads from its own domain. To do this, PhantomRich uses a browser extension or program.

 

The PhantomRich browser hijacker will redirect your internet browser search queries to their own custom search engine which will then redirect to Yahoo search results. It’s likely that this extension tries to generate more revenue by using Yahoo Search for its search results.
The PhantomRich extension will open new tabs that display advertisements for selling software, software updates, and tech support scams.

 

When you get the PhantomRich browser hijacker on your computer, here are some of the common symptoms:

 

  1. Your default browser search engine is PhantomRich Search
  2. The “PhantomRich” browser extension/software is installed on your Mac
  3. PhantomRich Search indexes and ranks your browser’s search queries, redirecting them through our servers to ensure you get the most relevant results possible.

 

How was PhantomRich installed on my computer?

PhantomRich is installed by the user, just as it is whether they know about it or not. One of the most common ways these programs are offered is through marketing advertisements or can be found bundled with other software. leaving the users wondering where this software came to
some free downloads do not adequately clarify that other software will also be installed, so you may find that you have installed PhantomRich without your permission. This is unfortunate as many people install these types of products on their phones or computers not knowing the consequences of installing the app.

 

PhantomRich
PhantomRich

 

If you do not know how PhantomRich was installed or are concerned other extensions or unwanted programs may be installed on your Mac, follow the removal guide below.

 

This malware removal guide may appear due to the number of steps and numerous programs that are being used. This is because this guide will completely remove any trace of the problem. We want to make sure you can remove malware for free, and as easily as possible. So we’re providing these detailed instructions that are clear and easy to understand.

Please perform all the steps in the same order. Here’s a list of our customer service contact information. If you have any doubts or questions feel free to get in touch with us.

 

To remove PhantomRich, follow these steps:

  1.  Remove malicious profiles from your Mac.
  2.  Remove PhantomRich from Mac
  3.  Use Malwarebytes for Mac to remove PhantomRich and other malware.
  4.  Remove PhantomRich from Safari, Chrome, or Firefox.

 

STEP 1/ Remove malicious Profiles from your Mac

Profiles are used by IT administrators in businesses to control how their Macs behave. You can also use these profiles to configure your Mac in a way that’s not otherwise possible, but you should be using them only to fix problems and not create new ones.

Adware and browser hijackers are using the configuration profile to prevent home users from removing malicious programs from their computers. This also prevents them from changing that behavior in the browser settings.
In the first step, we will determine whether or not any configuration profiles are installed on your PC. To do this, follow the below steps:

 

  • (1) Open System Preferences

From the Apple menu select System Preferences.

  • (2) Search for Profiles

When the System Preferences window opens, then search for the Profiles icon.

What is PhantomRich

 

  • (3) Remove the malicious profiles

If you see a Profile icon, click on it and select the profile you want to delete. Follow the directions Click Remove to remove the profile

Malicious-Profile

 

STEP 2: Remove PhantomRich from Mac

In this step 2, we will uninstall PhantomRich and remove its crack files from your computer. ”’PhantomRich’ browser hijacker can have a working remove an entry that can be used to get rid of it”’

  • Quit PhantomRich

    On your Apple menu bar, in the top-right corner, if you see the PhantomRich icon, click on it and then select Quit

  • Open Finder

    Click the Finder icon on your dock.

Open Finder

 

  • Click on “Applications”

    In Finder, go to Applications in the left pane.

Click-on Applications

  • Find and remove PhantomRich.

    The “Applications” screen will be displayed with a list of all the applications installed on your device. Scroll the list down until you find PhantomRich, right-click it, and click Trash

 remove PhantomRich
remove PhantomRich

There may be other malicious programs installed on your Mac. If you saw some unverified software that might be the source of all the confusion, don’t hesitate to remove it.

 

  • Remove PhantomRich files

(1) Click the desktop to make sure you’re in the Finder, then press “Go” and choose “Go to Folder.”

choose “Go

(2) Type either copy/paste each of the below paths into the window that opens and press Go

  • /Library/LaunchAgents/
  • ~/Library/LaunchAgents/
  • /Library/Application Support/
  • /Library/LaunchDaemons/

Library folders

(3) In each of these, check for recently added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Usually, the names of these files will contain “PhantomRich,” like in these file names:“com.PhantomRich.plist” “installmac.AppRemoval.plist”, “myppes.download.plist”, “mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist”, or “com.myppes.net-preferences.plist”.

Now that we’ve removed PhantomRich, in the next step we will scan your computer for any infections, adware, or potentially unwanted programs that may be present on your device

STEP 3: Use Malwarebytes for Mac to remove PhantomRich

In step 3, if PhantomRich and other malware are still detected on your Mac, that’s ok. We’ll remove it with installation and run a scan with Malwarebytes.

With Malwarebytes for Mac, malware, adware, and spyware get wiped out before they can cause damage to your system. This way you can enjoy the day in peace.

 

(1) Download Malwarebytes for Mac.

You can download Malwarebytes for Mac by clicking the below link

MALWAREBYTES FOR MAC DOWNLOAD LINK

(2) Double-click on the Malwarebytes setup file.

Once the Malwarebytes file download completes, double-click on the downloaded file to install Malwarebytes* on your computer. In most chances, downloaded files are saved to your Downloads folder.

Malwarebytes Mac Installer

(3) Follow the on-screen instructions to install Malwarebytes.

Malwarebytes for Mac comes with an easy-to-use installer that will guide you through setting up the app. Go ahead and click “Continue” to continue, then keep following the prompts to complete the installation process.

install Malwarebytes

Malwarebytes Mac Installer Step 2

Malwarebytes-Mac Installer step 3

Malwarebytes automatically opens onto the “Welcome to Malwarebytes” screen so that you can opt-in. Click “Get Started” to begin using the program

(4) Select Work Computer or Personal Computer.

Malwarebytes’ welcome screen will first ask you what type of computer you’re installing the program on, click either Work Computer or Personal Computer.

Malwarebytes-Mac Select Personal-Computer
Malwarebytes-Mac Select Personal-Computer

(5) Click on Scan.

To scan your PC with Malwarebytes, click on the “Scan” button. Malwarebytes will automatically update its Antivirus database and start scanning your system for the PhantomRich malware.

Malwarebytes Mac Click Scan

(6) Wait for the Malwarebytes scan to finish.

Malwarebytes uses advanced anti-malware software to scan your computer for threats like PhantomRich and other malware. This process can take some time, so we suggest you do something else and check the status of your scan periodically to see when it is finished

Malwarebytes Mac Scanning-for malware
Malwarebytes Mac Scanning-for malware

(7) Click on Quarantine to remove PhantomRich

Once the scan has finished, you will be able to see on your screen if there were any malware infections detected by Malwarebytes. To remove malicious software, and PhantomRich please click the “Quarantine” button

Malwarebytes Mac Click Confirm

(8) Restart the computer.

Our Malwarebytes will now remove PhantomRich and other files that we have found to be harmful. To complete the malware removal process, Malwarebytes may ask you to restart your computer. So that you can continue with a clean system

Malwarebytes Mac Restart

Note: Once the malware removal process is complete, you can close Malwarebytes and continue with the rest of the instructions.

STEP 4: Remove PhantomRich from Safari, Chrome, or Firefox

In STEP 4 We will remove the PhantomRich browser extension, its search engine, and any spam notifications that appeared during installation

Remove PhantomRich browser hijacker from Safari

To remove the PhantomRich browser hijacker from Safari, we need to know if there are any malicious extensions installed on your browser and whether or not any changes have been made by this malware.

(1) Go to Safari Preferences.

To customize Safari, you can adjust the browser’s preferences. This is located in the menu bar at the top of your screen, where you should click “Safari” and select “Preferences”.

Safari Preferences

(2) Check the Homepage.

Here you will find your Safari preferences window, with the General tab open. If there is a hijacker on your computer, it may have changed your default home page, so please check the Homepage Field to see if it’s a web page you want to use as your start-up page.

Change-Homepage step 2
Change-Homepage step 2

(3) Click Extensions

Now click on the Extensions tab.

Click Extensions

(4) Find and uninstall PhantomRich.

You will see the “Extensions” screen which lists all the extensions that are installed on Safari. Find PhantomRich and click on “Uninstall” to remove this extension.

Remove malicious extensions Safari

 

There are a number of other extensions installed that may have been malicious. To avoid phishing scams, it’s important to pay attention to suspicious browser extensions. These suspicious browser extensions could be causing your drama. So one thing to look out for is an extension you didn’t install and sound shady. Safari doesn’t have any installed by default so it’s safe to remove all of them.

 

(5) Remove spam notifications ads

Here is how to disable push notifications from sites with one simple click. To do this, click on Preferences then click on “Website and then click Notifications” and deselect the “Allow websites to ask for permission to send push notifications” option.

Remove spam notifications ads

If you can’t get rid of the PhantomRich virus from your browser, Here are a few steps you can try to get rid of the PhantomRich browser hijacker.

Workaround for greyed out Safari’s homepage

In some cases, after being altered by browser hijackers or malware, Safari’s homepage can become stuck and greyed out. Upon previewing the changes, you can edit the Homepage field in Safari’s preferences. The change may not be permanent, however. It seems like this is a bug, and there is a workaround. Alternatively, you can try the following:

  1. In Safari, you can choose a setting by selecting Preferences from the Safari menu..

  2. In the window that opens, click the General icon.

  3. Enter your desired homepage in the “Homepage” field, but do NOT press return!

  4. At the top of the window, click any of the other icons to see how it will look in your layout. (eg, Tabs, AutoFill, etc).

  5. You may see a confirmation dialog asking for permission to change the homepage. Simply confirm it and we’ll take care of the rest

  6. Switch back to the General page and make sure that you’ve changed the home page.

Delete Safari’s preferences file to remove malicious changes

Malicious programs sometimes hijack your Safari browser settings by installing a managed preference. In case the above solutions didn’t work and you still see the malicious redirects, we will need to reset Safari’s preferences. Follow these steps:

 

  1. Exit Safari
  2. Click the desktop to ensure you’re in the Finder, then choose “Go” and click on “Go to Folder”
Go-to-folder-Mac 1
Go-to-folder-Mac 1
  • 3. /Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari.list Type the following path into the window that opens, then click Go:
  • 4. If you find the file, delete it and then re-open Safari.

 

Remove PhantomRich browser hijacker from Chrome

To remove the PhantomRich browser hijacker from Chrome for Mac, we will reset the settings of your web browser to their default settings. Resetting your browser settings will reset any unwanted changes that happen to your computer as a result of installing other programs, However, Your saved bookmarks and passwords will not be cleared or changed.

(1) Open Chrome’s “Settings” menu.

Click the Chrome three-line icon in the upper right-hand corner of your browser window. When the drop-down menu appears, select “Settings.”

Remove PhantomRich browser hijacker from Chrome for Mac

(2) At the bottom, click “Advanced”.

The settings should now be displayed in a new tab or window, depending on your configuration.. Find the “Advanced” link at the bottom of the page and click on it (see below for an example).

Chrome MacOS Advanced Setttings

(3) Under the section “Reset,” click “Reset”.

Here are the advanced settings for your Chrome browser. If you scroll down the page until you see “Reset and clean up” in a small text box, as is shown in the example below. After making changes, click on the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button

Chrome MacOS Reset Browser

(4) Confirm by clicking Reset:

A confirmation dialog should now be displayed, Just proceed with the reset process and all of your preferences will be restored to the defaults. To finish the restoration process, click on the “Reset Settings” button.

Chrome MacOS Reset

 

If the steps in this troubleshooting guide did not manage to remove PhantomRich from Chrome. So you can follow these steps::

 

Remove the unwanted policies loaded by malware from Chrome

A browser reset will not always fix Chrome issues. If you find that a malicious program has created unwanted policies on your system, You can check if any unwanted policies are created into the browser by typing “chrome://policy” into the website’s URL bar. and following the steps to solve the problem.

 

  1. Open a new Terminal window. To do this, go to Finder > Go > Utilities > Terminal

  2. Enter the following commands, pressing enter after each line:

  3. After running the commands, close Chrome if you haven’t done so already. Then, open Chrome again and check. chrome://policy to see If the same keys still exist if you click the “Reload policies” button, any changes may start to show up. If they’re gone, you can revert your search engine and home page back to your preferred defaults by Chrome settings

 

Remove PhantomRich browser hijacker from Firefox for Mac

To strip the PhantomRich virus out of Firefox for Mac, we’ll reset your browser settings to default.

The reset feature can fix many issues by returning Firefox to its factory default state. while saving your essential information like bookmarks, web form auto-fill information, passwords, browsing history & open tabs

(1) Go to the “Help” menu.

Click on Firefox’s main menu button, which is represented by three horizontal lines. When the menu appears Select the Help option.

Remove PhantomRich browser hijacker from Firefox for Mac

(2)  Click Troubleshooting Information.

Click on the Troubleshooting Information tab from the Help menu.

Firefox MacOS Troubleshooy

If you’re having trouble accessing the Help Menu, type about: support in your browser’s address bar to see Troubleshooting Information.

(3) Click on “Refresh Firefox”

Please click on the Refresh Firefox button at the top right of this Troubleshooting Information page to fix your problem.

 

Firefox MacOS Reset
Firefox MacOS Reset

(4) Confirm.

Press on the “Refresh Firefox” button that appears in the new confirmation window.

Firefox MacOS Refresh

 

(5) Click on Finish.

Firefox will close itself and revert all the settings to the default settings. Once you’re done, a window will display the information that was imported. Click “Finish” to close this window.

Your Firefox profile will be placed on your desktop in a folder named “Old Firefox Data”. In the event that your problem is still not fixed, you can copy your files to the new profile in order to save more information. If you don’t need this notebook anymore, please delete it as it contains sensitive information.

If you continue to have problems with the removal of a malicious program from your computer. So please ask for help in our Mac Malware Removal Help & Support forum.

 

 

Scarlett Wei

Scarlett Wei, an outreach specialist and SEO expert hailing from the UK. With over 4 years of experience in the dynamic world of digital marketing. I specialize in crafting engaging content and building effective SEO strategies. My journey in this field has honed my skills in link building and search engine optimization, empowering brands to achieve their digital objectives. I'm committed to delivering top-notch results and driving online growth.

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