How to remove Omnatuor virus from Mac

Imagine what it would be like if you got in your car to go to work, but instead of driving to the office, your car automatically drove you to the store. That’d be frustrating, wouldn’t it?

That’s exactly what browser hijackers, such as the Omnatuor malware, do. When you try to go to a specific website or click on a link, instead of taking you where you think you’re going, your browser will take you to another website. This can make surfing the web take twice as long, as you actually end up making it to the sites you did not want at all.

But don’t worry. This article will answer the question of what is Omnatuor. It’ll also walk you through step-by-step instructions for how to remove the Omnatuor virus.

What is Omnatuor virus?

The first thing you’ll need to understand about this particular malware is its name. Omnatuor is part of an ad network. It generates revenue based on website views and clicks. So, the more people that see and click on their ads, the more money it makes.

But as you have probably presumed, it doesn’t always get these clicks in the most legitimate ways. There’s a browser hijacker that takes over peoples’ internet browsers and inundates them with intrusive ads with the hopes of the user accidentally clicking on them.

While the Omnatuor malware isn’t the most harmful to your Mac, it can leave the door open to other malware and viruses.

How did Omnatuor get on my Mac?

If you don’t remember installing Omnatuor, then how did it end up on your Mac? Well, there’s actually a handful of ways.

The first way is through browser notifications. A lot of pages for things like web-based email or news sites will use push notifications to send you an alert. In those instances, notifications are super helpful. However, hackers and scammers have learned how to exploit this feature to bombard your browser with ads.

Another method is deceptive ads. Scammers will create pop-up ads that either look like an app message or just a standard macOS error message and then prompt you to download a piece of software. In many cases, that software is malware or adware.

The third most likely way Omnatuor ended up on your Mac is through software bundling. Typically, this happens when you download a free app from a random site online. It will tell you it’s installing the app, but it will also install another piece of software, which is usually malware.

How does Omnatuor work?

Omnatuor is both adware and a browser hijacker. In order to serve its malicious pop-up ads and make money, it takes over your browser and presents ads to you in the hope you’ll click some of them.

These ads may take you to shady websites — gambling, adult content, and scams. But how does it actually work?

Omnatuor first gets onto your computer via a variety of means. There are the usual methods, such as phishing links, infected email attachments, and trojan software. But it may also present a fake page where you’re asked to click a button to confirm that you’re not a robot. Clicking that button could open the door to the Omnatuor malware.

How dangerous is Omnatuor, and should you be worried?

At face value, Omnatuor could be seen simply as an irritant and a nuisance. But, in fact, it’s dangerous in the long term and should not be ignored.

Omnatuor does the following:

1. Serves malware-infected ads, which will likely install worse malware on your device
2. Attempts to sell you malicious software for a computer problem that doesn’t exist
3. Collects your personal data and browsing data, which will be sold to third parties or used by the hackers themselves (your credit card information is particularly at risk)
4. Place your professional reputation at risk if this all happens on a work computer
5. Seriously damage your computer’s performance, such as its speed — Wi-Fi connections will become spotty and eventually crash, your battery may overheat and become damaged, and your machine could become unusable

Manual steps for Omnatuor virus removal

Now that you know what Omnatuor is and how it got on your Mac, it’s time to tell you how to get rid of Omnatuor. This is a multi-step process, but we promise it won’t take more than a few minutes to complete.

Here’s how to remove Omnatuor:

1. Open a new Finder window and go to the Applications folder.
2. Look for the Omnatuor icon and delete it.
3. Right-click or Option + click on the Trash and select Empty Trash.

Once you have deleted the app, the next step of the Omnatuor removal is to get rid of any browser extensions installed and turn off notifications. It’s important that you do this in each of the browsers you have on your Mac, not just your default one. Leaving any of them behind can result in it spreading through your computer again.

This is how to remove Omnatuor virus from the 3 most common browsers on Mac:

Safari

1. Open Safari and select Safari >Settings > Extensions.
2. Find Omnatuor and click Uninstall.
3. Open the Websites tab in the top bar.
4. In the sidebar, click Notifications.
5. Next to Omnatuor, select Block from the drop-down menu.

Firefox

1. Open Firefox.
2. Click the 3 lines in the top right > Settings > Add-ons and themes.
3. Select the Omnatuor extension > … > Remove.
4. Go back to the Settings page.
5. Click Privacy & Security.
6. Scroll down to Permissions and click Settings next to Notifications.
7. Select Omnatuor.com from the list and then click Remove Website.

Chrome

1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Click the 3 dots > Extensions.
3. Hit Remove for the Omnatuor extension.
4. Go back to the Settings page.
5. Click Privacy and security > Site settings > Notifications.
6. Scroll down to the “Not allowed to send notifications” section and click Add.
7. Type in Omnatuor.com
8. Quit Chrome and reopen it for the changes to take effect.

After you finish all the applicable steps for your Mac, go ahead and restart the entire computer. This will give all the software on your hard drive a good chance to shut down and start back up fresh — without any malware working things over time.

How to protect your Mac from other adware

It’s always a good idea to scan your Mac for malware, adware, and viruses. While they might not be as common in macOS as they are on Windows computers, Macs are still capable of being compromised.

The quickest way to remove Omnatuor is to use CleanMyMac, powered by Moonlock Engine. It’s a lightweight, fast, and powerful platform that will effortlessly get rid of Omnatuor, so you can continue your web browsing without being spied on.

We provide a no-obligation trial period so you can try out CleanMyMac for yourself. You’ll quickly see what an asset it is to your MacBook.

Once you have signed up for a free trial and installed CleanMyMac, open it up and do the following to begin the Omnatuor.com removal process:

1. Select Protection on the left, then Configure Scan.
2. Inside the scan settings, select everything. Save your changes and exit.
3. Click the Scan button to begin the Omnatuor virus search. CleanMyMac will plumb the depths of your Mac, looking for all traces of Omnatuor malware. It may also find other threats that you didn’t know about.
4. When CleanMyMac has found Omnatuor, the compromised files will be shown to you. Select them all and click Remove.
5. Now select Cleanup on the left sidebar to sweep up any remaining junk files. This stops Omnatuor from creeping back in.

Omnatuor may feel like more of a nuisance, but it’s definitely not something you should let go unchecked. For one, it’s likely degrading your Mac’s overall performance and doing it enough to cause you to search for a solution. Plus, it could be leaving a back door open for other hackers and scammers to potentially install something more harmful and malicious on your computer. But, hopefully, after reading this article, you’re feeling more empowered to go ahead and take Omnatuor head-on.