Solved Still can't remove SearchMine.net from Chrome on MacBook Air

Infected operating system
macOS Mojave Version 10.14.6
Infected device issues
SearchMine.net is automatically coming up whenever I open up Google Chrome & when I open a new tab. I've tried everything to get rid of it & I still have the same problem with Chrome.
Browsers affected by infection
  1. Chrome
Browser Settings: Homepage and Default Search Engine
Google Chrome
Browser extensions
Google.com

MAia BUHAY

New Member
Thread author
Oct 3, 2019
2
SearchMine.net has been driving me to the brink of insanity since yesterday. My daughter clicked on a prompt to update our MacBook Air & out of nowhere SearchMine.net was coming up every time we opened Google Chrome. We don't really use Safari, but when I checked it was infected too. I've tried everything that was suggested even the Profile Admin removal, installing Malwarebytes, removing it and all other search engines besides Google, removing it from Extensions, etc. It worked & is gone from Safari, but Google Chrome is still infected. We use Google Chrome for everything. I don't know what to do anymore. I'm running out of ways to get rid of SearchMine.net. Now I'm afraid to even use our laptop...
 
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MAia BUHAY

New Member
Thread author
Oct 3, 2019
2
I give up. I'm resetting my laptop to factory setting... crossing my fingers & it works... I'll post an updated here... But, I'd still appreciate any help anyone can offer. Maybe it will help someone else...
 
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Jack

Administrator
Verified
Staff Member
Well-known
Jan 24, 2011
9,377
Hello,
Sorry for the late response.
Can you copy chrome://policy into the URL bar and click Enter, then check if there are policies loaded in Chrome.
 
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Jack

Administrator
Verified
Staff Member
Well-known
Jan 24, 2011
9,377
Hi I also had this problem, I found searchmine.net in the policies. How do i get rid of it from there?
Hello @Crooked8,
Let's reset the Chrome Policies:
  1. Open a new Terminal window. (Finder > Go > Utilities > Terminal)
  2. Enter the following commands, pressing enter after each line:
    Code:
    defaults write com.google.Chrome HomepageIsNewTabPage -bool false
    defaults write com.google.Chrome NewTabPageLocation -string "https://www.google.com/"
    defaults write com.google.Chrome HomepageLocation -string "https://www.google.com/"
    defaults delete com.google.Chrome DefaultSearchProviderSearchURL
    defaults delete com.google.Chrome DefaultSearchProviderNewTabURL
    defaults delete com.google.Chrome DefaultSearchProviderName
  3. After running these commands, quit Chrome if you haven't already done so, then launch it again and check chrome://policy to see if the same keys are still present (you may need to click the "Reload policies" button for changes to show up). If they're gone, you should be able to change your search engine and home page back to your preferred defaults in Chrome's settings.
 

sinlow

New Member
Oct 29, 2019
1
Hello @Crooked8,
Let's reset the Chrome Policies:
  1. Open a new Terminal window. (Finder > Go > Utilities > Terminal)
  2. Enter the following commands, pressing enter after each line:
    Code:
    defaults write com.google.Chrome HomepageIsNewTabPage -bool false
    defaults write com.google.Chrome NewTabPageLocation -string "https://www.google.com/"
    defaults write com.google.Chrome HomepageLocation -string "https://www.google.com/"
    defaults delete com.google.Chrome DefaultSearchProviderSearchURL
    defaults delete com.google.Chrome DefaultSearchProviderNewTabURL
    defaults delete com.google.Chrome DefaultSearchProviderName
  3. After running these commands, quit Chrome if you haven't already done so, then launch it again and check chrome://policy to see if the same keys are still present (you may need to click the "Reload policies" button for changes to show up). If they're gone, you should be able to change your search engine and home page back to your preferred defaults in Chrome's settings.
THANK YOU !!!! This solved the problem and I was finally able to get rid of SearchMine.net removed from my MAC.
 
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jacy.cornelis

New Member
Nov 16, 2019
1
I tried this and I still have the policies in that page. The virus is in safari and chrome. I have deleted everything in on the computer for it. I've gone into the terminal and used the codes and it didn't work. I'm really at a loss here. Thanks for your help in advance.
 

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Jack

Administrator
Verified
Staff Member
Well-known
Jan 24, 2011
9,377
I tried this and I still have the policies in that page. The virus is in safari and chrome. I have deleted everything in on the computer for it. I've gone into the terminal and used the codes and it didn't work. I'm really at a loss here. Thanks for your help in advance.
Hey there!



I've had similar issues (which brought me here) and when I run these, I get through the first three ok, but once i get to the last 3 it all falls apart. It says that the "Domain (com.google.Chrome) not found. Defaults have not been changed."



It doesn't matter what user I try it on, new or existing. Any ideas?

Let's do a quick check-up:

STEP 1. Make sure you've uninstalled SearchMine and other malicious apps from your Mac, right (in most cases, it's a fake Adobe app).

STEP 2. Run a system scan with Malwarebytes for Mac

STEP 3. Let's check if there any malicious profiles installed on your Mac:

  1. Go to System Preferences.
  2. Click Profiles.
  3. The list will include an item “AdminPrefs“. Select this and click the remove “–” button in the lower-left corner.
If there isn’t a Profiles icon, you don’t have any profiles installed, which is normal.


STEP 4. Let's reinstall Chrome.

In many cases, changes to Chrome may not be fixed with a simple browser reset. In such a case, it will be easier to completely remove Chrome and all data, then reinstall. To do this, click the Finder icon, from the menu bar. Choose Go, and click Go to Folder, then paste one of the below paths into the window that opens.

You will need to delete all of the below items, but before doing this be aware that this will delete all data for all Google apps you have installed, such as your bookmarks, so you will need to export them before doing this.

/Applications/Chrome.app
/Library/Application Support/Google/
/Library/Google/
~/Library/Application Support/Google/
~/Library/Google/
~/Library/Preferences/com.google.Chrome.plist <<<< The "~" indicates that it's the current user's Library which is often invisible in recent versions of macOS. To get to it you must hold down the Option (sometimes labeled Alt) key down and select Library from the Finder's Go menu. Please confirm that you've deleted this file!

After deleting all of the above files, restart your device. You can now download and re-install Google Chrome on your device. You will need to import any exported bookmarks or other data, and may need to reinstall any other Google apps that you use.


Let me know if these steps fixed your issue with Chrome.
 

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