How to protect your Mac from Time Search Now virus

Time Search Now is a browser hijacker that redirects your browser’s homepage and preferred search engine to its own search page so that it can show you intrusive adverts and probably steal data. Fortunately, it’s not too difficult to get rid of. Read on to find out how.

Everything you need to know about Time Search Now virus

Time Search Now is a number of browser hijackers that have plagued Mac and Windows users for several years. While it’s not a virus, since it doesn’t self-replicate or move from computer to computer over a network or via shared storage, it still causes problems for users.

These problems include redirecting the homepage and default search engine of all the web browsers on a computer and pointing them to timesearchnow.com. That website then displays intrusive adverts and collects personal data, including IP addresses and search queries.  

Time Search Now comes bundled with what looks like legitimate apps or updates and can be difficult to avoid. However, if you’re careful about the applications you download and don’t click on pop-ups, you can reduce the chances of being infected. 

macOS’s Gatekeeper prevents applications from being installed unless they come from the Mac App Store or trusted developers. Other apps have to be manually approved by you, the user, via System Preferences/System Settings in macOS Ventura. You should never approve the installation of an app unless you are certain what will be installed. Media players and encoders, such as MPlayer X, are a notorious source of bundled malware, so you should avoid those.

How to remove Time Search Now from your Mac

Remove all traces of the app

1. Go to your Applications folder and look for any applications you don’t recognize or that look suspicious.
2. If you find one, drag it to the Trash and empty it.
3. In the Finder, click on the Go menu and choose Go to Folder.
4. Type or paste: ~/Library/LaunchAgents

   

   
   
   
5. Look for anything in that folder that includes ‘timesearchnow’ and drag it to the Trash and empty it.
6. Click on the Apple menu and choose System Preferences. Select Users & Groups and click on your user name. For macOS Ventura: System Settings > General. 
7. Select Login items and look for Time Search Now.
8. Check the box next to it and press the ‘-’ button.
   

Block Time Search Now with an antivirus

There are dedicated anti-malware tools that search for exclusively Mac viruses. It’s good to run a health check with such a tool to root out the virus from your system profile. One of the latest antiviruses recommended on Mac forums is CleanMyMac X (don’t confuse it with Mac Keepers and other tools with similar names). CleanMyMac X has a solid virus database that includes all the malware and adware found on Macs. By the way, the app is notarized by Apple, which means it’s safe to use.

You can download the CleanMyMac X here for free and see if it removes your Time Search Now virus. The malware removal process looks like this.

Tip: CleanMyMac X can uninstall applications and remove launch agents and login items at the click of a few buttons. It can also remove browser extensions from Safari, which is the next stage of the removal process.

Remove Time Search Now extension from Safari

1. Launch Safari.
2. Choose Preferences/Settings from the Safari menu.
3. Click on the Extensions tab.
4. Locate the extension Time Search Now and select it.
5. Press Uninstall.
6. Choose the General tab.
7. Look at the Homepage URL — if it’s been altered, change it back to your preferred homepage.
   

Remove Time Search Now extension from Chrome

1. Launch Chrome and type “chrome://extensions” into the address bar.
2. Look for the Time Search Now Extension.
3. When you find it, press Remove.
4. Type “chrome://settings” into the address bar.
5. Scroll down to “On Start-up.”
6. If it has been altered, change it back to your preferred setting and homepage URL.

Remove Time Search Now Extension from Firefox

1. Launch Firefox and click on the three horizontal lines on the right of the toolbar.
2. Choose “Add-ons and themes” > Extensions. 
3. Look for the Time Search Now Extension.
4. When you find it, press Remove.
5. Click on the three horizontal lines again; this time, choose Settings > Home. 
6. If the “Homepage and new windows” setting has been changed, reset it to your preferred setting.
   

Once you’ve done all of the steps above, you should have removed Time Search Now from your Mac. You can check by quitting each of your web browsers, restarting your Mac, and then launching each web browser in turn. If the homepage in each is the one you set it to be, Time Search Now has gone.

Time Search Now is a browser hijacker that redirects your browsers’ homepages to a search page controlled by Time Search. It then displays intrusive adverts and collects data on your search queries and probably your IP address, too. It’s relatively simple to remove, though several steps include removing launch agents and login items. Some of the steps can be completed more quickly using the tools available in CleanMyMac X.