If you have noticed that the web browser you use is behaving strangely, especially if it’s redirecting to websites you didn’t intend to visit and displaying lots of adverts or pop-ups, it’s likely that it has been infected by a browser hijacker. You should remove the hijacker as soon as possible to prevent your data from being stolen and your Mac from being infected with other malware. In this article, we’ll show you how to uninstall My Quick Converter, one of several browser hijackers you might encounter. The steps for removing other browser hijackers are very similar.
What is My Quick Converter?
My Quick Converter is a type of malware known as a browser hijacker. Once it installs itself in a browser like Chrome, Firefox, or Safari, it redirects page requests to its own website, displays adverts, redirects searches, and steals data. Once your browser has been redirected to the My Quick Converter website, it can see your IP address as well as any search terms you type and links you click. Opening a new window or tab will automatically take you to My Quick Converter’s website because it hijacks your browser settings to make its website your default start page. The data it steals about what you search for and where you go may be sold on to third parties, who will then use it for their own malicious purposes.
How did My Quick Converter get on my Mac?
The most likely explanation for My Quick Converter being on your Mac is that you were tricked into downloading it, perhaps by a phishing link in a message or email or, more likely, by a pop-up on a website that claimed to be something else but actually linked to My Quick Converter. My Quick Converter is in a category of malware known as PUAs (potentially unwanted applications). Typically, PUAs are also often bundled with other downloads and rely on users not fully reading the details of what they are installing when they download these bundles.
As you will see, the process for uninstalling My Quick Converter is long and complicated. In fact, any application manually is cumbersome because you have to track down every file it has installed on your Mac and drag it to the Trash. However, there is an easier way — CleanMyMac X allows you to uninstall any app with just a couple of clicks. It scans your Mac and draws up a list of all the apps you have installed and where all the files associated with each app are. It then shows you all those apps so you can choose which ones to uninstall. You can filter the apps it displays by developer or even by those you use the least. You can also uninstall multiple apps at the same time. And, as well as uninstalling apps, you can reset misbehaving apps — it is a good way to fix them and get rid of leftover files from apps that weren’t installed properly. You can download CleanMyMac for free here.
How to uninstall My Quick Converter on Mac
Uninstalling My Quick Converter is more complicated than uninstalling legitimate apps because it’s not always clear where it has put files and changed settings. To uninstall My Quick Converter, you need to remove it from your Mac and reset each web browser to your preferred settings. You will also need to check the web browsers you use for rogue extensions My Quick Converter may have installed.
- Go to your Applications folder and look for any malicious applications or applications you don’t remember installing. Drag them to the Trash.
- Click the Apple menu and choose System Settings > Privacy & Security. Scroll to the bottom of the window and click Profiles. If there are any profiles there that you don’t recognize, select them and click ‘-’ to remove them. Quit System Settings.
- Click the Finder icon in the Dock. Click Go > Go to Folder. In the text box, paste each of the paths below, one at a time. At each location, look for files or folders with names that seem suspicious or that you don’t recognize. When you find them, do a quick online search (using a device whose browser hasn’t been hijacked) on their name. If, after that, the files seem suspicious, drag them to the Trash. When you’ve checked all the locations, empty the Trash.
/Library/LaunchAgents~/Library/LaunchAgents/Library/Application Support/Library/LaunchDaemons - Finally, reconfigure the settings in all the browsers that have been affected and remove any extensions that look suspicious. Find how to do it further in the article.
Follow the steps below to do that in Safari:
- Open Safari and click the Safari menu > Settings.
- Choose Extensions. If you see any extensions that look suspicious, select them and click Uninstall.
- Next, choose General. Change all the options to your preference. When you’ve done that, click Search in the toolbar and change the default search engine back to your favorite search engine.
To reset Chrome, follow these steps:
- Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots in the toolbar. Choose Extensions > Manage Extensions. Click Remove next to any extension that looks suspicious.
- Click the three vertical dots again and, this time, choose Settings.
- Use the Search Engine, Default Browser, and On start-up options to reset your preferences. Or simply navigate to Reset settings and click Restore to their original defaults.
To reset Firefox, these are the steps:
- Open Firefox and click the three horizontal lines in the toolbar. Choose Add-ons and themes. Look for any extensions that appear to be suspicious. If you see any, click the three dots to the right of their name and choose Remove.
- Click the three horizontal lines again and choose Settings.
- Use the General, Home, and Search sections to change settings back to the way you want them. Or go to three horizontal lines > Help > Troubleshoot mode and click Restart > Refresh Firefox. Confirm the refresh.
If you have any other web browser installed on your Mac, such as Microsoft Edge, Opera, or Brave, the process will be similar to one of the above. For Chromium browsers, such as the three we listed, the process will be very similar to Chrome.
Once you’ve removed the application, its associated files, and browser extensions and reset browser preferences, there is one more step you should take: scan your Mac for malware. There are several apps you can use to do that, but we recommend CleanMyMac X. It will scan your Mac for malicious software, report back on what it has found, and allow you to remove anything suspicious it finds. You can trigger scans manually at the click of a button or configure it to scan automatically in the background. Once you’ve downloaded it for free here, follow the steps below to scan your Mac for malware:
- Open CleanMyMac and choose Malware Removal in the sidebar.
- Click Scan. You can also click Configure to specify what and how it scans your Mac.
- Wait for the scan to complete. When it has, you will see a report of how many files were scanned, how long it took, and what, if any, malicious files it found.
- If you need to take action, it will tell you. Follow the instructions on the screen to get rid of the malware.
Once you’ve scanned your Mac for malware and removed anything that is highlighted as being suspicious, you will have uninstalled My Quick Converter and be able to go back to using your favorite web browser as normal without seeing lots of intrusive pop-ups or having every newly opened tab redirect to the My Quick Converter website.
How to avoid downloading PUAs
The best way to avoid downloading My Quick Converter or any other PUA is to be vigilant. Don’t click any links unless you are sure where it leads. And don’t install any software on your Mac unless you are certain what it is. macOS will warn you when you try to install software that is not from an identified developer. Don’t ignore the warning, and don’t override it unless you are sure about what you’re installing. Most malware, including PUAs, relies on you choosing to download and install it, whether you realize that’s what you’re doing or not. Techniques used by malware distributors include disguising malware as important updates, bundling it with other software, and creating panic by insisting there is a serious and urgent problem with your Mac that you can only fix by clicking a link. Don’t click it.
My Quick Converter is a malicious piece of software of a type known as potentially unwanted applications. It is distributed in a number of different ways that are designed to trick you into downloading it. Once downloaded, it redirects every browser tab to its own website, intercepts search queries, and displays intrusive pop-ups. It also collects data about your web browsing activity. It’s important that as soon you notice it on your Mac, you remove it. Follow the steps above to uninstall My Quick Converter on your Mac.
