SelectMaker – Details
If you have a Browser Hijacker such as SelectMaker in your system, you are very likely to constantly experience automatic page-redirects to different websites full of ads, banners, and pop-ups. You are also very likely to notice some changes inside your main browser, such as homepage or search engine replacement or the installation of some new toolbars and redirect buttons. This is something very normal for the programs from the browser hijacker type, but in case that you are facing difficulties using your Chrome, Firefox, Safari (or whatever your browser is) normally, or the constant ads that SelectMaker “Virus” generates are disturbing you, on this page, you will find a detailed Removal Guide which will show you how to safely remove this program. As a typical Browser Hijacker, SelectMaker can integrate with most popular browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, but the instructions below can help you uninstall it from all of them.
Risks of SelectMaker
A Browser Hijacker is a term that is commonly used in the cyber community to describe software pieces that affect the users’ browsing experience by spamming them with different sponsored ads, banners and pop-ups and by imposing some potentially unwanted browser changes. The programs of this category are not malicious and do not have the harmful abilities of popular computer threats such as Ransomware, Viruses or Trojans. However, they can still modify the web browser’s settings, without your approval and this makes them rather annoying. Programs such as SelectMaker, Top Results and Searchmine.net are known for their ability to constantly redirect the users’ searches to pay-per-click ads and sponsored websites. They also tend to place changes in the saved shortcuts, bookmarks, and favorites, giving preference to these sponsored sites.
How can browser hijackers such this one get installed on your computer?
Browser hijacking mostly happens in the following ways:
- Through installing applications that promise to optimize and improve searches and navigation.
- Through installing third-party programs or additional components to free program bundles or games that you download from the web.
- Through extensions and add-ons for the browser, which are distributed for free.
- Through download managers that offer programs from popular internet download sites.
Web locations to which the hijackers redirect:
The sites to which the imposed homepages and search engines lead are mostly legitimate. Many of them have a lot of traffic and offer different products and services which they try to promote. Yet, you have to keep in mind that nobody guarantees that all the results of the searches that the Browser Hijacker generates are completely reliable. Therefore, it is generally not a good idea to trust everything that programs like SelectMaker may prompt you to visit or click on. Sometimes, malicious ads or misleading links may sneak inside the stream of sponsored messages and if you interact with them, you may accidentally get infected with a real computer virus, a Ransomware or something worse.
Can i Remove SelectMaker myself?
To recover the settings of your browser, you have to first remove SelectMaker “Virus” from your computer and uninstall all the extensions or add-ons, which may have been imposed by it. You can find the exact steps in the removal guide below. Immediately after that, you have to restore the web browser’s configuration to its default parameters.
SUMMARY:
| Name | SelectMaker |
| Type | Browser Hijacker |
| Danger Level | Medium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk) |
| Symptoms | This program typically spams the screen with sponsored ads and installs some new browser components. |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling is a common distribution method along with torrents, ads, free downloads and shareware sites. |
Remove SelectMaker “Virus”
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.
[add_forth_banner]
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.
