Shroomcourt is a program that is used to monetized software installation. It is a platform that generates revenue for developer and helps in the distribution of other program. The bad thing about Shroomcourt is some adware authors are utilizing this program to deploy malicious application Mac OS systems.
To be able to spread adware, authors of potentially unwanted program uses Shroomcourt to bundle their software into legitimate ones. In most cases, users are not aware that installing desired programs may contaminate their computers with various adware. Shroomcourt are commonly linked to freeware and third-party software.
Once Shroomcourt gets into Mac OS computer, it will install the host program and deliberately load other adware in the background. It installs unknown software without asking for user’s permission. Shroomcourt also alters various settings and drops essential file to be able to perform its task naturally on the compromised system. As a result of the unwanted modifications, Search.shroomcourt.com will become the new homepage.
With various software downloaded and installed by Shroomcourt, expect that its presence can somehow affect the Internet connection speed. It will definitely affect the overall performance of the computer particularly if tool that monitors your system is installed. There are numerous programs pretending to monitor the computer’s health which were found distributed by Shroomcourt.
You need to get rid of Shroomcourt at once to avoid any further installation of adware into the computer. Complete guide is listed on this page. Make sure you download and scan the system with provided tools and security scanners.
Procedures to Remove Shroomcourt from Mac
This area contains comprehensive procedures to help you remove adware and potentially unwanted program from the computer. Guide on this page are written in a manner that can be easily understand and execute by Mac users.
To successfully remove Shroomcourt from your Mac, follow the steps below:
- Quick Fix : Scan the computer with the Combo Cleaner tool.
- Step 1 : Uninstall Shroomcourt from the Applications folder.
- Step 2 : Remove malicious browser extensions.
- Step 3 : Delete Shroomcourt files from your Mac computer.
- Step 4 : Run another scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.
- Step 5 : Remove Shroomcourt entries from internet browsers.
Quick Fix - Scan the Mac Computer with Combo Cleaner
Combo Cleaner is a trusted Mac utility application with complete antivirus and optimization features. It is useful in dealing with adware, malware, and PUP's. Moreover, it can get rid of adware like Shroomcourt. You may need to purchase the full version if you want to maximize its premium features.
1. Download the tool from the following page:
2. Double-click the downloaded file and proceed with the installation.
3. In the opened window, drag and drop the Combo Cleaner icon onto your Applications folder icon.
4. Open your Launchpad and click on the Combo Cleaner icon.
5. Wait until your antivirus downloads its latest virus definition updates.
6. Next, click on "Start Combo Scan" to start removing Shroomcourt.
7. Free features of Combo Cleaner include Disk Cleaner, Big Files finder, Duplicate files finder, and Uninstaller. To use antivirus and privacy scanner, users have to upgrade to a premium version.
Proceed with the rest of the removal steps if you are comfortable manually removing malicious objects associated with the threat.
Step 1 : Delete Shroomcourt from Mac Applications
1. Go to Finder.
2. On the menu, click Go and then, select Applications from the list to open Applications Folder.
3. Find Shroomcourt or any unwanted program or suspicious item. It could be in disguise as a different file.
4. Drag Shroomcourt to Trash Bin to delete the application from Mac.
5. Right-click on Trash icon and click on Empty Trash.
Step 2 : Remove Browser Extensions that belongs to Shroomcourt
1. Locate the add-on or extension that is relevant to the adware. To do this, please follow the following depending on affected browser.
Safari - Choose Preferences from the Safari menu, then click the Extensions icon. This will open a window showing all installed extensions.
Chrome - Select Preferences from the Chrome menu, and then click the Extensions link found on the left pane.
Firefox - Choose Add-ons from the Menu. Look at both the Extensions and Plug-ins lists when it opens a new window.
2. Once you have located Shroomcourt, click on Remove or Uninstall, to get rid of it.
3. Close the browser and proceed to the next steps.
Step 3 : Delete Malicious Files that have installed Shroomcourt
1. Select and copy the string below to your Clipboard by pressing Command + C on your keyboard.
~/Library/LaunchAgents
2. Go to your Finder. From the menu bar please select Go > Go to Folder...
3. Press Command + V on your keyboard to paste the copied string. Press Return to go to the said folder.
4. You will now see a folder named LaunchAgents. Take note of the following files inside the folder:
- com.Shroomcourt
- unknown.download.plist
- unknown.ltvbit.plist
- unknown.update.plist
The term unknown is just a representation of the actual malware name. Attackers may masks the actual name with following:
- Genieo, Inkeeper, InstallMac
If you cannot find the specified file, please look for any unfamiliar or suspicious entries. It may be the one causing Shroomcourt to be present on your Mac. Arranging all items to see the most latest ones may also help you identify recently installed unfamiliar files. Please press Option + Command + 4 on your keyboard to arrange the application list in chronological order.
Important: Take note of all the suspicious files as you may also delete the same item on another folder as we go on.
5. Drag all suspicious files that you may find to Trash.
6. Please restart the computer.
7. Open another folder using the same method as above. Copy and Paste the following string to easily locate the folder.
~/Library/Application Support
8. Look for any suspicious items that are similar to the ones in Step 4. Drag them to the Trash.
9. Repeat the process on the following non-hidden folders (without ~):
/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
/Library/Application Support
10. Lastly, go to your Finder and open the Applications Folder. Look for subfolders with the following names and drag them to Trash.
- Genieo, Inkeeper, InstallMac
Optional : For locked files that cannot be removed, do the following:
1. Go to Launchpad, Utilities folder, open Activity Monitor.
2. Select the process you want to quit.
3. Click on Force Quit button.
4. You may now delete or remove locked files that belongs to Shroomcourt adware.
Step 4 : Double-check with MBAM Tool for Mac
1. Download Malwarebytes Anti-malware for Mac from this link:
2. Run Malwarebytes Anti-malware for Mac. It will check for updates and download the most recent version if one is available. This is necessary for finding recent malware threats, including Shroomcourt.
3. If it prompts to close all running web browser, please do so. Thus, we advise you to PRINT this guide for your reference before going offline.
4. Once it opens the user interface, please click on the Scan button to start scanning your Mac computer.
5. After the scan, Malwarebytes Anti-malware for Mac will display a list of identified threats, and Shroomcourt is surely part of it. Be sure to select all items in the list. Then, click the Remove button to clean the computer.
Step 5 : Remove Shroomcourt from Homepage and Search
Safari
- Open your Safari browser.
- Go to the Safari Menu located in the upper left-hand corner, and then select Preferences.
- Under the General tab, navigate to the Default Search Engine section and select Google or any valid search engine.
- Next, be sure that the "New Windows Open With" field is set to Homepage.
- Lastly, remove Shroomcourt from the Homepage field. Replace it with your preferred URL to be set as your default homepage.
Google Chrome
- Open the Google Chrome browser.
- Input the following on the address bar and press Enter on the keyboard : chrome://settings/
- Look for 'On Startup' area on the sidebar.
- Select 'Open a specific page or set of pages'.
- Choose the unwanted homepage, and click on Ellipses (three dots) and select Edit.
- Enter the desired web address as your homepage, replacing the Shroomcourt setting. Click Save.
- To set the default search engine, go to the Search Engine area from the sidebar link.
- Click on 'Manage search engines...' button.
- Select the questionable Search Engine and click on Ellipses (three dots). ClickDelete. to remove it from the list.
- Go back to the Search Engine area and choose a valid entry (i.e., Google) from 'Search engine used in the address bar'.
Mozilla Firefox
- Run Mozilla Firefox browser.
- Type the following on the address bar and hit Enter on keyboard : about:preferences
- Click Home on the sidebar area.
- Under "New Windows and Tabs", you may choose Firefox Home (Default) or Custom URLs.
- Input the desired URL to replace Shroomcourt settings if you chose Custom URLs.
- To configure default search engine, select Search on the sidebar to display the settings.
- Under the Default Search Engine list, please select one (i.e., Google).
- On the same page, you have the option to Remove unwanted search engines.
Optional : If you are unable to change browser settings, execute these steps:
Some users complain that there is no way to change browser settings because they are grayed out by Shroomcourt. In such a situation, it is important to check if there is an unwanted profile. Please do the following:
1. Quit any running applications and launch System Preferences from your Dock.
2. Under System Preferences, click Profiles.
3. Select Shroomcourt or any relevant profile from the left pane. See the image below.
4. At the bottom of this window, click the minus [-] button to delete the account. Please refer to the image above.
5. Close the Profiles window and open the affected browser to change all settings associated with Shroomcourt.
Dear Malwarefixes,
I really appreciate your advice.
I didn’t follow all the steps e.g. Malwarebytes won’t’ run on my old Mac’s system 10.7.5, and the extensions list in Chrome’s Prefs didn’t show Shroomcourt.
Also, I added a step from PreciseSecurity — open the Applications folder and to delete SoftwareUpdater and Shroomcourt, and it said “Note: Malware may use alternative names instead of Shroomcourt to mislead security programs as well as users. If in case the above list is not present, please look for unfamiliar or suspicious items containing the same extension as update.plist, ltvbit.plist, and download.plist.”
I added a couple of steps of my own e.g. emptied Trash after moving those files into it from Library, and in Chrome’s Prefs I found I needed to change the old On Startup from Open a specific page.. to Continue where I left off. Also I had to fix Prefs in all three of the browsers on my Mac – Chrome, Firefox and Safari. (Interesting that it had infected Safari, because I hadn’t opened that in weeks, and acquired Shroomcourt only a bit over a week ago).
But I think I’ve managed to get rid of it. Or at least any sign of it, so far.
One question – in the Applications folder, the Shroomcourt folder contained just Uninstall Shroomcourt.app and Uninstall_Shroomcourt.txt. Is that what you’d expect? I have NOT run the Uninstaller, and have moved the folder to the Trash, but haven’t emptied Trash yet in case Shroomcourt reappears and I want to give the Uninstaller a go. Is this wise?
Many thanks
Stephen
Stephen, With so many discussions about this adware, we can concur that it is highly dangerous to run any executable file from Shroomcourt and this includes the Uninstall file. Both files you mentioned under Applications/Shroomcourt is anticipated on this type of infection. However, this adware is tricky. It may used other “unknown” folder. Thus, in other machine, Shroomcourt files and folders do not exists. In cases like these, it is still best to run anti-malware scanner. If MBAM is incompatible with your Mac, try Bitdefender Adware Removal Tool for Mac.
Yikes, I’m so non-savvy, this is complicated. Hope I manage. Glad I asked, ’cause I would have just tried to remove it from my Applications.