How to remove chillsearch.xyz redirection virus from Mac

Macs don’t get malware, right? Sadly, that’s not true. While malware may not be as common or widespread on the Mac as it is on, say, Windows, there are still plenty of ways that Macs can become infected. It’s all too easy to click the wrong link and inadvertently download something nasty or download something intentionally, only to find out that the package in which it is hosted also has much less welcome contents. One of the most common types of malware is the browser hijacker. And one variant of that is chillsearch.xyz virus on Mac. In this article, we’ll show you how to remove chillsearch.xyz from Safari, Chrome, and Firefox.

What is chillsearch.xyz?

chillsearch.xyz is a type of malware known as a browser hijacker. Once it has found its way onto your Mac, it will attack any web browsers you have installed, including Safari, Chrome, and Firefox. It will change your default homepage and redirect the browser to the chillsearch website. Once there, the website will display intrusive and unwanted adverts and steal personal data. It may also push more malware onto your Mac.

How did chillsearch.xyz get onto my Mac?

The most likely explanation is that you clicked a link on a website, in an email, or even in an iMessage, and that link was malicious, leading to the chillsearch.xyz malware being downloaded.

How to remove chillsearch.xyz on your Mac

There are several steps to removing chillsearch.xyz from your Mac. You will need to check for any profiles and browser extensions it may have installed as well as reset your browser default homepages and search engines. You should also scan your Mac for malware. We’ll show you how to do all of that below.

The first step is to check whether chillsearch has installed a profile on your Mac and to remove it if it has.

1. Open System Settings and go to Privacy & Security > Profiles.
2. Look for any profiles listed there.
3. If you see one, select it and click the ‘-’ at the bottom of the window.
4. Quit System Settings.

Next, check for extensions that chillsearch may have installed in web browsers you use. You will need to check the extensions section for every browser you have installed on your Mac. Here’s how to get rid of chillsearch.xyz on Safari, Chrome, and Firefox.

Safari

1. Go to Safari menu > Settings > Extensions.
2. Choose the extension you want to remove and click Uninstall.

Chrome

1. Click the three dots at the right of the toolbar.
2. Choose Extensions > Manage Extensions.
3. Locate the extension you want to uninstall and click Remove.

Firefox

1. Click the three horizontal lines at the right of the address bar and choose Add-ons and themes.
2. Select Extensions in the sidebar.
3. Locate the extension you want to uninstall and click the three dots to the right of it.
4. Choose Remove.

Most other browsers popular on the Mac, like Microsoft Edge, are built on the same Chromium engine as Chrome, so you can remove their extensions in a similar way to the instructions for Chrome.

Next, you will need to reset the default homepage and search engine for each browser you use. Here’s how to do that in Safari, Chrome, and Firefox.

Safari

1. Click the Safari menu and choose Settings > General.
2. Look for the Homepage section.
3. Type in the address of your default homepage.
4. Click Search in the toolbar.
5. Choose a search engine from the Search menu.
6. Quit Settings.

Chrome

1. Click the three dots at the right of the toolbar.
2. Choose Settings.
3. From the sidebar, click On startup.
4. Choose the option you want for your start page. If you want to specify a URL for the homepage, Select Open a specific page or set of pages and type in the URL.
5. Select Search engine in the sidebar and choose the search engine you want as default from the menu.

Firefox

1. Click the three lines to the right of the address bar.
2. Choose Settings.
3. In the sidebar on the left, choose Home.
4. Next to Homepage and new windows, choose the option you want for the homepage.
5. Next to New tabs, choose your preferred option for that.
6. Next, click Search in the sidebar and choose your preferred search engine from the options under Default Search Engine.

Scan your Mac to make sure you removed chillsearch.xyz completely

The final stage in removing chillsearch.xyz from your Mac is to scan it for malware. Malware comes in many different forms and so to scan for it and make sure there is nothing nasty lurking on your Mac, you need to use a specialist tool. We recommend CleanMyMac X’s Malware Removal module. It uses Moonlock Engine to scan your Mac folder by folder, looking for adware, ransomware, cryptocurrency miners, and other malware, including chillsearch.xyz.

You can choose the balance of speed and depth of the scan. For example, if you have just spent time reconfiguring web browsers because they were infected by chillsearch.xyz, you might want to run a deep scan to make sure you got everything. On other occasions, when you’re short of time and have no reason to suspect malware on your Mac, you might want to choose a faster scan.

You can download CleanMyMac X for free here. Once you’ve done that, follow the steps below:

1. Open CleanMyMac X.
2. Choose Malware Removal in the sidebar.
3. Click Configure and choose from the options in the window that opens. For example, choose whether to scan disk images or whether to run a Deep, Balanced, or Quick scan.
4. Click Scan
5. If CleanMyMac X finds anything malicious, it will warn you and allow you to remove it with one click.

Monitor your Mac for future malware threats

Now that you’ve removed chillsearch.xyz from your Mac, you should make sure that you don’t download any malware in the future. There are a couple of ways to do that. The first is to take sensible precautions when you click links. Never click a link in an email, message, or on a web page unless you are absolutely sure where it leads. And never download a file unless you know you can trust the source.

The second way is to use CleanMyMac X’s malware monitor to scan your Mac in the background. You can do that in the Protection section of CleanMyMac’s Settings. Check both Enable Malware monitor and Look for threats in the background. This will monitor system processes and key folders for suspicious activity and run malware scans automatically, so you don’t need to remember to do it. 

chillsearch.xyz is a type of malware known as a browser hijacker. Once on your Mac, it may install a profile or extension in all web browsers you have installed on your computer. It may also redirect browser homepages and default search engines in order to steal data and display intrusive adverts. When you notice it’s on your Mac, you should remove it straight away. Follow the steps above to remove chillsearch.xyz from your Mac. And once you’ve done that, monitor your Mac on an ongoing basis to make sure it’s safe from future threats.