This article has been created to explain what is the Trovi “virus” and how you can try and remove it from your Mac and hence stop advertisements coming from it.
The Trovi Virus is the type of infection, whose primary purpose is to get users to download and install its Trovi software, promising an improvement in how you browse the web. In reality however, things are quite different, because Trovi runs processes, like com.sysd.launchserviced and others that may be responsible for unwanted activities on your Mac. Such can be random browser redirects, pop-ups and other types of ads to appear, leading users to various third-party websites of unknown origin. The outcome of this is that your Mac may become affected with other adware and may even become a victim of malware.
Threat Summary
| Name | Trovi |
| Type | Browser Hijacker for Mac OS |
| Short Description | Aims to display custom search results, change home pages and show different types of ads. |
| Symptoms | The main symptom is a process, called com.sysd.launchserviced runnin in Activity Monitor. |
| Distribution Method | Via bundling of apps or via Trovi websites. |
| Detection Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by malware Download Combo Cleaner | User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss Trovi. |
Trovi “Virus” Mac – How Did I Get It
The primary method of replication used by this browser hijacker is to be spread as a result of software bundling. This basically means that you may find Trovi to be added to the installation setup of another program or App you may have downloaded from third-party site other than the AppStore. These third-party installers usually include ad-supported programs, like Trovi and their main idea is to slither them as a part of an advertising scheme.
Another way by which you may have added Trovi is via your web browser. This method is believed to be conducted when you have visited an advertisement or Trovi’s website and have added Trovi as a browser extension or an add-on for your web browser.
Trovi Virus Mac – Main Activity
Once on your Mac, Trovi may immediately begin modifying the web browsers installed on it and by those web browsers. The outcome of this is that websites, like Trovi search may be added as a default search engine and home page as well as new tab page on your browsers:
The search engine is not the one you want seeing on your Mac, because it uses different types of tracking technologies to monitor your browsing acivity:
- Cookies.
- Pixels.
- Geo-locators.
- Ad-supported search results.
- Tags.
Once Trovi has been installed, it may track your activities with different purposes. The main actions tracked by Trovi may be focused on:
- Your search queries.
- Data from the sites you have visited.
- Data on the ads you’ve clicked.
- Your browsing history.
- Your bookmarked sites.
Based on these, Trovi may display different ads on your Mac, which sometimes tend to become very annoying and quite frankly, unwanted. But the main risk of this is that these ads may also lead you to dangerous websites, like:
- Malicious URLs that may infect your Mac with viruses.
- URLs of phishing nature that pretend to be login pages of Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and others.
- Sites that may insert cryptocurrency miner scripts which may use the CPU of your Mac to mine for coins.
- Tech Support Scam sites, that may attempt to scam you over the phone.
This YOUR APPLE DEVICE HAS A VIRUS removal guide shows how victims can remove this common Apple Scam leading to a fake tech support. Update August 2019
This is the main reason to consider removing Trovi since it may not be directly harmful for your browser or your Mac, but it’s activities point out to Trovi being a potentially unwanted program on your Mac and it may lead to malicious sites.
Remove Trovi “Virus” from Your Mac
Before beginning the removal process of Trovi from your Mac, we recommend that you backup all the files, just in case.
To try and remove Trovi from your Mac, we recommend that you follow the removal instructions that are underneath this article. They have been created with the main idea to help you out with the removal process of Trovi from your Mac. With their aid you can remove Trovi either manually or automatically from your Mac, based on your preferences and experience with malware removal. For maximum effectiveness, security experts always advise that the best way of removing Trovi from your Mac is to do it automatically with the aid of an advanced malware removal tool, which can be able to help you to remove Trovi by scanning for it’s files and objects.
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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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 Trovi 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 Trovi 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 Trovi – 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 Trovi files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Trovi, 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.
