How to Remove Search Marquis from Mac

If Search Marquis finds its way onto your Mac, you’ll soon know about it. Whether you’re using an iMac, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or a different Mac model, it can take over your web browser, making everything go through the Search Marquis website.

That might not sound dangerous, but it might be an invasion of your privacy. Moreover, Search Marquis can affect your Mac’s performance and have other, more detrimental effects.  

Even worse, you can’t just delete Search Marquis. It’s built to be difficult to get off your Mac, so you’ll need to take extra steps to get rid of it. In this guide, we’ll show you how to remove this annoying and unwelcome guest from your machine.

For other virus issues, check out our guide on how to remove malware from Mac. Now, let’s look at Search Marquis in a bit more detail.

Before we start

 

Malware like Search Marquis has serious implications for your online safety. To keep your Mac safe and protect yourself, try MacKeeper. Its StopAd feature will block ads and online trackers in Safari and Chrome, while giving you the power to easily decide what to block and what to allow. Here’s how to get it set up.  

1. In MacKeeper, select StopAd from the side menu
2. Next to Safari extension, click Enable, then follow the on-screen prompts to install the add-on
3. Return to MacKeeper, and next to Chrome extension, click Install, and again follow the prompts
4. In both browsers, you should now see a MacKeeper extension logo. Click it to access the StopAd settings. 

MacKeeper also gives you a host of other security features that can help you defeat viruses like Search Marquis. They include real-time Antivirus protection and Smart Uninstaller.  

What is Search Marquis on Mac?

Search Marquis is a browser hijacker. Forcing you to search through the searchmarquis.com landing page and search engine, Search Marquis will redirect you to Bing or Yahoo. And on the way, your queries will pass through several advertising networks, making money for those behind the virus.  

That by itself is annoying, but there are other reasons you need to get this malware off your computer. Other symptoms you may see from a Search Marquis infection on your Mac:

• Unexpected browser add-ons: Search Marquis may install browser extensions without permission. These can further compromise your Mac’s security.
• Dangerous redirects: This malware may also redirect its victims to dangerous websites, including phishing sites.  
• More ads than normal: If you find you’re suddenly bombarded with pop-up ads, it could be a sign of a Search Marquis infection.  
• System slowdown: The presence of Search Marquis can affect the performance of your browser and macOS in general.

In other words, Search Marquis is bad news. And it doesn’t matter whether you use Safari or a third-party browser, like Chrome or Firefox. Search Marquis can affect them all, and it’s something you should fix ASAP.  

How to get rid of Search Marquis on Mac manually

When the Search Marquis gets on your Mac, it can affect your system in many different ways. As well as installing files in your Applications folder, it can install login items and more. If you know where to look, though, you can manually remove this virus from your Mac.  

Delete malicious applications

One of the first steps to deleting Search Marquis off your Mac is to delete it and any apps related to it. Here’s how:

1. Start by opening Activity Monitor from Applications > Utilities

2. Look through the list of active apps and processes

3. If you see anything that might be related to Search Marquis, select it, then click the X button

4. When prompted, select Force Quit

5. Now, look through your Applications folder for any apps that might be related to Search Marquis. Drag them to your Trash and empty it.

Although deleting apps like this is important, this measure alone is unlikely to be enough to remove Search Marquis, so now it’s time to proceed to the next step.

Remove unknown Login or Startup Items

If you have a Search Marquis infection, it may install login or startup items on your Mac. This means that when you turn off your computer and turn it back on again, these items can automatically restore themselves at launch.  

You can remove login items from your Mac’s System Settings:

1. In your menu bar, select Apple > System Settings

2. Select General, then Login Items

3. In the Open at Login section, select anything that shouldn't be there, and click the minus  (–) button to remove it.

Get rid of malware-related leftovers

When you uninstall apps from your Mac, often some files will get left behind. The same applies to Search Marquis—there are likely to be files you need to take off your machine to keep the virus from coming back.

Follow these steps to find and remove Search Marquis leftovers:

1. In Finder, select Go > Go to Folder from the menu bar

2. Type ~/Library/LaunchAgents, and press Return

3. Look for anything with ‘search marquis’ in its name, then delete it

4. Repeat these steps for the following locations:

• /Library/LaunchDaemons
• /Library/Application Support
• ~/Library/Application Support.

Clean up malicious profile configurations

To strengthen its control over your Mac, Search Marquis may create a configuration profile in your settings. You’ll need to get rid of it to block the virus.  

1. In System Settings, select Privacy & Security

2. Scroll down, and click Profiles

3. If you see anything that shouldn’t be there, select it, and click the minus (–) button.

Remove suspicious extensions in browsers

Browser extensions can add all kinds of wonderful features, but viruses can also use this functionality to take over your browser or spy on you.  

Follow these steps to turn off and remove unwanted add-ons from Safari:

1. In Safari, select Safari > Settings from the menu bar

2. In the Extensions section, select an add-on you want to remove, and click Uninstall

3. In the prompt that pops up, click Show in Finder

4. Now drag the extension to your Trash and empty it.

Delete Chrome extensions like this:

1. In Chrome, select Chrome > Settings from the menu bar

2. Select Extensions from the side menu

3. Find the add-on you want to take out of the equation, and click its Remove button

4. In the pop-up, click Remove.  

Follow these steps to remove extensions from Firefox:

1. From the Firefox menu bar, select Tools > Add-ons and themes

2. Find the add-on you want to delete, and click the three dots. Then select Remove

3. Confirm that you want to remove the add-on by clicking Remove.

If you’re using a different browser, the process of removing add-ons is likely to be similar to one of the ones we’ve looked at here. Check your browser’s website for more information.  

Fix website redirection settings in browsers

Finally, to get your Mac clear of Search Marquis, you should fix redirection by removing browser data or resetting the search engine.  

To fix redirection in Safari, do this:

1. Select Safari > Settings from the Safari menu bar

2. Select Privacy, and click Manage Website Data

3. Click Remove All.  

Reset redirection in Chrome like this:

1. Select Chrome > Settings from the menu bar

2. Open the Search engine section

3. Use the drop-down menu to choose a search engine

4. Now, click Manage search engines and site search

5. In the Search engines, use the three dots next to a search engine and click Delete.

You can reset your Firefox redirect settings like this:

1. Select Firefox > Settings from the Firefox menu bar

2. Open the Search section

3. Under Default Search Engine, use the drop-down to select a search engine.

Keep your browser under your control

By following the steps in this guide, you can get this annoying virus off your Mac. But if you want your Apple machine to remain protected, you should aim to block Search Marquis from your Mac permanently.

As well as being careful about software bundles and file sharing sites, you can protect your browser and your Mac with MacKeeper. Its StopAd feature will prevent unwanted pop-ups, malicious ads, online trackers, and other nasties watching or bothering you. If you need to remove a Bing virus from your Mac—or any malware, for that matter—it has everything you need.  

Combine MacKeeper with good basic cybersecurity practices, and you can keep Search Marquis from returning to haunt you.