According to Malwarebytes, 2017 saw a 230% spike in malware activity within Mac ecosystem. The notable examples include Proton Remote Access Trojan and KeRanger virus. But whatever is that ends with “-ware” on your Mac — ransomware, adware, malware, or scareware — we’ll share a couple of methods to delete it. So, welcome to our Mac Malware Removal Guide.

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Mac malware: The symptoms

Oftentimes a malware app would trick you into believing it’s perfectly harmless. Such apps are known to disguise themselves as antiviruses, extractors or video players. But how to check your Mac for viruses? Here are some of the tell-tale signs:

• A sudden drop in Mac’s performance or frequent freeze-ups.
• Pages that you visit get obscured with ads.
• Unexpected Mac reboots or apps starting for no reason.
• Your browser installs suspicious updates automatically.

Adware Removal Guide. Published November 7th, 2013 at 3:36 PM EDT, modified July 15th, 2015 at 7:41 PM EDT. Adware has been a plague on the Windows world for years. Unfortunately, this plague has begun to spread to the Mac as well. How to Remove Adware Manually - Removing Adware on a Mac Block pop-up windows in your browser. Check your browser settings for rogue search engines and extensions. Download Apple Support article HT203987 as a PDF. Use the 'Go to Folder' method to locate adware. See if other known Adware is. Malwarebytes is one of the best free malware removal tool for Windows, Mac, and Android. The tool is famous for its great anti-malware work and I think no one can beat this tool. Malwarebytes offers both Free and Paid services for their users.

How to remove a virus from Mac

Just as with any disease, to doctor a virus you need to remove the infected part of your software — as simple as that.

Remove malware from Mac manually

If you know which app on your Mac is malicious, you’re half-way through the problem. First of all, you need to close the app and then root it out from the system processes.

1. Open Activity Monitor (type its name in the Launchpad).
2. Locate the problematic app in the Processes.
3. Use [x] button to quit the process

Now go back to your Applications and move the app to the Trash bin. Immediately empty the Trash.

This method is simple, but for the best malware removal results, you’d have to invest a bit more time. There are still parts and pieces of the virus app scattered around your system folders. It’s a bit like killing a dragon that re-grows its head after you’ve chopped it off. To remove malware from your Mac completely, it’s better to use a powerful uninstaller.

Get rid of malware using CleanMyMac X

CleanMyMac X has a 10-year reputation of guarding Macs around the world. The app will scan your Mac for any vulnerabilities and offer immediate removal if it finds something suspicious. CleanMyMac detects thousands of malware threats, including viruses, adware, spyware, ransomware, cryptocurrency miners, and more. The app’s database is regularly updated to keep all those “-wares” away from your Mac.

Here’s how to remove malware from your Mac:

1. Download CleanMyMac X — it’s free to download.
2. Click Malware Removal tab.
3. Click Scan.
4. Click Remove.
5. Done!

How to remove Mac Adware cleaner

Ironically, the app called “Mac Adware cleaner” maybe itself be the very source of annoying adware on your Mac — the classic case of a wolf in a sheep’s skin. To remove it, you can use CleanMyMac (which is a legit app that has a 4.5-star rating from MacWorld magazine). Additionally, you can browse through your Login Items list to stop any dubious apps from auto-launching. Below is how to do it.

Remove Mac malware from your Login Items

Most adware or spyware will try to sneak inside the bootup process. Good news, you don’t have to be Kaspersky to prevent this.

1. Go to the Apple menu > System Preferences
2. Choose Users & Groups section
3. Make sure if your username is highlighted
4. Open Login Items tab

Now use the “—” sign to disable all the suspicious apps (like Mac Defenders) that you’ll find. Restart your Mac for the changes to take place.

How to get rid of pop-up ads on Mac

Advertising pop-ups are browser-related, so whatever browser you are using, be prepared for a thorough cleanup. First off, don’t buy into whatever the ad is telling you. Some scary alerts would mention 343 viruses found on your Mac forcing you to immediately install a “Mac Defender” or “Mac Security” tool. Just ignore it and don’t click anywhere on the pop-up. Use [x] button and if it doesn’t close the ad, Ctrl + click the browser icon to quit the browser completely.

With Music open, open Photos again, then select your slideshow.

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How to block pop-up ads in Safari

1. Open Safari preferences (in the top menu)
2. Go to the Security tab
3. Tick “Block pop-up windows”

How to get rid of pop-ups in Chrome

1. Open Chrome Settings (a three-dot icon)
2. Click Advanced
3. Go to Privacy and security > Content setting
4. Locate the Popups tab and block them from appearing

Additionally, make sure your browser’s homepage is set to standard Google page or other trusted source.

Clean up extensions to remove adware from Mac

Apple lists several browser extensions as potentially malicious. The list includes:

Amazon Shopping Assistant by Spigot Inc.
Slick Savings by Spigot Inc.
FlashMall
Cinema-Plus

This is just to give you an idea how different these adware extensions could be. But if you’re looking how to remove malware from Mac Safari browser, follow this path.

Remove extensions in Safari

1. Go to Safari Preferences
2. Choose the Extensions tab
3. Select an extension and click Uninstall

Disable browser extensions in Chrome

And here’s how to remove malware from Mac Chrome. Open Chrome and click Window in the top menu. In the bottom of the list choose Extensions. This opens up the list of all your installed extensions. Now use a trash bin icon to remove the ones you suspect are adware viruses. Right after that, your Chrome experience should get much less distracting.

Just to be doubly sure, we recommend you to remove all the extensions you'll find. Later you can re-install each one separately.

Launch Agents and Daemons: Where else to look

So far we’ve covered browser Extensions, Applications, and Login Items trying to remove malware from your Mac. But these are not the only locations where malicious agents may be hiding. Another type of system services that could be affected by malware are the so-called Launch Agents and Daemons — yes, the name does derive from the word demon. These are small helper programs that stealthily run in the background, like software updaters or automatic backups.

While Launch Agents and Daemons are two different entities, both can be infiltrated by malware. As it often happens, trojan apps would place their executable files within the Launch Agents folder. The result — the virus app launches automatically and potentially harms or steals your data.

How to remove daemons and agents from the Mac’s startup

1. Click Finder
2. Choose Go > Go to Folder
3. Type in: /Library/LaunchDaemons

For Launch Agents, repeat the steps above, but this time search in 2 more locations:

Online backup for mac. /Library/LaunchAgents
~/Library/LaunchAgents

Inside you’ll find a bunch of PLIST files and if some of them look suspicious to you, delete them. Sure, the names of these files may not be very telling, but if you already know the problematic app that you are after, knowing this folder may help you fully extinguish it.

Don’t forget to reboot your Mac — until you do, all these files are still in memory.

One more way to remove daemons, agents, and plug-ins

If the manual path described here sounds too complicated, you can again be rescued by CleanMyMac X. This app has a special tool to remove malware Launch Agents.

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1. Download CleanMyMac X (it’s free to download).
2. Install the app.
3. Click Optimization tab > Launch Agents
4. Click Perform.

By the way this app has a real-time anti-malware monitor. It monitors for any problematic apps that try to get into your Launch Agents. If it finds such, it will notify you and offer to remove the intruder.

If all else fails

Below a few more ideas to help you remove malware from Mac.

• Switch to a different user account and do a full system cleanup.
• Restore your Mac using Time Machine (to the point before it got infected).
• Update all your software , including the macOS.

OK, looks we’ve covered how to remove malware from Mac including both manual and software solutions. Hope your Mac stays virus-free and may you never click on those scary Mac alerts again.

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Published November 7th, 2013 at 3:36 PM EST , modified July 15th, 2015 at 7:41 PM EST

Adware has been a plague on the Windows world for years. Unfortunately, this plague has begun to spread to the Mac as well. There are a number of different programs out there that serve no useful purpose except to shove ads in your face, all just to make money for the developer of the adware. Because it lives in the borderline between malware and legit software, though, detection by anti-virus software can be very hit-or-miss. This can make removal difficult.

Where does it come from?

Adware often comes packaged in installers for other software. Most often, this is because something was downloaded illegally from a torrent or piracy site. Sometimes it is because it has been added to a legit piece of software by an unscrupulous download site. (Even well-known download sites, such as Download.com and Softonic, have resorted to this kind of unethical behavior, and should never be used.) Other times it is because a developer has opted to use an adware-riddled installer, provided with incentives from the adware creator, to distribute their software. It could even be installed through deceit, by pretending to be something that it is not in order to trick the user into installing it. (This last type is usually the only type that is detected as malware by anti-virus software.)

What are the symptoms?

The most typical symptom of such adware is the display of advertisements on your Mac where none should exist. Adware also will often change your browser’s home page and search engine settings, and may even cause redirects from legit sites to sites constructed for the financial benefit of the adware developer. It can also cause secondary problems, such as web pages displaying incorrectly (due to insertion of foreign HTML code) or browser crashes.

However, problems with unwanted ads in the web browser are not necessarily caused by adware on your computer. They could also be caused by a compromised network or a problem with the site itself.

Before removing

Before you do anything to remove adware, you should back up your computer. There is some risk any time you try removing software like adware, and the risk is larger if you choose to try removing the adware manually if directions aren’t followed precisely. If you don’t already have your computer backed up, go buy yourself an external hard drive around 2 (or more) times larger than the used disk space on your computer’s hard drive, and use Time Machine to back up your computer to that hard drive.

Step 1: Scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac

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Download and run Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac. (MBAM for Mac requires Mac OS X 10.7 or later. If you are using Mac OS X 10.6.8 or older, you will need to follow the manual instructions. See step 1b below.)

MBAM for Mac will scan your system and help you remove any known adware automatically. Be sure to pay attention to any prompts, as you may need to decide whether or not to delete certain preference files, or may need to restart the computer and then do another scan. Read the prompts carefully, and be sure you understand and follow all instructions.

Step 1b: Manual Removal

If you are willing and able to run Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac, there is no reason to try manual removal.

However, if you simply prefer to do things manually, or if you’re using a version of Mac OS X that MBAM for Mac doesn’t support, then you can try the manual removal instructions instead. If you opt for manual removal, be sure to follow the directions very carefully! Be aware that, for some adware, there is some risk involved with manual removal if you accidentally delete the wrong thing or don’t follow the instructions carefully. Some adware can cause your system to crash and be unable to start back up if the instructions aren’t followed carefully!

Step 2: Check for other causes

If you don’t find any signs of adware, your problems may not actually be caused by adware at all. You may be on a compromised network, or an ad-supported wifi network. You may also be looking at a site that has been hacked, or even just an ordinary bad site.

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Step 3: Report new adware

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If you have followed the instructions in the first two steps carefully, but you found no adware in step 1 and the tests in step 2 indicate that the problem is due to adware, you can contact Malwarebytes support by opening Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac and choosing Contact Support from the Help menu. You’ll be asked to fill in your name and a description of the problem (please be as complete and clear as possible!), and then you can send the report, which will include some basic information about your system, to Malwarebytes via e-mail.