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.

• Best Adware Remover For Mac
• Free Mac Adware Cleaner
• Adware Cleaner For Windows 10

Mac Adware Cleaner is a nasty computer infection detected as adware. This unwanted computer infection can easily alter your Windows computer and get added to your main browser. This perilous threat is created to show sponsored advertisements on infected PC to boost the traffic of its partner websites. Adware Cleaner™ makes it easy to remove all adware and restore your web browser back to normal with 1-click. Our proprietary algorithm makes this a painless and quick process, allowing you to scan all the critical locations that adware can hide.

Mac malware: The symptoms

1. This could be the work of adware (and its friends), a sneaky variant of malware that is hard to find, and harder to remove. Malwarebytes AdwCleaner employs innovative technology engineered solely to detect and remove these unwanted hitchhikers. It’s the cleaner of choice for home users and technicians.
2. IdeaShared is an ad-supported program that claims to enhance the surfing of mac users. But it fails to do so and loads up plenty of ads, banners, sponsored. Home » How To Remove IdeaShared Adware From Mac.

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:

Related to Advanced Mac Cleaner, Mac Adware Cleaner is a rogue application that supposedly enhances system performance by cleaning junk files, removing potentially malicious apps, and enabling other similar functions. Judging on appearance alone, Mac Adware Cleaner may seem legitimate, however, it is categorized as a potentially unwanted program (PUP) - it often infiltrates systems without consent and gives no real value for regular users.

• 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.

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.

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

Best Adware Remover For Mac

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

You need to run the extract command again over the 2.hfs file, $ 7z x file.dmg -oOUTFOLDER$ cd OUTFOLDER$ 7z x 2.hfs7-Zip 64 9.20 Copyright (c) 1999-2010 Igor Pavlov 2010-11-18p7zip Version 9.20 (locale=enUS.utf8,Utf16=on,HugeFiles=on,4 CPUs)Processing archive: 2.hfsExtracting WinZipExtracting WinZip/.backgroundExtracting WinZip/.DSStoreExtracting WinZip/.HFS+ Private Directory DataExtracting WinZip/.TrashesExtracting WinZip/ApplicationsExtracting WinZip/WinZip.appExtracting WinZip/Extracting WinZip/.background/backgroundImage.tiff. How do do the 'extract to' method via the command line? I have a dmg 'winzipmacedition40.dmg'. Result 1Using right click file - 7-Zip - Extract to 'winzipmacedition40/'Result 2Using the command line: C:Tes 7z x winzipmacedition40.dmg -owinziptes7-Zip 9.13 beta Copyright (c) 1999-2010 Igor Pavlov 2010-04-15Processing archive: winzipmacedition40.dmgExtracting 0.ddmExtracting 1.ApplepartitionmapExtracting 2.hfsEverything is OkFiles: 3Size: 38797312Compressed: 11842778How do I get the same result from the command line as the GUI interface? I'm trying to extract dmg from Windows 7.

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:

/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.

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.

These might also interest you:

What is an Adware?

Adware is considered as an unwanted piece of code whose major purpose is to display unauthorized advertisements on your screen, that is most often a browser screen.

How Does Adware Get on Your Mac?

Many times, while browsing a site or while installing any software, Adware’s masks themselves as a part of a legitimate software and gets installed on your Mac in the background. This majorly happens because most software’s installed by the user do not convey any information about the silent installation of alternative software that may be infectious.

What Happens When an Adware Gets Installed on Your Mac?

If an Adware manages to enter your Mac machine, your system may be a victim of the following changes:

• Unwanted adds on your Mac and installed Browsers.
• Abnormal functioning of the browsers.
• Redirection to unwanted sites.
• Change in the browser’s homepage.
• Unwanted installation of third-party products.

How Can You Remove Adware From Mac?

Free Mac Adware Cleaner

Adware installation leads to abnormal functioning of any Mac machine. Once any user experiences the above-mentioned points on their Macs, it becomes evident that their machines are infected by adware.

There are ample ways using which a user can remove adware from Mac, some of which are mentioned below:

• Closing and blocking all types of pop up ads.
• Customize search engine settings to avoid illegitimate software’s getting installed.
• Checking for extensions and removing the unwanted ones.
• Installing Adware Cleaner Apps for Mac.

Best Adware Remover for Mac:

While adware infections can be manually removed from Mac machines, there are many software’s available in the market that can do the job for you. Continue reading the article to get a brief about the best adware removal tools for Mac.

1. Systweak Anti-Malware for Mac

Systweak Anti-Malware for Mac tops the category of adware cleaner for Mac. Protecting Mac machines nowadays as important as protecting Windows. Since Mac systems are no more secure from the deadliest infections, pop up ads can shut down your machines within seconds and can steal important information from your machines.

Systweak Anti-Malware for Mac comes with an advanced engine capable enough to detect and remove the most heinous malware infections like adware, spyware, trojans etc.

This adware cleaner for Mac is power-packed with the below mentioned features:

Adware Cleaner For Windows 10

• Regular database updates to keep your machine free from the latest malware and adware infections.
• One-click scan to detect malware infection like spyware, adware etc.
• Scans browser plug-ins and extensions for any infections.
• Easy scanning for applications that launch or run in the background at the system startup.
• Easy scheduling of scans as per ease.
• Log reports that can easily be accessed in a detailed manner whenever required.
• Easy-to-use interface.
• Compatible with Mac OS X 10.9 or later.
• Advanced Scan engines to scan and detect the latest malware and adware infections.
• Can be installed easily.

One more reason that Systweak Anti-Malware can be considered as the best adware remover for Mac, since it gives users the liberty to perform scan as per their requirement. Its effective scan engine is categorized into three scans namely Quick Scan, Deep Scan and Startup Scan that easily remove adware from Mac.

2. Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac

This is yet again an amazing adware cleaner for Mac. Equipped with some of the most advanced and detailed cybersecurity technologies it keeps Macs free from all kinds of malware and anti-virus infections. The extensive scan engine allows easy detection and removal of adware, spyware, malware etc.

Some of the most noted features of Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac are:

• Easy removal of pop up ads bombarding your Macs browser.
• Automatic updates to protect your Mac from dangerous infections including malware, adware and spyware infections.
• Automatic renewal to give you a never-ending safety.
• All-around ransomware protection.
• Time machine protection to revert your infected mac machine to the normal state.
• Prevent unauthorized pop-up ads being displayed on the browsers.
• Extensive and fast scan engines to detect and clean adware infections.
• Compatible with Mac OS X 10.9 or later.

With a database of over 500 million users, Bitdefender is undoubtedly one of the best software to remove adware from mac.

3. Avira Free Antivirus

Avira is not a name people don’t know. It has been in the tech world since years and has been saving computers and Macs from all kinds of infections. With its intuitive design and effective engine, it is amongst the most loved security tool to remove adware from Mac.

Its major features include:

• Easy installation and ease of access due to simplistic User Interface.
• One-click repair to make the most of this amazing utility.
• Provides all round online protection.
• Advanced technology and scan engine to scan and detect all kinds of online threats. These online threats range from adware, spyware, trojans etc.
• Activity Stream that displays all the important security information as well as the details about threats being blocked by the software.
• Automatic scheduling for all time protection.

Avira Free Antivirus is an amazing utility to remove all kinds of harmful threats and has an extensive database of users relying upon it.

Final Words

In order to safeguard Mac machines from all kind of online threats including malware, spyware, adware, trojans etc, it is important to use an effective utility that can do the job for you. We have tried to jot down three of the best adware remover for Mac, download and install one of these adware cleaners for Mac and keep your important information safe and stay away from annoying pop-up ads.