Vantage Advisor is one of the browser hijackers common to Mac. To get rid of these invasive programs you need to completely delete their core files if you don’t want these threats to reinstall themselves over and over again.
Here, we will answer all your questions including what is Vantage advisor, how to remove the browser’s hijacker, and how to protect your device from future occurrences.
Vantage Advisor for Mac is an annoying application that can change your browser settings even without your permission to generate profit for its developers. Vantage Advisor for Mac generates this revenue by displaying different sponsored messages on your screen.
Whenever you see these messages, you are usually prompted to click on them and also visit some sponsored websites or even buy some dubious products or install some tools and applications. Asides from that, they are usually very difficult to remove and they tend to appear on every web page that you visit, even on sites that usually do not run any adverts.
Read on as we dive into what is Vantage Advisor, how it works, and how to remove Vantage Advisor from Mac.
What is Vantage Advisor?
Vantage Advisor is a browser hijacker that targets Mac computers and their browsing apps specifically. Vantage Advisor combines Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and other main browser and spams it with several online ads.
Although Vantage Advisor is not an unpleasant computer infection and surely does not have the hostile however capabilities of a Trojan horse or Ransomware infection, however its invasive and aggressive ad-generating nature can make you prevent it from coming in contact with your machine.
Even though Vantage Advisor is not regarded as a virus or malware, it may still cause problems for you and your system. For example, Vantage Advisor may display links that may expose you to low-quality websites where you can be cheated or where your system may be attacked by some hidden viruses.
Once this browser hijacker gets into your system, it attaches an ad-generating and page-redirecting component to your main browser (such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or any other browser you may have) and begins to show several ads, colourful banners, pop-ups, redirect links and other unnecessary commercial messages on your screen.
The VantageAdvisor App
The VantageAdvisor app is one of how your computer gets infected via the installation of free application bundles of various third-party applications. In these cases, the VantageAdvisor app is usually added as an optional install in the bundle.
Other sources of infection include adult or torrent websites, free download links, spam emails, pirated software, peer-to-peer file-sharing sites, and other methods. However, you can effectively prevent this browser hijacker invasion once you can adhere to some basic security rules.
For example, each time you download and install new applications, ensure you always read the EULA and check for any other components (such as free, bonus, and recommended installs) which may come with the primary setup package.
You can usually find this under the Advanced or the Custom Menu and this can be disabled before you finish the installation process
Once you skip any of these options and you mistakenly install a browser hijacker on your computer, this won’t be fatal since this software is unlikely to damage your system.
However, it may cause browsing disturbances and you may further need some form of additional assistance to uninstall it to delete all the ad-generating components which may have been integrated with your browser.
This is why we recommend you remove Vantage Advisor on your Mac. You can follow the steps below as a guideline on how you can go about the entire removal process of this annoying software after getting accustomed to what is Vantage Advisor.
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How does Vantage Advisor work?
Most users simply try to ignore these ads, however, in the long run, they can dominate the entire browser and also prevent you from browsing the web without being constantly disrupted by several promotional prompts. In addition, once you click on these, there is completely no guarantee that these ads may redirect you.
How to Remove Vantage Advisor Virus from Mac
The first thing you need to do before you can remove the Vantage Advisor virus from your Mac is to quit Safari (especially if it is opened). In case you encounter issues closing it normally, you may need to Force Quit Safari:
- Choose the Apple Menu and tap on Force Quit.
- Or you could concurrently tap the Command key located next to the space bar, Option (this is the key right next to it), and Escape (the key situated at the upper left corner of your keyboard).
- Once you were able to press these 3 keys simultaneously, you will see a dialog box titled Force Quit Applications which will open up.
- Close the dialog box or window.
- Begin Activity Monitor by opening up Finder >> Applications >> Utilities >> Activity Monitor.
- Once you are there, search for all the processes: in case you feel any of them are hijacking your results, or are causing issues for you, then you can highlight the process with your mouse, then tap on the “i” button at the top.
- Now, tap on Sample at the bottom.
- You can follow these steps for all the processes believed to be part of the threat, run any suspicious files using an online virus scanner, and remove the malicious files:
- Every file will be scanned with up to 64 antivirus programs to ensure utmost accuracy.
- The next step involves you launching Safari safely again.
- Long-press on the Shift key while relaunching Safari. This will prevent Safari’s initially opened pages from loading again.
- Once Safari opens, you can release the Shift key.
In case you are still having issues with scripts interrupting the closing of unwanted pages in Safari, then you may need to take some additional measures for complete removal. Follow the steps below for further solutions:
- Force Quit Safari first again.
- If you are using a Wi-Fi connection switch it off by turning Wi-Fi off in your Mac’s Menu.
- If you are using a cable internet (Ethernet connection), remove the Ethernet cable.
- Re-launch Safari but don’t forget to long-press on the Shift button while doing it, therefore no previous pages can be opened up.
- Now, tap on Preferences in the Safari Menu and on the Extensions tab.
This should do the magic! What is Vantage Advisor has been defined and justified?
How to Remove Vantage Advisor from Chrome in OSX
The following steps will show you how to remove Vantage Advisor from Chrome in OSX:
- Start Chrome, click on the three horizontal lines or dots >> More Tools >> Extensions.
- Locate the malware there and click on the waste bin icon.
- Click on the three horizontal lines again, go to Settings >> Search, the fourth tab, and choose to Manage Search Engines.
- Delete everything except the search engines you normally use.
- After that reset your Chrome Settings.
That’s it!
What is Vantage Advisor has been ironed out and sorted! With the steps stated above, you will be able to remove Vantage Advisor. Feel free to drop your comment below in the section below.