Do tons of ads keep bombarding your Mac from every side? It’s likely to be infected by adware. This threat is not among the nastiest ones, such as the Trojan virus. Still, it’s powerful enough to turn your browsing experience into a living hell and put your security at stake.

Top Results is a new member of the adware family. This rogue app installs extensions in Safari, Chrome, and Firefox without the user’s permission. Today, you’ll find out how to eliminate Top Results on Mac and get your browsers back.

What is the Top Results app?

Top Results is promoted as a regular search enhancement tool. While this may sound like a useful service, it turned out to be a potentially unwanted program (PUP) and browser hijacker.

The common symptoms of the Top Results attack include:

  • Intrusive adverts, banners, pop-ups, and hyperlinks appear in places they shouldn’t be.
  • Your browser’s homepage and search engine have been changed to search.yahoo.com.

    • Did you know?
    Cybercriminals often exploit legit search providers like Yahoo and Bing. This makes users believe that redirects result from misconfiguration and not malicious actions. In fact, these browsers have nothing to do with the bogus apps like Top Results.

  • Search results redirect to websites different from ones you expect to visit.
  • Web pages are not displayed correctly.
  • Other PUPs got installed on your computer without your approval.

Top Results run scripts developed to download additional PUPs automatically. Even one accidental click on an ad might cause more threats to come.

On top of that, this baddie can track, collect, and share your data with third parties. This data might include IP address, browsing history, search queries, and other personal information.

How did Top Results sneak into my Mac?

The most common distribution method is bundling. It’s aimed at installing extra software along with the one you choose to download, leaving you puzzled where it came from.

Lots of Mac users notice Top Results on their devices after downloading FileZilla Clients or video players like MPlayerX and NicePlayer from unreliable sources.

The other method is by using pop-ups or warning messages. Often, they promote fake updates or point out a system error. Once you click on such an ad, you’ll download the malware.

How can I avoid Top Results and other PUPs?

If macOS alerts you that the app comes from an untrusted developer, check carefully before you grant permission to install it on your computer. Never download any software unless you make sure it’s legitimate. And don’t use proprietary download managers, as they always hide optional offers.

To play it safe, use an anti-malware tool that takes care of your system's safety. CleanMyMac X is an excellent option to try out. When the Protection monitor of CleanMyMac's Menu is turned on, you may not worry about viruses, spyware, and other threats as they are eliminated right on the spot. Check it out!

Protection

How to get rid of the Top Results app on Mac

You can use two methods to eradicate Top Results: an easy automatic way and a longer manual route.

Destroy Top Results with a few clicks

The automatic way is all about using anti-malware software to detect and remove any hazard it finds.

My personal favorite is CleanMyMac X. It’s a feature-packed tool with an accurate Malware Removal utility. It also has features to remove browser extensions, login items, and other files that adware may store on your Mac.

Here’s how Malware Removal works:

  1. Download CleanMyMac X and install it — get a free trial version here.
  2. Open the app and go to Malware Removal.
  3. Click Scan.
  4. Once done, press Remove. See how easy it is?
adware found with malware removal module of CleanMyMac

If you’d prefer manual removal of Top Results, here’s how to do it.

Deal with Top Results without outside help

First, you need to remove the Top Results app and all the adware-generated files from your computer. Follow the steps below:

  1. In the Finder, choose the Go menu > Utilities > Activity Monitor.

    deal with Top Results without outside help
  2. Spot a malware-related process and click the Force Quit (X) button.
  3. Opt for the Force Quit option in the pop-up window.
  4. Go to the Applications folder and locate the Top Results app.
  5. Trash it and empty the Bin.
  6. Choose the Go menu again and select Go to Folder.
  7. Paste each of the following locations into the box, one at a time:

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

  8. Search for the files with ‘top results’ in their name and move them to the Bin.

    search for the files with top results and move them to the bin

    Note 

    Be extremely careful not to delete the system-forming files by mistake.

    Now, it’s time to delete malicious extensions and reconfigure your browsers. Here’s how.

    Safari

    1. Go to the Safari menu > Preferences > Extensions.
    2. Look for any extensions that shouldn’t be there.
    3. If you find one, select it and hit Uninstall.
    4. Head over to the General tab and change the homepage to your preferred one.
    5. Choose the Search tab and set the default search engine.
    6. Restart Safari.

    Chrome

    1. Paste chrome://extensions to the address bar.
    2. Locate extensions you don’t remember installing.
    3. Press Remove next to a suspicious one.
    4. Now, navigate to chrome://settings.
    5. Go to the Search Engine tab and choose your preferred option.
    6. Choose what you want to see on start-up.
    7. Restart Chrome.

    Firefox

    1. Paste about:addons to the address bar.
    2. Choose Extensions and find the one you want to delete.
    3. Click three dots next to it and select Remove.
    4. Navigate to about:preferences.
    5. Choose Home to set your homepage.
    6. Go to Search to pick your default search engine.
    7. Restart Firefox.

    Top Results is a browser hijacker and adware that spams users with intrusive ads. It uses a pay-per-click model and makes money for malware distribution. The scammer can also steal your browser-related information. Having a data-tracking app on your Mac might lead to serious privacy issues. Luckily, it’s not too tricky to get rid of it if you follow the steps above.