Jul 4, 2019

Chrome is defaulting to MineSearch. I have removed the malware but can't get it to default to google

Apple rep helped me remove the malware and we removed google chrome and re-installed on my mac, however, when I open Chrome it still defaults to SearchMine which is the malware. We removed all malware with the Apple Rep (ran malware bytes) but not sure how to fix this chrome issue.

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Other Chrome Questions and Issues,Mac,Stable (Default)

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david.king

Product Expert Alumni

Volunteer since 2011 (not a Google employee)

Jul 8, 2019

Hi all,

Very much appreciate your patience as we worked through this issue together. Here is a full recap of the steps which should resolve this issue:

Save these steps somewhere safe and close Chrome.
Click the "Preferences" icon in your Mac's menu bar and select "Profiles".
Select all "AdminPrefs" profile(s) and delete it/them by clicking the minus (-) icon at the bottom.

Once you've removed the unwanted "adminprefs" profile(s), you should be able to follow these steps:

Open the Terminal app (Go > Utilities > Terminal or press Command+Space and search Terminal)
Enter the commands below and hit the Enter key after each one:
- defaults write com.google.Chrome HomepageIsNewTabPage -bool false
- defaults write com.google.Chrome NewTabPageLocation -string "https://www.google.com/"
- defaults write com.google.Chrome HomepageLocation -string "https://www.google.com/"
- defaults delete com.google.Chrome DefaultSearchProviderSearchURL
- defaults delete com.google.Chrome DefaultSearchProviderNewTabURL
- defaults delete com.google.Chrome DefaultSearchProviderName

Now restart Chrome and the issue should be resolved. If not, you may need to restart your Mac.

(I'm going to mark this post a recommended answer to this topic. This is the best way for this forum system to display an important update at the beginning of a thread, and I want to help ensure that those new to the discussion see the latest update).

Last edited Aug 28, 2019

Product Expert Alumni david.king recommended this

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All Replies (18)

david.king

Product Expert Alumni

Volunteer since 2011 (not a Google employee)

Jul 5, 2019

Hi Wes,

Thanks for reaching out to us -- it appears that you may have unwanted software on your computer which has made changes to your computer settings. Here are some steps that may help to resolve the issue:

(Windows only) Run the Chrome Cleanup Tool (Tell me how).
Scan your computer for the unwanted software using recommended removal software:
- Windows: Malwarebytes, AdwCleaner, HitmanPro.
- Mac: Malwarebytes.
Uninstall unfamiliar or suspicious extensions (Tell me how).
Uninstall suspicious programs from your computer:
- Windows: Tell me how.
- Mac: Tell me how.
Reset your browser settings.

Hope this helps -- keep us posted!

Alison Ferriola

Aug 8, 2019

Is "Adminprefs" an actual thing? I dont have this as an option. I have preferences in my profiles, but none actually labeled "adminprefs." Please advise.

Jennifer Norman 2594

Aug 24, 2019

I could not get rid of this to save my life but after spending hours on it I decided to dig around the website a bit to see if it could help me and on the FAQ page it had an uninstaller I was a little unsure but ran it anyway and it uninstalled it from chrome. Hope it can help someone else.

Auntshoozie

Aug 24, 2019

Which website did you dig around... I have spent countless hours, uninstalled, reinstalled and still there!

Dan Wee

Aug 27, 2019

I have tried everything.. followed the above instructions. use Malewarebytes to remove virus ( it says i am clean ). but everytime i open a new tap on chrome.

Searchmine comes up. someone please help me.. it is so frustrating ......:(

david.king

Product Expert Alumni

Volunteer since 2011 (not a Google employee)

Aug 28, 2019

I've fixed the quotes in my reply here too :)

Shaun Qu

Oct 23, 2019

Could not find AdminPrefs in Chrome

Robyn Butt

Oct 28, 2019

Is it possible to use similar steps to correct on Safari?

Katie Wacek

Oct 31, 2019

David.King

Thanks for the detailed steps! However, I am not familiar with Terminal and clearly made a mistake and now I don't know how to rectify it. I am hoping you can help!

I went to Terminal app, opened it and then chose "Shell"/"New Command". I typed in the commands you outlined and hit return after each of them. I must have made an error in the commands because it didn't work. Now, I can't get rid of the new commands I put in, nor do I see where I can edit them.

I then followed Stefan vd post and downloaded Chrome Policy Remover for Mac. When I tried to run it, I got the error "Can't get window 1 of application "Terminal". Terminal got an error: Can't get window 1. (-1728)

Help! Thanks!

Katie Wacek

Oct 31, 2019

I got it resolved! Once I learned where to put the commands in Terminal, it WORKED! Thank you for providing the code!

Delegate Track EziTag

Nov 2, 2019

Thank you, after following these steps it all worked for me. I copy and pasted the lines in terminal. After doing this, Chrome and Safari back to normal.

That seachmine was so nasty. I think I got it after a prompt that said I had to install flash from a new application.

Thank you David King for the solution

Lysane Grégoire

Nov 4, 2019

I tried exactly what you recommend but on the terminal I obtain this answer: Domain (com.google.Chrome) not found. Defaults have not been changed.

Any other recommendation to get rid of that search mine engine? Thanks a lot.

I'm on MacBook Pro System 10.11.6

Felix Rodriguez 4439

Feb 8, 2020

Hey I’m struggling mine say defaults have not been changed after I type the command