What Is InitiatorActivity Mac
InitiatorActivity is the type of application for Mac that has been reported by security professionals to get inside your Mac and begin showing tons of different advertisements. The main problems these ads may cause on your Mac is they could eventually lead to risky websites, since most of them are shown for profit and the developers of these unwanted apps do not care where these ads take you, for example to scam or malicious sites.
Read this article if you want to learn more information concerning InitiatorActivity and how to remove it from your Mac and your web browsers as well.
InitiatorActivity Mac – Details
| Name | InitiatorActivity |
| Type | Adware / PUP / Redirect for Mac |
| Short Description | Aims to modify the settings on your computer in order to get it to cause browser redirects and display different advertisements. |
| Symptoms | Your device begins to display various types of online advertisements, which results in slowing down of your machine. |
| Distribution Method | Bundled downloads. Web pages which may advertise it. |
| Detection Tool |
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User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss InitiatorActivity. |
InitiatorActivity Virus – How Did I Get Infected
InitiatorActivity is part of the Adload family of applications, which includes a lot of different PUPs, like the recently detected:
InitiatorActivity may come in your computer as a result of a fake Adobe Flash Player update, as a result of a redirect to a web page, like the following:
InitiatorActivity may get in your computer because of software bundling as well. This may happen by the software pretending to be some form of a legitimate application that is included to the installation in the form of a free extra that is helpful:
InitiatorActivity Mac – What Does It Do?
When InitiatorActivity is included on your Mac, it may firstly begin to perform a lot of different types of activities on your computer, including showing different kinds of advertisements, such as:
- Pop-ups with video and/or sound.
- Interruptive banner ads.
- Changed search results to show ads instead of relevant sites.
- Highlighted text on the pages you visit.
- Redirects.
- Intrusive push notifications.
InitiatorActivity may perform different kinds of information collection, using cookies, pixels, tags and other tracking technologies:
InitiatorActivity may also use those trackers to get information, like the following details:
- Your bookmarked websites.
- The browsing history from your browser.
- What you have visited.
- Your mouse movements.
- IP and Mac addresses.
- What searches you have made.
- Your mouse clicks.
Is InitiatorActivity a Virus?
InitiatorActivity is the kind of software, that is not a virus, but classified as a potentially unwanted application. The risks that it could pose to your Mac are that some of the ads it shows may be of the following kinds:
- Rogue software download sites.
- Survey sites that are fraud.
- Phishing pages.
- Tech support fraud pages.
- URLs, containing a virus infection file or script.
- Web pages that contain scams.
- Redirects to dangerous sites via multiple pay-per-click redirects.
These are the primary reasons why InitiatorActivity should be removed from your Mac completely as it poses and indirect risk for it.
How to Remove InitiatorActivity from Mac?
InitiatorActivity can effectively be removed from your Mac if you follow the removal instructions beneath this post. They have been created with the primary purpose to help you delete this virus either manually or automatically from your computer. If you want to achieve removal with maximum effectiveness, our main suggestion is that you delete InitiatorActivity from your device automatically with the help of a professional anti-malware software. Such a program has been created with the main purpose to automatically scan your device and get rid of any malicious applications, trackers and viruses thoroughly.
Ventsislav Krastev
Ventsislav is a cybersecurity expert at SensorsTechForum since 2015. He has been researching, covering, helping victims with the latest malware infections plus testing and reviewing software and the newest tech developments. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for learning new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management, Network Administration and Computer Administration of System Applications, he found his true calling within the cybersecrurity industry and is a strong believer in the education of every user towards online safety and security.
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Steps to Prepare Before Removal:
Before starting to follow the steps below, be advised that you should first do the following preparations:
- Backup your files in case the worst happens.
- Make sure to have a device with these instructions on standy.
- Arm yourself with patience.
- 1. Scan for Mac Malware
- 2. Uninstall Risky Apps
- 3. Clean Your Browsers
Step 1: Scan for and remove InitiatorActivity files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as InitiatorActivity, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. SpyHunter for Mac offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.
Quick and Easy Mac Malware Video Removal Guide
Bonus Step: How to Make Your Mac Run Faster?
Mac machines maintain probably the fastest operating system out there. Still, Macs do become slow and sluggish sometimes. The video guide below examines all of the possible problems that may lead to your Mac being slower than usual as well as all of the steps that can help you to speed up your Mac.
Step 2: Uninstall InitiatorActivity and remove related files and objects
1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:
2. Find Activity Monitor and double-click it:
3. In the Activity Monitor look for any suspicious processes, belonging or related to InitiatorActivity:
4. Click on the "Go" button again, but this time select Applications. Another way is with the ⇧+⌘+A buttons.
5. In the Applications menu, look for any suspicious app or an app with a name, similar or identical to InitiatorActivity. If you find it, right-click on the app and select “Move to Trash”.
6. Select Accounts, after which click on the Login Items preference. Your Mac will then show you a list of items that start automatically when you log in. Look for any suspicious apps identical or similar to InitiatorActivity. Check the app you want to stop from running automatically and then select on the Minus (“-“) icon to hide it.
7. Remove any leftover files that might be related to this threat manually by following the sub-steps below:
- Go to Finder.
- In the search bar type the name of the app that you want to remove.
- Above the search bar change the two drop down menus to “System Files” and “Are Included” so that you can see all of the files associated with the application you want to remove. Bear in mind that some of the files may not be related to the app so be very careful which files you delete.
- If all of the files are related, hold the ⌘+A buttons to select them and then drive them to “Trash”.
In case you cannot remove InitiatorActivity via Step 1 above:
In case you cannot find the virus files and objects in your Applications or other places we have shown above, you can manually look for them in the Libraries of your Mac. But before doing this, please read the disclaimer below:
1. Click on "Go" and Then "Go to Folder" as shown underneath:
2. Type in "/Library/LauchAgents/" and click Ok:
3. Delete all of the virus files that have similar or the same name as InitiatorActivity. If you believe there is no such file, do not delete anything.
You can repeat the same procedure with the following other Library directories:
→ ~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
Tip: ~ is there on purpose, because it leads to more LaunchAgents.
Step 3: Remove InitiatorActivity – related extensions from Safari / Chrome / Firefox
InitiatorActivity-FAQ
What is InitiatorActivity on your Mac?
The InitiatorActivity threat is probably a potentially unwanted app. There is also a chance it could be related to Mac malware. If so, such apps tend to slow your Mac down significantly and display advertisements. They could also use cookies and other trackers to obtain browsing information from the installed web browsers on your Mac.
Can Macs Get Viruses?
Yes. As much as any other device, Apple computers do get malware. Apple devices may not be a frequent target by malware authors, but rest assured that almost all of the Apple devices can become infected with a threat.
What Types of Mac Threats Are There?
According to most malware researchers and cyber-security experts, the types of threats that can currently infect your Mac can be rogue antivirus programs, adware or hijackers (PUPs), Trojan horses, ransomware and crypto-miner malware.
What To Do If I Have a Mac Virus, Like InitiatorActivity?
Do not panic! You can easily get rid of most Mac threats by firstly isolating them and then removing them. One recommended way to do that is by using a reputable malware removal software that can take care of the removal automatically for you.
There are many Mac anti-malware apps out there that you can choose from. SpyHunter for Mac is one of the reccomended Mac anti-malware apps, that can scan for free and detect any viruses. This saves time for manual removal that you would otherwise have to do.
How to Secure My Data from InitiatorActivity?
With few simple actions. First and foremost, it is imperative that you follow these steps:
Step 1: Find a safe computer and connect it to another network, not the one that your Mac was infected in.
Step 2: Change all of your passwords, starting from your e-mail passwords.
Step 3: Enable two-factor authentication for protection of your important accounts.
Step 4: Call your bank to change your credit card details (secret code, etc.) if you have saved your credit card for online shopping or have done online activiites with your card.
Step 5: Make sure to call your ISP (Internet provider or carrier) and ask them to change your IP address.
Step 6: Change your Wi-Fi password.
Step 7: (Optional): Make sure to scan all of the devices connected to your network for viruses and repeat these steps for them if they are affected.
Step 8: Install anti-malware software with real-time protection on every device you have.
Step 9: Try not to download software from sites you know nothing about and stay away from low-reputation websites in general.
If you follow these reccomendations, your network and Apple devices will become significantly more safe against any threats or information invasive software and be virus free and protected in the future too.
More tips you can find on our MacOS Virus section, where you can also ask any questions and comment about your Mac problems.
About the InitiatorActivity Research
The content we publish on SensorsTechForum.com, this InitiatorActivity how-to removal guide included, is the outcome of extensive research, hard work and our team’s devotion to help you remove the specific macOS issue.
How did we conduct the research on InitiatorActivity?
Please note that our research is based on an independent investigation. We are in contact with independent security researchers, thanks to which we receive daily updates on the latest malware definitions, including the various types of Mac threats, especially adware and potentially unwanted apps (PUAs).
Furthermore, the research behind the InitiatorActivity threat is backed with VirusTotal.
To better understand the threat posed by Mac malware, please refer to the following articles which provide knowledgeable details.