How to remove Search.operativeeng.com (Mac)

What is Search.operativeeng.com

Search.operativeeng.com belongs to a group of fabricated search engines categorized as browser hijackers. These apps often appear on user’s PCs unwillingly, because they download pirated or cracked software from third-parties resources. Browser hijackers apply new homepages, changing the overall appearance to promote a better browsing experience. On the surface, users remain unsatisfied and end up dangerously spied by cybercriminals to collect sensitive data. Fake search engines like search.operativeeng.com generate no unique results. Instead, they simply copy the capabilities of legitimate software (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.) to camouflage suspicious behavior. Therefore, search.operativeeng.com can make up a big threat to the privacy of each human on the web. Our responsibility is to show you how to delete such threats from your device and ensure you are safe during further experience.

How Search.operativeeng.com infected your computer

Potentially unwanted apps including adware and browser hijackers get spread via pre-packed software that can be downloaded from piracy pages. Remember that freeware downloads often contain additional offers set for automatic installation as default. Developers hope that inexperienced users forget to check “Advanced” or “Custom” sections. This is why creators of such repacks embed a number of boring steps, offering users to rely on “Recommended” settings. You should always pay attention during the setup, unless you want to install unnecessary stuff that does not fit your plan at all. Besides that, it is important to know that ads posted on the web can be malicious and lead to compromised pages that run executable scripts to infect the system. It is sort of a “Hitman” mode used by swindlers to cover the penetration process.

Remove Search.operativeeng.com manually for free

Here is the manual step-by-step tutorial for full Search.operativeeng.com removal from your computer. This works 99% and was checked with the latest versions of the Search.operativeeng.com installer on operating systems with the latest updates and browser versions.

Important update: Search.operativeeng.com hijacker installs a malicious Device Profile called AdminPrefs on MacOS, that won’t allow users to make changes to browser search engine and homepage settings. Follow instructions below to remove this profile.

Remove Search.operativeeng.com profile

1. Go to System Preferences and click on Profiles.
2. In the list of profiles on the left side, choose AdminPrefs and click on “-” button to remove it.
3. In your case it can be named differently, in this case remove all visible profiles. Check the picture below to see how it looks like.

Remove Search.operativeeng.com from Applications

Remove Search.operativeeng.com from Mac:

1. In the Finder sidebar, click Applications.
2. OperativeEng might have an Uninstaller. If you see Uninstall OperativeEng or OperativeEng Uninstaller, double-click it and follow the onscreen instructions.
3. Otherwise, drag OperativeEng from the Applications folder to the Trash (located at the end of the Dock).
4. Then choose Finder > Empty Trash.

Cannot uninstall Search.operativeeng.com

If you can’t uninstall Search.operativeeng.com using instructions above, or it keeps coming back, you can use free AppCleaner for Mac to remove all residual data and libraries of Search.operativeeng.com. Follow instructions below:

1. Download free AppCleaner.
2. Drag OperativeEng from Applications folder to AppCleaner window.
3. Choose files and folders you want to remove along with OperativeEng.
4. Click Delete button.

Remove Search.operativeeng.com add-on from your browsers

Removing OperativeEng from Applications often does not bring the desired effect. It is a browser extension, and it may still be active in Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Here are instructions on how to remove the OperativeEng extension from your browsers manually.

Safari:

1. Start Safari on your Mac, click Safari to open drop-down menu and choose Preferences
2. Click Extensions tab.
3. Find OperativeEng extension.
4. Click Uninstall button to remove it.

Google Chrome:

1. Start Google Chrome browser
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) chrome://extensions.
3. Find OperativeEng extension.
4. Click the trash can icon to remove it.

Mozilla Firefox:

1. Start Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) about:addons.
3. Choose OperativeEng extension.
4. Click Disable or Remove button.

Reset browser settings

To finish Search.operativeeng.com removal, reset your browser settings to make sure, there are no leftover items in browser folders.

Reset Safari:

1. Start Safari on your Mac, click Safari to open drop-down menu and choose Preferences
2. Go to the Privacy section of Safari’s preferences.
3. Click Remove All Website Data button.
4. In opened window, click Remove Now button to remove data stored by websites in Safari.
5. Go to the Advanced section of Safari’s preferences.
6. Click the Show Develop menu in menu bar option.
7. In the menu, click Develop and select Empty Caches from this menu.
8. Again, go to Safari menu and choose Clear History….
9. Choose to clear all history and click Clear History button.

Reset Google Chrome:

1. Start Google Chrome browser
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) chrome://settings.
3. Scroll down and find Show advanced settings link.
4. Click on it and scroll down to the bottom again.
5. Click Reset settings button and click Reset to confirm.

Reset Mozilla Firefox:

1. Start Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) about:support.
3. Click Refresh Firefox… button.
4. Click Refresh Firefox to confirm.

Remove following files and folders of Search.operativeeng.com


~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.OperativeEng.plist
~/Library/Safari/Extensions/OperativeEng.safariextz
~/Library/Application Support/OperativeEng


How to protect Mac OSX from hijackers, like Search.operativeeng.com

Mac OSX is known to be one of the safest operating systems, and for a long time there was no need for antivirus products for Mac. But with the growing popularity of Mac computers and notebooks and evolving technology, viruses, trojans, adware, toolbars, hijackers, and other malware paved the way for Mac users. We recommend you to use one of the best anti-malware for Mac available – Malwarebytes for Mac.

Download Malwarebytes for Mac