Remove ImaginePrime (Mac Guide)

Imagine Prime Virus

This page aims to help you remove ImaginePrime. Our removal instructions work for Safari,Chrome and Firefox , as well as every version of Mac OSX.

The installation of ImaginePrime on your system is probably the cause powering the many intrusive pop-up windows or browser redirects you have been suffering from lately. What you’re facing is referred to a browser hijacker application and this type of apps have been generating problems for quite a while now. If you don’t remember installing this program yourself, it is probably because it got in using the help of a different software you have had installed yourself – browser hijacker are tricky in this way.

In truth, many browser hijacker applications deliver some solid usefulness to their users – what makes them rather problematic is the fact that the Ads are very irritating to put up with. With all this said, it should be mentioned that sometimes the browser hijacker programs are not completely useless – a number of users may still be convinced to keep them on their machine because they gain something at zero cost. Some people know how to put aside the adverts and are not quite as irritated by them. Our readers, however, are likely seeking means to remove the browser hijacker without having a second thought and we’ll try to help them. The guide written for this article will help users eliminate this potential risk from their pc’s.

Remember this if you want to keep hijackers like ImaginePrime away from your computer in the future

ImaginePrime
ImaginePrime is a malicious extension that serves as adware and it is able to take full control of your browser

Browser hijacker software programs such as ImaginePrime or Mac Cleaner.pkg often follow a couple of well known distribution methods – users who learn how to recognize them will be able to spot browser hijackers before they infect their PC. Browser hijacker elimination is an irritating procedure and not getting such an app to begin with is significantly better. The software-bundling technique is perhaps the most effective way for scattering browser hijacker throughout the world wide web. This is a cunning technique that gets undesirable software programs installed on people’s pc’s in a lawful fashion. Generally, you could expect a browser hijacker like ImaginePrime to be bundled up with free or cheap programs. Computer software download websites are a preferred platform of browser hijacker creators – an effective way to spread around their software. The reason why the file-bundling strategy is so effective is because, when installing new computer software, customers commonly go directly for the quick installation configuration settings. What we advise you to do instead is choose the custom installation. As soon as you’ve done that, a list of all extra apps added to the bundle will be displayed to you. In the custom configuration settings section, you would also have the opportunity to remove any added software that you think may end up being unnecessary by merely unchecking it before continuing with the actual installation.

A good way to evade software bundles completely is to keep away from torrents and other obscure-looking download sites. Keep in mind that even after you get rid of ImaginePrime from your machine, you also should be careful for potential future infections. Anti-virus and anti-malware software programs are crucial defensive tools in the struggle against malware. Ultimately, it is always safer to invest in your PC’s well-being. For this reason, you might additionally get yourself a paid product to further increase your computer’s protection. Frequent scans combined with real-time antivirus protection will keep a computer protected under most circumstances.

SUMMARY:

Name ImaginePrime
Type Browser Redirect or Adware for Mac
Danger Level Medium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk)
Symptoms The ads and the page-redirects that these apps trigger are certain signs that there’s a hijacker in your browser. 
Distribution Method The most popular among the methods of hijacker distribution is the program bundling one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ImaginePrime Removal

Step 1: Closing Safari (or any other browser that you may be using at the moment)

First, you will need to close your browser if it is still open. If you can’t do that normally, you will need to Force Quit it:

Open the Apple Menu and select Force Quit to do that. You can also use the key + Option Key combination to open the Force Quit Applications dialog box. In this box, select the Safari browser (or whatever browser you are using) and then click on the Quit button. Confirm the action by selecting Force Quit again.

Step 2: Killing suspicious processes

Open Finder and go to Applications > Utilities and then open Activity Monitor. Now take a careful look at the processes there – look for any that seem suspicious, unknown and questionable. If you think that a given process may be the culprit behind the issue or may at least be related to it, highlight it with the mouse and select the i option at its top.

In the box that opens, click on Sample.

Scan the sample files with the online scanner we have on this page and if any of them get flagged as malicious, delete them and then kill their processes.

Step 3: Safely launching the browser

Hold the Shift from your keyboard and then launch Safari – holding Shift will prevent any previously opened pages to load again, just in case any of them were related to the problem.

If any problematic pages still load after you safe-launch the browser, then do the following:

Force-Quit the browser (Safari) again and then turn off your Wi-Fi connection by clicking on the Wi-Fi off option from the Mac Menu. If you are using cable Internet, simply disconnect the cable from your Mac.

Step 4: Uninstalling suspicious extensions

After you safe-launch Safari and are sure none of the previously opened pages load now, go to Preferences > Extensions.

Select and uninstall (by clicking on the Uninstall button) all extensions there that are unfamiliar to you or that you think may be suspicious. If you are not sure about a certain extension, it’s better to uninstall it – no extension is required for the normal functioning of the browser.

Step 5: Cleaning Safari

If you have other browsers aside from Safari, do the following:

In Safari, open Preferences from the browser’s menu and go to Privacy.

Select Remove All Website Data and then Remove Now. Note that this will delete all stored site data including any saved passwords and usernames. In other words, you will have to manually log-in to every site where you have a registration so make sure you remember your usernames and passwords.

Back in Preferences, click on General and see what your Safari’s homepage is. If it has been changed without your permission, change it back to what it used to be or to whatever you like it to be now.

Now go to the History menu and select the Clear History option.

Do the same to all other browsers you may have in your computer – here are examples with Chrome and Firefox.

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Cleaning Chrome

Open Chrome and open its main menu, then go to More Tools > Extensions. Click on the Remove button next to all of the extensions that you do not trust.

Next, from the main menu, go to Settings and type Manage Search Engines in the search bar. Open the result that shows up and then delete all search engines other than the one you normally use by clicking on the three-dot icon next to the other ones and selecting Remove from list.

Back in Settings, type Reset and clean up and open the option that shows up (Restore settings to their original defaults). Confirm by selecting Reset Settings.

Cleaning Firefox

Open Firefox and then open its main menu. Go to Add-ons and open the Extensions menu from the left. Look at the extensions and Remove the ones you do not trust.

Next, open the menu again, go to Help > Troubleshooting information and in the page that opens, select Refresh Firefox and then confirm the action in the window that opens.

Author:
Daniel Sadakov has a degree in Information Technology and specializes in web and mobile cyber security. He harbors a strong detestation for anything and everything malicious and has committed his resources and time to battling all manners of web and mobile threats. He has founded MobileSecurityZone.com, a website dedicated to covering the top tech stories and providing useful tips for the everyday user, in an effort to reach and help more people.

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