AssistiveFile Mac Malware - How to remove

AssistiveFile is a malicious app that causes your browser to open unexpected sites. It hijacks your searches and it logs your browsing habits. It also may cause additional malware to be downloaded.

To remove AssistiveFile, its files need to be deleted and certain settings need to be fixed. Uninstalling AssistiveFile normally isn’t enough because it may return on its own.

In short about AssistiveFile:

Type of threat	Trojan, browser hijacker.
How AssistiveFile affects the Mac	Opens unexpected sites in the browser and shows too many ads, leads to more malware being installed, logs your browsing data.
How it is installed	Promoted falsely as safe software and updates, installed without your permission.
How to remove AssistiveFile	Delete suspicious apps and browser extensions, scan your Mac with anti-malware apps like Combo Cleaner, Malwarebytes, and others, check System Preferences and browser settings.

What is AssistiveFile

AssistiveFile is malware that affects macOS computers. It affects web browsers, and among those, Safari is the one that is most affected.

Here are some of the annoying effects that AssistiveFile may have on your computer:

• Open unexpected sites in your browser. Periodically open new tabs in your browser.
• Inject ads into your webpages – ads that are obnoxious and potentially dangerous.
• Read your data while you’re browsing. Potentially, AssistiveFile could even steal passwords, payment info, and other data.
• Start and quit your browsers on their own.
• Show strange and pointless pop-ups, like one saying that installation was completed or that you don’t need to update Safari.
• More suspicious extensions and other apps being installed.

With AssistiveFile being installed, you might notice sites like SearchMarquis or Safe Finder being opened when you try to search the internet. These sites are not very dangerous on their own, they just show too many ads.

Overall, AssistiveFile’s effects include more ads in the browser and more malware being downloaded.

How AssistiveFile gets installed

Most likely, AssistiveFile was installed because of a fake update warning, like one of these Adobe Flash Player pop-ups. These types of warnings are nothing more than elaborate advertisements. They’re obviously scams, so only certain kinds of websites show them: sites that don’t have strict rules for their ads.

Infected sites can also show malicious ads on your screen. Sites that get infected are usually old and niche. If a malicious redirect was on a site, you can write an email to the site’s administrators. They might not know about the problem.

Once AssistiveFile is downloaded (often in a file called “Player” or “Installer”), if you install it, it might still look like a Flash Player update and nothing suspicious. Only after the installation does AssistiveFile show up.

AssistiveFile may not be installed alone, either. A shady Mac cleaner/optimizer might start spamming pop-ups on your screen, additional browser extensions may get installed.

Trying to remove AssistiveFile might not work because there are settings, start-up files, and configuration profiles anchoring it on your system. But AssistiveFile might get replaced by another app, like AdjustableProduct, ConnectionFormat, ExpandedSkill, InitialWindow, and others.

How to remove AssistiveFile

AssistiveFile’s app can be deleted but that might not be enough to remove it for good.

Scan your computer with an anti-malware scanner, such as Combo Cleaner, Malwarebytes, or another. If needed, reboot your Mac in safe mode. Safe mode stops AssistiveFile from running itself.

Delete the AssistiveFile app and browser extensions.

Let your anti-malware scanner find and delete malicious items belonging to AssistiveFile, but that’s not all. Open System Preferences in the Dock or the Apple menu:

• Find an ion called Profiles. Click it, then in the new window, select and remove all the items that weren’t added by you or your administrator. In general, scrubbing your Profiles tends to be the most helpful when getting rid of malware on Macs.
• Open Users & Groups, then go to Login Items. Select and remove all the items that weren’t added by you.
• Open Network, Advanced, Proxies. If there are protocols configured that you didn’t configure, deselect them and save. This is especially important, so check it again after you’ve removed AssistiveFile.

Once you’re done, just reboot to get out of safe mode.

In case the above isn’t enough to remove AssistiveFile, there is something else you can try. Repeat the same, but also look for malicious files manually. Open Finder. In its Go menu, find Computer. In the newly opened window, type in AssistiveFile. Delete all of the files that are found.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Restore the settings of your browser

How to remove AssistiveFile Mac Malware from Safari:Top

Remove malicious extensions

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences.
  
• Select Extensions and uninstall AssistiveFile Mac Malware and other suspicious extensions.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences and choose General tab. Enter preferable URL to the homepage field.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings(older versions) If you are still experiencing any issues related to AssistiveFile Mac Malware, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Reset Safari…
  
• Select which options you want to reset (usually all of them come preselected) and click on the Reset button.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

TopHow to remove AssistiveFile Mac Malware from Google Chrome on Mac:

• Open Chrome browser.
• Enter in the url field “chrome://extensions” address and hit Enter.
• Find AssistiveFile Mac Malware on the extensions list and click on the recycle bin icon next to it.
• Click on 'Chrome' button at the top left corner. Select 'Preferences' on a drop-down menu box.
• Find 'Search' options on Settings tab. If your search engine is changed, click 'Manage Search Engines' and set your preferred search engine.
• On the same page find 'Show home button' checkbox and change your homepage.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to AssistiveFile Mac Malware, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• On the 'Preferences' menu window, scroll down to the bottom and find 'Reset settings' button. Click it.
• Confirm your selection and click 'Reset' on the following window.

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program. Top

How To remove AssistiveFile Mac Malware from Firefox on Mac OS:

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla window and select the “Add-ons” icon (Or press cmd+Shift+A on your keyboard).
• Go through Extensions list, remove everything AssistiveFile Mac Malware related and items you do not recognise. If you do not know the extension and it is not made by Mozilla, Google, Microsoft, Oracle or Adobe then you probably do not need it.
• Enter “about:preferences” in URL bar and hit enter.
• Open Search settings tab.
• If your search engine is changed, click 'Default Search Engines' and set your preferred search engine.
• If your homepage was changed, click on the Firefox menu in the top right corner, select Preferences-> General. Enter a preferable URL to the home page field.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to AssistiveFile Mac Malware, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla Firefox window. Click on the Help button.
• Choose Troubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
• Click on the Refresh Firefox button.
• Click on the Refresh Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.

If the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program to identify malicious entries.