1. How To Remove Advanced Mac Cleaner
  2. Advanced Mac Cleaner Manual Removal Machine
  3. Is Advanced Mac Cleaner An Apple Product
  4. Advanced Mac Cleaner Manual Removal Tool
  5. How To Remove Advanced Mac Cleaner Virus
  6. What Is Advanced Mac Cleaner

Macworld reader Michael Downend is having difficulty ridding his Mac of a utility he no longer desires. He writes:

How do I get rid of MacKeeper?

I won’t go into why you’d want to, but we get this question frequently. It’s definitely worth going into detail about how to remove MacKeeper completely from your Mac. Versions of MacKeeper made in the last couple of years are actually pretty easy to uninstall, but the process isn’t entirely straightforward.

Remove MacKeeper from the Mac menu bar

If you click on the MacKeeper menu in the Mac’s menu bar you won’t find a Quit command, which might lead you to believe that it can’t be quit. Force-quitting doesn’t seem to work either.

Advanced Mac Cleaner – is a MacOS scam promoted as a useful program that improves the performance of your computer; 2019 update: Advanced Mac Cleaner is promoted via sweeps5164.yourmonday97.live and similar fake sites. How to remove Advanced Mac Cleaner Virus removal guide 2018 To remove Advanced Mac Cleaner, execute the following steps: How can you prevent. Manual Advanced Mac Cleaner potentially unwanted program removal. Run free malware removal tools to completely delete Advanced Mac Cleaner. A little more searching about Mac Tonic brought up web pages about how to delete it as well as links to third-party software that would also do the trick. In addition, a search of malwarebytes.com included a forum post from a user who reported 'I had Advanced Mac Cleaner on my research VM. It showed update and downloaded Mac Auto Fixer.'

To remove the MacKeeper icon from the menu bar:

  1. Launch the MacKeeper app in the Applications folder.
  2. Click on the MacKeeper menu and then select Preferences.
  3. Click on the General tab.
  4. Uncheck the box for Show MacKeeper icon in menu bar.

Now you can quit MacKeeper. If this is your first time running it, no, you don’t have to activate MacKeeper or sign on for any of its services. Just choose Quit from the MacKeeper application menu or press Command-Q.

How to uninstall MacKeeper

  1. Go to the Applications folder on your Mac.
  2. Drag the MacKeeper app to the Trash.
  3. You may be prompted for your administrator’s password. Enter it, click OK, and the MacKeeper app will move to the Trash.
  4. Another pop-up will appear that is very similar to the previous one. It asks if you are sure you want to uninstall MacKeeper. Enter your password and click OK.

How To Remove Advanced Mac Cleaner

Optional MacKeeper ‘Sad to see you go’ survey

After you uninstall MacKeeper, Safari will launch a page from mackeeper.com. It’s a survey, asking why you uninstalled the software. You don’t have to fill it out. You can quit Safari and ignore it.

How to remove the remaining MacKeeper bits

Not all of the MacKeeper software bits are removed. Crumbs might remain.

A MacKeeper Backups folder isn’t removed. You can find it in your Home folder (In the Finder, click on Go > Home or press Shift-Command-H.) You can toss this folder into the Trash.

There are a few other places you might want to check to make sure any remaining bits are removed. The most recent version of MacKeeper (3.20.8) as of this writing did get all of these on the uninstall, but it’s still smart to double-check.

The following may be found in you Mac’s Library folder. To access this Library folder, hold down the Option key and, in the Finder, choose Go > Library. You can toss these files in the Trash if you find them.

  • ~/Library/Application Support/MacKeeper Helper. Inside this MacKeeper Helper folder is a NoticeEngine.plugin file. Go ahead and toss the MacKeeper Helper folder and this file will disappear right along with it.
  • ~/Library/Caches/com.mackeeper.MacKeeper
  • ~/Library/Caches/com.mackeeper.MacKeeper.Helper
  • ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.mackeeper.MacKeeper.Helper.plist
  • ~/Library/Application Support/MacKeeper Helper
  • ~/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.mackeeper.MacKeeper.plugin.AntiTheft.daemon.plist

Now just empty the Trash and vow to stay far, far away from MacKeeper forever and ever.

Pop go the pop-ups

If you downloaded MacKeeper “legitimately” (as in, from MacKeeper.com), it’s possible you aren’t seeing a ton of pop-up and pop-under ads in your browser. But if you happened to pick up MacKeeper from downloading software through a third-party clearinghouse, your browsers may be infected by insidious ads that harass you to install MacKeeper and basically won’t let you do anything else. It’s the worst. But you can make it go away.

Stop pop-ups in Safari

First, quit Safari. Even this might be harder than just pressing Command-Q. If a bunch of pop-ups keep appearing that don’t go away when you click OK or Cancel, you’ll have to force-quit Safari by pressing Command-Option-Escape, choosing Safari in the list, and clicking Force Quit. Now if you relaunch Safari the normal way, those pop-ups will come right back, so instead, launch it while holding down Shift to prevent the last session’s windows from reloading.

Now look for extensions and cookies MacKeeper has stashed on your system. In Safari, go to Safari > Preferences > Extensions, and remove anything you don’t remember installing. (If you’re using macOS Sierra and you go to the Extension tab in Safari, you may see a message that says, “Extensions can be enabled in the Develop menu.” Click on the Advanced tab and then check the box for “Show Develop menu in menu bar.” Then go back to the Extensions tab.)

Next, pop over the Privacy tab, and either click Manage Website Data and search for MacKeeper to remove just MacKeeper’s cache and cookies.

Advanced Mac Cleaner Manual Removal

Stop pop-ups in Chrome

In Chrome, go to Window > Extensions. You’ll see a listing of the extensions you have installed. If you see extensions you didn’t install and want to remove, click on the Remove button for that extension.

In the Settings menu, click Advanced, then click . Look for Clear browsing data at the bottom of the Privacy and security section. Click it, and a Clear browsing data pop-up window appears. For Time range, click it and select All time. Click the Clear Data button.

Use a utility to clean you Mac

If that doesn’t get it all, try Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac, which is AdwareMedic utility that scans your Mac for known adware. Run a scan and check the boxes by anything you want to delete. It’ll find the MacKeeper app and all its various parts wherever they are on your system.

Did that fix it for you? MacKeeper can be tricky to fully eradicate if you have an older version, perhaps one that was bundled with something you did want to install, since the parent company used to have a generous affiliate program that incentivized sites to shove it at you whether you wanted it or not. If you are still having problems, read How to remove MacKeeper Part II (the pop-up edition).

Editor’s note: Updated May 14, 2018. This is article originally published on December 19, 2014.

Have a question of your own? Drop a line to mac911@macworld.com.

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.

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.

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.

QUICK TIP:
Do a quick search for virus-infected .DMG files within your Downloads. The potential culprits could be recently downloaded files, especially media-related ones. Delete them and empty the Trash bin.

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.

QUICK TIP: Hold the Shift key when starting a new Safari session. This way all your previous tabs (including the ad pop-up) will not be reopened.

Advanced Mac Cleaner Manual Removal Machine

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.

Is Advanced Mac Cleaner An Apple Product

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.

Advanced Mac Cleaner Manual Removal Tool

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

If all else fails

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

How To Remove Advanced Mac Cleaner Virus

  • 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.

What Is Advanced Mac Cleaner

These might also interest you: