NetProgress Adware - How to remove

NetProgress is adware. It forces web browsers to show more ads, redirect your traffic, open affiliated sites, all while collecting browsing data and personal information. It might even change proxy settings, redirecting the victim’s traffic through a malicious server. To remove NetProgress, you need to delete not just the app itself, but also find the malicious items related to it.

NetProgress in short:

Classification	Adware, trojan.
How NetProgress affects the browser	It changes the home page and search engine, it can inject ads into webpages, it logs user data for use by advertisers, it makes itself difficult to remove.
Hoe adware infects Macs	NetProgress comes bundled with fake installers or with desirable apps, it’s advertised deceptively online, it’s downloaded by malware that’s already on the system.
How to remove NetProgress	Delete malicious apps, browser extensions, files, find and remove malware with antivirus scanners (Combo Cleaner, Malwarebytes, others), check system and browser settings.

NetProgress is adware

NetProgress is a mysterious app that shows up seemingly out of nowhere. You might see it start together with your browser or you might get a warning from your operating system that it “will damage your computer”.

It’s part of an adware infection. It causes some unhelpful effects in Safari and other web browsers:

• changed home page and search engine (to SearchBaron, SearchMarquis, Yahoo, SafeFinder, etc.),
• pop-up ads, redirects, and hijacked download links,
• some sites might not work,
• slower internet connection.

In other words, NetProgress makes your browser show links to affiliated sites. Someone is making money because you’re forced to see certain advertisements.

There are some less visible effects, too. It’s possible that NetProgress adware changed your network settings to hijack your traffic. As a result, you might experience connectivity issues. Also, NetProgress likely collects data about your computer. It’s possible for it to even log your passwords and payment info. That could be dangerous.

It is also a Trojan

Adware apps like NetProgress, UpdateFilter, AccessibleBoost, ConnectionIndexer, and others don’t actually appear out of nowhere. They come embedded in free apps, bundled with fake software updates, or downloaded by malware that may already be present on your computer.

Fake macOS updates, fake Flash Player updates, and similar deceptively promoted files carry adware inside them. Some pirated or unofficial installers are also infected with adware. When people are tricked into downloading a malicious app because it’s disguised as something safe and desirable, they’ve allowed a trojan into their Mac.

It’s simple, clever, and very effective. And victims often don’t even realize what happened – they don’t suspect that their Flash Player update was infected with anything.

Nothing can be installed on your Mac without your knowledge… but malware developers have ways to get around that. Once NetProgress is downloaded, it might display bizarre pop-ups that are big, almost empty, show an inane and boring message (such as “Process completed”, “Installation completed”, “Your browser is up-to-date”) that asks the victim to click the OK button. These pop-ups overlay real system warnings. They steal the victim’s click, tricking them into giving access, trust, and permissions unknowingly.

How to remove NetProgress

Settings and preferences

Start by rebooting your Mac while holding the Shift button on your keyboard. This will cause your Mac to boot in safe mode, which is a limited mode that stops many unnecessary apps from running. This is useful for stopping malicious processes. You can exit safe mode by rebooting your Mac normally.

NetProgress likely hijacked your browsers with the help of configuration profiles. Configuration profiles can, for example, enforce settings on your browsers against your wishes.

Go to System Preferences, Profiles. Select the profiles that you don’t recognize and delete them (press the minus ‘-‘ button at the bottom).

Similarly, remove unfamiliar items in Users & Groups, Login Items.

Finally, open Network, Advanced, Proxies. If there are unfamiliar SOCKS or other proxies being used, deselect them and save. Or ask your administrator for what your settings should look like.

NetProgress’ files

Even if you remove NetProgress’ profiles, this adware is still present as a browser extension and, possibly, there are some files hidden in the Library folders. They need to be found and deleted before they can re-hijack your browser.

Scan your computer with Combo Cleaner, Malwarebytes, or another app that you trust. Then, if any malicious files are detected, delete them. The NetProgress app, browser extensions, the fake update installers need to be removed.

NetProgress might have hidden its files in your Library folders. This is not always the case. But if it is, you can look for yourself. Open Finder, Go, Go to Folder and type or paste these folder names:

• /Library/LaunchDaemons,
• /Library/Application Support,
• ~/Library/Application Support.
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents,

These are legitimate folders used by apps and often misused by malware. If there are any files in these folders, be careful. Some of them are used by your legitimate apps to save some settings. Deleting them might make affect those apps unexpectedly.

Look for files with “NetProgress” in their names, files that don’t seem t be related to any of your apps, and for folders named with long strings of random characters. Look for files that were added recently. Delete those that are suspicious.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Fix web browser settings

How to remove NetProgress Adware from Safari:Top

Remove malicious extensions

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences.
  
• Select Extensions and uninstall NetProgress Adware 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 NetProgress Adware, 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 NetProgress Adware from Google Chrome on Mac:

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