Leading Service Search adware for Mac is a program that affects Apple devices to display sponsored content and generate revenue for its owners. If you want to remove LeadingServiceSearch from your Mac use this removal guide.
Leading Service Search Mac Adware
The Leading Service Search is a potentially unwanted program of adware-type that has been detected to infect Mac devices. The program is designed to invade systems without victims’ knowledge. Once installed on a Mac, the adware performs various operations to adjust system settings and alter main browser preferences in installed browsers. It may install unwanted browser extensions that support its shady activities. Adware like Leading Service Search affects Macs with the goal to generate various types of ads. The explanation is that these ads may generate revenue for adware owners. Ads may be of the following types – browser redirects, pop-ups, banners, pop-unders, etc. Be careful when you notice some suspicious ads in the browser. Some of these ads may be presenting misleading information in an attempt to convince you to visit sponsored content.
If you see Leading Service Search adware on your Mac or some kind of fake software update notifications in the browser, you should take action to detect and remove potentially unwanted files from both the affected system and browser.
Leading Service Search Adware Summary
| Name | Leading Service Search / LeadingServiceSearch |
| Type | Adware, PUP |
| Short Description | A questionable application that hijacks Safari and Chrome browsers installed on macOS. Performs browser modifications without your knowledge. Generates annoying ads. |
| Symptoms | The homepage, new tab page and search engine in preferred web browser may be set to display a hoax search engine. Browser slowdowns may occur due to increased number of online ads. The program may start every time you start the affected Mac. |
| Distribution Method | Freeware Installations, Bundled Packages |
| Detection Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by malware Download Malware Removal Tool |
| User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss Leading Service Search Adware. |
Leading Service Search Potentially Unwanted Program on Mac
Leading Service Search is a potentially unwanted applications that gets installed on Mac devices via shady methods. The most preferred method is third-party apps installers. Apps with compromised installers can be downloaded from various bogus and poorly secured websites. The setups of these apps are usually set to install additional programs by default. So if you skip reading all details mentioned in the EULA or miss the Advanced/Custom configuration approach. To avoid unwanted programs from affecting your Mac you should always look for the Custom or Advanced settings. There you should be able to deselect what you don’t want.
You may stay unaware of the installation process of Leading Service Search until you see it the Applications section on your Mac. The Leading Service Search application for Mac is reported by security researchers to act like an adware program. This means that the program lands on target operating systems to deliver intrusive advertisements. This issue may slow down system performance and make affected browsers sluggish. Please note the possibility of opening poorly secured or hacked websites in the browser. Sometimes adware apps are misused for the realization of malvertising campaigns. That being so, means that Leading Service Search may be set to present ads related to corrupted websites. A visit to such a site may trigger a drive-by-download attack. As a result, the Mac may be infected by some kind of malware.
As long as Leading Service Search is running on your Mac you may also notice that your preferred browser is acting strangely. For example, it starts presenting you with a new homepage and default search engine. It may also be forced to open new tabs that redirect to bogus sites that present misleading offers. All these changes indicate that the program is acting as a browser hijacker as well.
Unfortunately, some of the details you enter when logging in a given website including usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, etc. may be obtained by Leading Service Search’s owners. Furthermore, the undesired app is likely to create an additional user profile, so that it can add lines of code that enable it to gain access to the main user account that has root permissions. That’s why the manual removal process of Leading Service Search adware from a Mac may be a very difficult task.
How to Remove Leading Service Search from an Affected Mac
In order to remove Leading Service Search along with all entries it created on the Mac system, you should complete several removal steps in a precise order. The guide below presents manual and automatic removal approaches. In order to fully get rid of files installed by undesired programs and strengthen macOS security, we recommend that you combine the steps. The manual Leading Service Search removal might be quite a complicated process that requires advanced computer skills. If you don’t feel comfortable with the manual steps, navigate to the automatic part of the guide.
Notice: Before manually removing files or folders on your Mac, make sure to identify the accurate components of Leading Service Search, because deleting other apps’ files or system settings files by mistake may trigger malfunction of installed apps or even your system.
In case you have further questions or need additional help with the removal process, don’t hesitate to leave us a comment.
Gergana Ivanova
Gergana has a bachelor's degree in Marketing. She has been with the STF team for five years, researching malware, reporting on the latest computer infections, and following digital marketing trends.
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Preparation Phase:
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.
Step 1: Uninstall Leading Service Search Adware 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:
- 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 Leading Service Search Adware 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:
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 2: Remove Leading Service Search Adware – related extensions from Safari / Chrome / Firefox
Remove an extension from Safari and reset it.
Remove a toolbar from Google Chrome
Remove a toolbar from Mozilla Firefox
Step 3: Scan for and remove Leading Service Search Adware files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Leading Service Search Adware, 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.
