Search.bravogol.com virus - How to remove

Search.bravogol.com, or simply Bravogol, is a recent Mac-affecting browser enhancer, that is actually malicious. This extension promises to improve the downloading process of various Mac applications, yet the only changes user sees are a different search engine and an increased amount of ads. Another negative aspect of Bravogol hijacker is because hackers get so much authorization over the search engine your browsing activity is not private anymore, therefore crooks can easily gather your identifiable and non-identifiable information. 

Nowadays, we perform so many important tasks online that involve our most sensitive data, which, if fallen into the wrong hands, can easily result in the identity theft, emptied credit card or hacked accounts. This is why, despite Search.bravogol.com virus not being the most notorious malware type, it is imperative to remove it as soon as possible or else you’ll have a lot of troubles fixing the long-term consequences. 

Fortunately, 2-viruses.com researchers analyzed and figured most suitable Search.bravogol.com hijacker termination methods, which should help anyone that is struggling with this browser infection.

What is Search.bravogol.com hijacker

Search.bravogol.com virus is a browser hijacker, that takes over the search engine, changes default settings so that they are most useful for the crooks and performs actions which generate profit by using the victim. The most obvious signs of Bravogol hijacker infection is the changed search engine to Bing, Trovi (or some other virus) redirect before displaying results to search queries and homepage changed to Search.bravogol.com. Other noticeable features that you will experience a little later are the excessive amount of online promotions, pop-up windows, more redirects, and a much slower browser.   

This is not the only threat that acts this way and there is a group of identical browser hijackers that infect Mac OS, for example, Search.pardessov.com, Search.borderov.com, Search.cocoshamen.com. Judging from their looks they all are from the same developers, yet in none of the Privacy Policies are mentioned what is the companies name. 

The reason why there are so many identical variants of Search.bravogol.com browser hijacker is that this virus has the ability to build a pretty decent profit from marketing, therefore the more infected users the greater the income. The variety of online Advertising techniques, allow Search.bravogol.com virus to perform mischievous deeds and push sponsored content from paying third-parties easier. Unfortunately, at times these third-parties are allowed to post directly to the user without any control, so Malvertising happens occasionally, meaning that at any time you might infect your Mac with more viruses. (How Browser hijackers work)

On top of targeted advertising that follows you everywhere online, Bravogol browser hijacker will use Bing search provider to bring traffic to it and see what pages you visit, your search queries and personal data you enter, like logins. For the sake of your Online identity, bank account, privacy, and computer’s health, we advise taking action against Search.bravogol.com virus immediately.

How does Bravogol virus infect Macs

Despite the plethora of distributing methods, Search.bravogol.com virus can spread mainly in three ways. The first two are not that popular, yet very possible. That is – voluntarily getting installed by the victim or getting in through Malvertising campaigns. The Bravogol browser hijacker does have a well-written description of this Rogue plugin, claiming that its main purpose is to help users experience a more proficient Mac application installation, yet 2-viruses.com team did not find the official extension advertising site. However, victims can get redirected to the installer after visiting a shady website or clicking on an infected ad. Some ads are so dangerous that they initiate the virus setup automatically without the user’s consent, making it another probable way of distribution.

In an assumptive manner, we think that bundling, which is the third dissemination method of Search.bravogol.com browser hijacker, is the most popular technique of them all. The plugin can spread on its own or with the help of other adware, PUPs and etc, e.g. Any Search, AIO Search, RarGenie, which are compiled in the same installer as some other programs. Even though there is no way to protect yourself from such infected Setup Assistants, you can avoid installing their malicious content by opting-out from it by choosing the Custom installation mode instead of the Recommended, also getting software from official sources as often as possible.

How to uninstall Search.bravogol.com browser virus

The users, that are seeking for methods to uninstall Search.bravogol.com hijacker, can quickly come across the special removal tool on the official site, but don’t be fooled and get it, because this software seems to be widely detected as malicious, according to VirusTotal.com. The best you can do is to simply remove Bravogol virus extension as shown in the instructions below and then run a scan with either Combo Cleaner or Spyhunter and make sure that there are no more malicious leftovers or damaged files.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to delete Bravogol virus from Mac step-by-step

As our readers claimed, the best way to deal with browser viruses, like Search.bravogol.com hijacker, is to first delete it manually. Each browser has slightly different settings and layout, therefore finding the right section might be a challenge at times. Below we have designed special removal instructions for all kinds of browsers, so getting rid of Search.bravogol.com virus would be much easier. Simply look for Bravogol plugin and remove it as shown in the guide. Then follow with malware removal software scan.

How to remove Search.bravogol.com virus from Safari:Top

Remove malicious extensions

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences.
  
• Select Extensions and uninstall Search.bravogol.com virus 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 bravogol virus, 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 Search.bravogol.com virus from Google Chrome on Mac:

• Open Chrome browser.
• Enter in the url field “chrome://extensions” address and hit Enter.
• Find Search.bravogol.com virus 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 bravogol virus, 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 Search.bravogol.com virus 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 Search.bravogol.com virus 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 Search.bravogol.com virus, 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.