Remove “Top Results” Mac Virus App

Instructions to get rid of Top Results.app virus

About Top Results APP Virus for Mac

There are many forms of software that you wouldn’t want to have on your mac – Trojans, Ransomware encryption-viruses, Rootkits, Spyware and so on and so forth. However, not all unwanted software is necessarily harmful. There are many apps and programs out there that aren’t really programmed to harm your mac, yet, because of their invasive nature, they are still better left outside of your mac. “Top Results app” is one such software piece and it belongs to the infamous Adware category of software. This app got loaded on your machine and when you bring up Safari your Extensions screen pops up asking you to approve “Top Results” as an extension. The app doesn’t show up in my Applications folder and it doesn’t appear as a program running when you try to force close. This nagging app is know for its ad-generating abilities. In most cases, the adware apps need a browser “host”.

Browsers like Chrome and Firefox are the perfect hosts for “Top Results app” and other similar software. Once inside such a browser, the adware would begin to show different forms of advertisements and it would also initiate a page-redirecting service that opens new pages and tabs inside the user’s browser. Now, this may not sound like a big deal to someone who hasn’t dealt with an adware app before. However, if you currently have “Top Results app” in your mac, you probably know just how irritating this app could be in reality. It’s frequent generation of different pop-ups, pop-unders, colorful banners as well as its tendency to redirect your browsing to sites you don’t want to visit is more than enough of a reason for most users to want to uninstall the adware. However, this is where one may encounter a problem. You see, since adware apps make money through the ads that they show you, the creators of these applications would want the adware to remain on your mac for as long as possible. This is why most software components like “Top Results” are made difficult to remove or uninstall. We, however, can help you overcome this predicament by presenting you with a removal guide for “Top Results app” that you can find on this page:

Instructions to get rid of Top Results virusWhat is Top Results App and should I be concerned about my system’s safety?

You may be wondering if the adware can harm your mac in any way and in most cases the answer here would be that such apps cannot cause harm, at least not directly. What we mean by that is an adware like “Top Results” isn’t an app that is programmed to damage anything in the macs it gets installed on. However, due to the random and oftentimes questionable nature of its advertisements, certain security hazards may arise if you keep an adware component inside your system for an extended period of time. After all, the use of misleading and fake ads and online prompts is a popular malware-distribution methods that hackers tend to use for getting more and more machines infected with Trojans, Rootkits, Worms, Ransomware and more. The best thing you can do to save your mac from threats like these is to eliminate the adware so that it no longer displays ads on your screen and the chances of you clicking on some misleading and unsafe advert are greatly decreased. “Top Results”  is very similar to another Mixbuilder .

I can’t get rid of an application named “Top Results” on my Mac. Cant send it to the trash because Finder warning say it is Open. When I click on it to open nothing happens. I never installed it and after it appears my Safari opens with Yahoo search instead of Google. I would like to know if it can be something dangerous for my data and passwords and how I get rid of it.

SUMMARY:

Name “Top Results App”
Type Adware App for Mac
Danger Level Medium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk)
Symptoms  Your screen may get constantly spammed with various ads, pop-ups and banners. 
Distribution Method Software bundling and free automatic installer apps are the main distribution method of this program. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How To Remove Top Results From Mac (uninstall)

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 Top Results 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 mac – here are examples with Chrome and Firefox.

 


      1. How do I get rid of top results app on Mac? Option 2
  1. Open Finder menu bar at the top of the screen
  2. In the top menu bar select “Go”
  3. Hold the “Control” or “CTRL” key on your keyboard and choose “Library”. If that doesn’t work, Select “Go” and then at the bottom of that menu choose “Go To Folder” and paste this there and hit enter. ~/Library/Safari
  4. Now look for the History.db file. (In El Capitan and older OS’s, this will be called History.plist)
  5. Drag that file into the trash.
  6. Reboot Safari and test you search again to see if it’s fixed. On most occasions this will uninstall Top Results app from showing up.

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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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