How to remove SkillsRefer (Mac)

What is SkillsRefer

SkillsRefer is a malicious adware application that belongs to the AdLoad malware family and targets macOS devices. It is designed to run intrusive advertisement campaigns, which may result in system infections, severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft. The adware injects advertisements into websites you visit and redirects your browser search queries. It is essential to remove SkillsRefer adware and any associated items completely to prevent the adware from regaining its presence on your device. If your Mac is infected with SkillsRefer, you may experience the following symptoms: slower than normal performance of your Mac, unwanted pop-up ads appearing on your screen, browser search queries being redirected through SkillsRefer search, which then redirects to search result pages from search.yahoo.com, the “SkillsRefer” browser extension or program being installed on your Mac, new browser tabs opening that display advertisements trying to sell software, push fake software updates, and promote tech support scams, increased number of ads in search results and webpages, particularly banner ads or in-text advertisements in content.

How SkillsRefer infects Mac computers

SkillsRefer is often installed by users, either knowingly or unknowingly. It is typically offered through advertisements or bundled with other software, which may not adequately disclose that other software will also be installed. As a result, users may install SkillsRefer without realizing it.

1. Download SkillsRefer Removal Tool
2. Remove SkillsRefer from Login Items
3. Remove/Uninstall SkillsRefer from Applications
4. Remove SkillsRefer from browsers
5. Reset browser settings
6. Remove SkillsRefer files and folders
7. Block SkillsRefer ads and pop-ups
8. How to protect from threats, like SkillsRefer

Remove SkillsRefer manually for free

Note: SkillsRefer sets up to start on Mac OS startup. Therefore, before starting the removal, perform these steps:

1. Open System Preferences, choose Users & Groups.
2. Choose your account (set up as Current User).
3. Click Login Items tab.
4. Find “SkillsRefer” entry. Select it, and click the “-“ (minus) button to remove it.

Note 2: SkillsRefer won’t quit just by closing it, therefor use Force Quit to end the process.

1. Press 3 buttons at the same time: Option, Command, and Esc (Escape). This is similar to Control-Alt-Delete on a Windows PC.
2. Choose SkillsRefer in the list.
3. Click Force Quit button.

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

Remove SkillsRefer from Applications

Remove SkillsRefer from Mac:

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

Cannot uninstall SkillsRefer

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

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

Remove SkillsRefer add-on from your browsers

Removing SkillsRefer 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 SkillsRefer 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 SkillsRefer 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 SkillsRefer 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 SkillsRefer extension.
4. Click Disable or Remove button.

Reset browser settings

To finish SkillsRefer 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 SkillsRefer


~/Library/Application Support/.[random_string]/Services/com.SkillsRefer.service.app
~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.SkillsRefer.service.plist
/Library/Application Support/.[random_string]/System/com.SkillsRefer.system
/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.SkillsRefer.system.plist


Download AdGuard for Mac to block malicious pop-ups, that promote SkillsRefer

AdGuard is the best ad-blocker, internet filtering, and internet security application for macOS. It can cut out unwanted banners from site pages, block pop-ups, stop redirects, and prevent users from visiting potentially dangerous resources. Use it to stop ads promoting SkillsRefer in browsers.

Download AdGuard for Mac

How to protect Mac OSX from adware, like SkillsRefer

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