How to Remove Malware From Your Mac? Try These Easy Methods!
As per Malwarebytes, there was a 230% malware activity spike in the year 2019. The most common examples of malware in the Mac ecosystem include KeRanger and Proton Remote Access Trojan virus. If you suspect that your Mac system has Malware, we will show you the different ways in which you can remove malware effectively.
Symptoms of Malware Presence in your Mac System
There are some changes that you can observe in your Mac system, which can indicate the presence of malware. Some of these indications are given as follows.
- A sudden deterioration in the performance of your Mac.
- Constant freezing of your Mac system.
- Pages that you visit on your Mac system keep getting obscured by ads.
- Mac system unexpectedly starts rebooting.
- Random apps pop up without any reason.
- The Safari browser has started updating suspicious files randomly.
If any of the above signs seem similar to you, your Mac may be having malware.
How to Remove Malware From Mac
If you suspect that your Mac system may be infected with malware, you need to remove the infected part of the software as soon as possible. Here are the different ways in which you can do this.
Method 1 – Remove Malware From Mac Manually
If, in case you know the app or file which has malware, you are halfway through solving the problem. First, you will have to close the app or data which you feel has the malware and then root it out of the system processes. Here is how you can perform Mac malware removal manually, provided you know the app or file containing the malware.
Step 1: Key in “Activity Monitor” in the launchpad
Step 2: Scroll through the contents and locate the app, which is causing the problem
Step 3: Select the app and click on [x] icon on the screen
Step 4: Go to Trash Bin and remove the deleted app immediately
This method is relatively simple. However, if you do not know the app or file with malware or if you want to dig deeper, the method can get more complicated.
Method 2 – Using a Third-Party Tool to Remove Malware From Mac System
Even when you remove the malware-infected app in the above way, there may be parts of malware that may have been scattered throughout your Mac system. For eliminating the possibility of such malware parts causing problems in the performance of your Mac, you will have to use a powerful third-party tool. One such tool is CleanMyMac X, which has a great reputation for providing security to a number of Macs all over the world.
This tool performs a quick scan of your Mac system and removes any vulnerabilities that your system may have. This tool has the capability to delete several thousands of malware threats. Including adware, viruses, ransomware, spyware, cryptocurrency miners, among many others.
For free malware removal Mac using CleanMyMac X tool, follow the steps given below,
Step 1: Download the tool CleanMyMac X for free on your Mac system and launch it
Step 2: From the options available on the left, click on “Malware Removal”
Step 3: Click on “Scan” and the tool will scan your entire system for malware threats
Step 4: Once the suspicious files have been detected by the tool, it will be displayed on the screen
Step 5: You can review these files or apps and click on “Remove” to delete these files with malware
This is how easy it is to remove malware from your Mac system effectively with the help of CleanMyMac X.
Method 3 – Removing Malware From Login Items
Malware like spyware and adware sometimes sneak into the bootup process. You need not worry as you can remove this malware easily using the steps given below.
Step 1: From the “Apple Menu”, select “System Preferences”
Step 2: From here, click on “Users & Groups”
Step 3: Select and highlight your username on the left
Step 4: Open the tab with “Login Items”
Step 5: Check each of the items here and if you find anything suspicious, select it and click on “-” to remove it from your Mac system.
This way the items infected with malware can be deleted easily.
Method 4 – Blocking Adware on Mac System
You may see several ads popping up on your Mac system when you are trying to use the browser. Do not click on any of these ads as they can have malware. To avoid a situation where you accidentally click on any of these pop-up ads, you can permanently block them by following the steps given below.
For Safari Browser, go to “System Preferences”, click on “Security” and then tick the box in front of “Block pop-up windows”.
For Chrome Browser, go to “Chrome Settings”, click on “Advanced”, select “Privacy & Settings”, click on “Content Setting” and then locate the pop-up tab and block it.
Method 5 – Clearing Extensions for Removing Malware
If in case you have any of the below-listed browser extensions on your Mac system, remove them immediately.
- Slick Savings by Spigot Inc.
- Amazon Shopping Assistant by Spigot Inc.
- Cinema-Plus
- FlashMall
For both Chrome and Safari, you can find the option to delete these extensions from the main menu.
Method 6 – Removing Malware Infected Daemons and Agents From Startup
Daemons and Launch Agents are a type of system service that may be infiltrated with malware. These are the helper programs that run in the background. If you want to remove the Daemons and Launch Agents which are infected with malware, follow the steps given below.
Step 1: From “Finder”, click on “Go” and then on “Go to Folder”.
Step 2: Key in the following line,
/Library/LaunchDaemons
For Launch Agents, key in,
/Library/LaunchAgents
~/Library/LaunchAgents
Step 3: Here, you may find several PLIST files, and if in case you find any of those files suspicious, you can delete them.
Now, you can reboot your Mac system once you are done with this.
Conclusion
So if you ever suspect that the lag in the performance of your Mac may be due to malware attack, you can make use of the manual as well as the software methods which are described above. These can help you to remove malware from your Mac system effectively.
