DominantMapper Mac Malware - How to remove

DominantMapper is malware, spyware, and a trojan that attacks Macs. DominantMapper spreads through the installers of other apps. It changes some settings in System Preferences to make itself harder to delete, then it runs every time you start your Mac. DominantMapper infects internet browsers. It causes malicious websites to open, injects ads into webpages, and monitors the victim’s browsing activity.

DominantMapper in short:

Classification	Spyware, adware, trojan.
How DominantMapper infects Macs	Advertised falsely as a necessary software update, downloaded by another trojan.
Problems and issues	Private browsing data exposed, unwanted sites open in the browser, ads injected into webpages.
How to remove DominantMapper	Change the settings in System Preferences, delete files and apps related to DominantMapper, find and remove all malware (Combo Cleaner, Malwarebytes, others).

Is DominantMapper dangerous?

Trojan

DominantMapper infects Macs by tricking people into downloading it. Because of that, it may be called a trojan.

One way that it does this is with the help of malicious sites distributing fake Flash Player updates and installers. You may see an ad or warning online saying that you must update your Flash Player to access some content, then be redirected to the advertiser’s site. This site usually never has anything to do with Adobe. It’s just there to spread a malicious software-infected installer that’s designed by scammers to look like Adobe Flash Player.

DominantMapper (or the infected installer) may give you unusual installation functions so that it can get around some of macOS’ guards. If you were to run the installer normally, macOS may not let you install the app.

After DominantMapper is installed, it may download friends, such as ControlFraction, OperativeProgram, and others.

Be careful about what you download and install. After you remove DominantMapper, check your Security & Privacy settings.

Spyware

Once DominantMapper is installed, it gets access to your web browsers. It mostly affects Safari.

If you navigate to Safari’s Preferences -> Extensions, you may see DominantMapper there. It has access to your data on all websites, which, in theory, allows DominantMapper to collect a lot of sensitive data:

• what you search for,
• what links and ads you click on,
• your direct messages,
• even your passwords and Credit Card information.

In addition, DominantMapper can inject content into websites. This content is usually advertisements. The ads may be dangerous, as their quality is lower than you may be used to.

Search hijacker

On top of all that, DominantMapper also messes with how you search the internet. DominantMapper causes an unexpected website to replace your search engine (the site your browser opens when you search for something) and your new tab (the site that appears when you press Cmd and T to open a new tab). Some of the sites that may promote DominantMapper are Searchbaron.com, Searchmarquis.com, Searchsnow.com, Safefinder.com, and Yahoo.com.

DominantMapper seeks to take over your internet searches and redirect you to affiliated sites because its operators want to redirect people’s traffic to make their own sites more popular. They make more money that way.

How to remove DominantMapper

You may have tried deleting the DominantMapper app and had them return. It happens because, alongside the app, DominantMapper has settings and files in your system helping it remain installed.

The removal of DominantMapper has a few parts:

• remove bad settings in your System Preferences,
• find and delete malicious files, apps, and browser extensions,
• check your browser settings and fix them if needed.

If the files refuse to be deleted or settings cannot be changed, you may need to use safe mode – Support.apple.com. Alternatively, you can find and quit all processes related to DominantMapper in Activity Monitor.

Delete malicious files

You can use an anti-malware tool, such as Combo Cleaner, Malwarebytes, and others to find and delete malicious files and apps for you.

In addition, you can use Finder to find and delete bad files yourself. Open Finder -> Go -> Computer. Type “DominantMapper” in the search box and drag to Trash all the files that come up.

Restore your System Preferences

DominantMapper changed some settings, so it’s time to undo that.

In System Preferences:

• Go to Profiles and delete all those that you didn’t add yourself.
• Open Users & Groups -> Login Items and remove unwanted items.
• In Network -> Advanced -> Proxies, deselect all proxies that you did not configure.
• Open Extensions and remove all those that look suspicious.

Save the settings. Exit safe mode by rebooting.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Remove browser hijackers

How to remove DominantMapper 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 DominantMapper 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 DominantMapper 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 DominantMapper Mac Malware from Google Chrome on Mac:

• Open Chrome browser.
• Enter in the url field “chrome://extensions” address and hit Enter.
• Find DominantMapper 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 DominantMapper 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 DominantMapper 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 DominantMapper 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 DominantMapper 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.