softonic?

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@Keith Don't try what I'm about to suggest just yet. I'm throwing this out to see if the guys think it's worth trying.

If Keith were to download EtreCheck and run the system report do you think the offending stuff from Softonic would show up? If so, that should tell us the path to the offending files.

Yes. Presumably something is loading on startup and since it could be coming from one of a few different places, Etrecheck can list them all. I don't recall how thorough the free version of the app is in presenting that though, but under the Software section on the left side, I'd review the listed kernel extensions, Launch Daemons, User Launch Agents, User Login Items, and Safari Extensions. If he wants to do this, he can go the the Report section and copy/paste those specific parts to a reply here for us to review, assuming he's unsure about reviewing it himself.

EDIT: It just occurred to me that DetectX is also capable of showing what loads on startup via its Profile section.
 
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Hi, here is a small screenshot of one of the notifications that keep arriving on my iMac/Users/keithwells/Desktop/Screenshot 2020-01-19 at 17.23.01.png. I do not know if it is what you have asked for???

Very best regards from Keith in Derby England.
 
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Lifeisabeach, please explain -copy and paste - I have heard the term but have not got a clue as to how, what or when! I feel it is beyond my ken and the mind/brain is still whirling around at the mention. You can laugh all you like about it but I still have not got a clue!!!

Have downloaded DetectX but like copy/paste have not got a clue. Please remember you are dealing with a 'First class dum-dum' here, when it comes to computers I am the thickest as you will ever meet and possibly thicker! As I have said before on other posts my iMac is simply a very expensive TOY.
Very best regards from Keith in Derby England.
 
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Keith, the screenshots are not showing. To post a screenshot, click on the little icon that looks like a window:

Screen Shot 2020-01-19 at 4.48.49 PM.png

When you do that, this will open up:
Screen Shot 2020-01-19 at 4.49.37 PM.png
Now, the click on the "From Computer" tab if you have to, then "Choose File" and find the file in the resulting window, then click on it and finally, "Upload file." If the screenshot is too big, you can open the screenshot in Preview, then click on Tools on the top bar, and under "Adjust size" change the largest dimension to be 799 (800 is the max the website allows). Then Save the image and give it a go again to upload.
 
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On Softonic: Softonic is a website that aggregates apps for downloading. No harm in that, it's a useful service. However, Softonic, like a few other aggregators, adds its own crapware to the download and installs it when you think you are installing the app you downloaded. So, if you downloaded those apps from Softonic and then installed them, the Softonic stuff piggy-backed on it. The lesson to be learned is not to go to aggregators like Softonic, Downloads.com, etc, to get software. Use either the Apple Store, or go directly to the developer to get the software. You can get Google Chrome and Google Earth Pro from Google. Google Earth is here, for example: Google Earth and Chrome here: Google Chrome - The New Chrome & Most Secure Web Browser

So no need to go to an aggregator and every reason not to do that.

Copy and paste is not that hard. Use the cursor to go to the start of what you want to copy, then hold down the key and drag to cover what you want. It should highlight in blue. Once you have it all selected, release the mouse button and it should stay highlighted. Now you have some choices. On the top bar of wherever you are should be an "Edit" tab where you can select "copy" or you can just hold CMD and tap the "c" key to copy it. Now move the mouse to where you want the copied material to go and either click on Edit/Paste, or just CMD and "v" to paste the copied material. Now if you had wanted to "cut" the material (Erase it from the original location), then instead of CMD-C, you can use CMD-X, which copies it for you temporarily and deletes it from where it was. You can still paste it where you want it to go, so you can either Copy/Paste or Cut/Paste.
 
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Good morning Jake, you certainly know how to put me in a complete state of frustration! I can get a screen shot following your instructions and on the side of my screen appears a small window with writing underneath Screenshot -2020-01...8.59.50 and all appears to be OK up to this point. I have left clicked inside that window and get a board with all sorts of instructions; click again and the writing underneath gets a blue background. If I left click and hold if I move the curser onto my quick reply nothing like the picture but a load of numbers and letters as you have seen in my previous attempts. Sorry about this Jake but I am RIGHT OUT OF MY DEPTH with this and with copy and paste. I am very thick and stupid as I do not seem to be able to do either of those two operations.

Very best regards from Keith in Derby England.
 
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Ok, Keith, let me try again. Take the screenshot (or you can use the ones you already have), but don't click on the small window. It will eventually disappear. It's only there for you to be able to take a quick look at the shot before it is saved to the desktop. Now, go to this website and thread, and click on "Reply" to the thread. The top of the little block where you type in the text has a set of icons on it. Here is what is on mine:

Screen Shot 2020-01-20 at 9.30.17 AM.png

The third from the right icon is the one I posted earlier. Click on that and the other window I showed earlier will appear. You can then follow those instructions to select the image you want to attach. When you are done, you should see something like this in your post:

Screen Shot 2020-01-20 at 9.32.15 AM.png

Where the number is different, but the brackets are there. What that is showing is that your attachment has uploaded, and is now attached to the post and will (should) display when the post appears.

If you can't get that to work, can you give us the EXACT wording of what the Softonic notifications are saying? Every work, every punctuation mark. Even headers, footers, everything. What I am looking for is some indication for what Softonic is really doing to bring these things to you. Do NOT click on anything in the notification, it could be getting you into even more trouble. Nothing Softonic does is good.
 

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Charlie, that site pushes its own cleaner, Reimage Cleaner, to get rid of Softonic. Not sure what that is, so is it safe? I would think a manual process would be safer. I wonder if DirectX can find it?
 

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I agree that manually is best, but for someone like Keith who has difficulty doing it that way maybe an automated approach might work better. Also, I should have said up front that I know nothing about the Reimage Cleaner.

And yes, I would definitely give DetectX a try.
 
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Do you guys mean DetectX? He already tried that.
 

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Yes. I corrected my spelling.

I didn't realize Keith had already tried DetectX. Apparently Softonic is a lot more difficult to get rid of than most malware. Maybe he can try what I suggested above although I know nothing about that particular software.
 

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I think the reason the Softonic notification cannot be found with malware searches are because it's not really malware. It's just a notification which is not harmful in any way, annoying but not malicious.
My guess is that it may have loaded as part of a Cookie from another site which an Adblocker would usually prevent. I'm surprised it appears in the notification centre though. Are we sure that it isn't in Notification Center Preferences. If so it's easily disabled if not removed.


Sent from my iPad using Mac-Forums
 
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Rod, I think I'll take exception to the idea that Softonic isn't harmful. As the article Charlie linked said:
Softonic – a well-known download website that offers a large variety of free applications. While the site is notorious for distributing bundled software, it has its own browser hijacker that takes over Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari or another browser. Softonic Web Search engine can trick users into installing other potentially unwanted apps. Additionally, it alters the search engine so that users are forced to browse via hxxp://search.softonic.com, and searches made through it displays an excessive amount of sponsored links. Furthermore, browser hijackers like Softonic often engage in information gathering that relates to users' web browsing activities.
and:
Softonic Web Search is a browser add-on[1] has been actively spread with the help of bundling,[2] so there is no surprise that some of its victims cannot remember downloading it. Right after infiltration, it hijacks each of your web browsers and drops a new search provider. Typically, it's search.softonic.com or en.softonic.com websites that have been promoted with the help of this technique.

As a result, Softonic virus gets a chance to start causing sponsored notifications on victim's desktop. Their aim is to redirect users to predetermined websites and earn the money by tricking them into installing required software. If you have never dealt with a similar browser hijacker before, we suggest you to follow the instructions provided in the end of this article to get rid of this PUP.

The main danger related to en.softonic.com popups and redirects is that they can end up on malicious websites. The most of developers, who use pay-per-click scheme[3] to earn the money, fail to double check third parties before adding links to them. As a result, you can be redirected to malware-infested website without knowing.
The bottom line is what Softonic is doing, while not directly malicious, is not good, and not in the best interest of the victim.

It's not "just a notification," but a hijacker.
 
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Good morning everyone, the frustration level indicator is knocking seven bells out of the stop; I have never been so uptight in my whole life, given much more of this and I swear I will take a hammer to my iMac and give it some SIT, (Sudden Impact Technology). In one of my wild days I paid for MalwareBytes because my mind thought being paid for would bring hidden bits of quality searching! Now I am really 'paying for it' as it recognises REIMAGE as malware!!!, so where the devil do I go now???
The next move is I must try to get my iMac to the city centre Apple Shop and it is not going to be easy. I can just see it in my minds eye - an iMac barging it's way through the crowds on the knees by a very angry man in an electric wheelchair. Oh dear God give me enough mental strength to see this episode through to a peaceful end. Near 'shear desperation' is not all that far away!!!!

very best regards from Keith in Derby England.
 

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Video here demonstrating how to manually remove. Take a look and see what you guys think.
How To Delete/Uninstall Softonic Toolbar – Mac OS X/Windows | Mac Software Video Tutorials

@Keith

I've just watched the video link that LIAB posted and I have to say that I'm sure this is within your comfort zone. It does not involve any additional apps or downloads. Start with a blank desktop, Click on Finder and follow the 3 or 4 steps shown in the video.

You can do it Keith!:)

Ian
 
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Hello Ian, I hope you and yours are all well? I thank you for your comments and the link but I do NOT have the Softonic Toolbar just the invasive software. Secondly I am so frustrated at the moment I doubt if I could remember or follow the instructions in the link - batting on a very sticky wicket at the moment (see my previous post!). In all my life I have never been so uptight about such a stupid minor thing as this, just about keeping my sanity intact. It is a case of contacting family members, scrounging their time, transport and borrowing their strength or use a couple of taxis into the city centre and back twice.

Very best regards and thanks from Keith in Derby.
 
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Keith, is there a Mac users group in Derby? Do you know anyone who uses Macs? Even someone who is familiar with technology, even if not Macs would do. You could invite someone over who is more comfortable with the technology, show them this thread to follow and ask them to perform the steps we have laid out for you. It's not really that hard to do, I think you could do it but your current frustration level may well be getting in the way. In the meantime, ignore the Softonic notifications, don't click on any of them for any reason, it won't do any harm for them to appear. If there is an "x" to dismiss them, you can do that, but don't click on any links in the notification. And don't worry about what the notification says, it's totally bogus and all they want is for you to click on the link so they get paid for the advertisement and click.

I would try to get a friend to help before going to all the trouble to get the machine to Apple to do what is needed.
 
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I thank you for your comments and the link but I do NOT have the Softonic Toolbar just the invasive software.


Sorry for my delay replying and I'm just getting back into the forum, but have you tried using Find Any File.app and search for anything with containing 'softronic' in it's name that you could trash???


- Patrick
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