How to scan and remove malware on Mac

Remove suspicious Login Items

Most malware will try to enable itself automatically when you log in to your Mac.

1. Click the Apple icon on the menu bar, and then select System Preferences....

   

2. Select Users & Groups.

   

3. Make sure your username is highlighted. Click on the Login Items tab.
4. Choose any recently-added unfamiliar applications, and then click the minus (-) button to disable all the suspicious apps.

   

5. Restart your Mac for the changes to take effect.

   You may need to bookmark this page before you restart your Mac.

Remove malicious profiles

Some malware will install a malicious configuration profile that is forced onto the home page of your browser.

Profiles will not be visible until you have at least one profile installed. If there is none, you may skip this step.

1. Click the Apple icon on the menu bar, and then select System Preferences....

   

2. Select Profiles.

   

3. Check if there is a profile named AdminPrefs or other profiles you know you did not set up on your Mac. Click on the profile, and then click on the minus button to delete the profile.

   

Stop potentially unwanted processes running on your Mac

Some malware runs process without your knowledge. They may slow your Mac or use up your memory so thay can run backend.

1. From the menu bar, click Go and then select Utilities. From the Utilities folder, open the Activity Monitor.

   

   If the Go option is unavailable, either click on your desktop screen or the Finder icon.

2. Look for suspicious processes you are unfamiliar with.
3. Double-click on the process. On the new window that will appear, click Quit, and then click Force Quit on the confirmation message to stop the process.

   

Remove potentially unwanted applications from your Applications folder

Some third-party programs you install may additionally install other apps that they also make.

1. From the menu bar, click Go, and then select Applications.

   

2. Look for any recently added suspicious applications, and then drag them to the Trash .

Remove malicious extensions on your browser

Remove toolbars or add-ons on your browser that you did not intentionally install.

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Remove malicious extensions in Safari

1. Open Safari.
2. On the menu bar near the Apple Logo, click Safari, and then select Preferences.... The Preferences window for Safari will appear.

   

3. Click the Extensions icon, and then uninstall any recently added suspicious extensions you want to remove.

   

Remove malicious extensions in Google Chrome

1. Open Google Chrome.
2. On the upper-right corner of the browser, click the menu icon, and then select More Tools > Extensions. A new tab for Chrome's Extensions will open.

   

3. Look for any recently added suspicious extensions you want to remove, and then click Remove.

   

Remove malicious extensions in Mozilla Firefox

1. Open Mozilla Firefox.
2. On the upper-right corner of the browser, click the menu icon, and then select Add-Ons. A new tab for Firefox's add-ons will appear.

   

3. Click on the Extensions tab. Look for any recently added suspicious add-ons you want to remove, and then click the Remove.

   

Remove related files and folders

Manually delete any recently added suspicious files:

1. From the menu bar, click Go and select Go to Folder....

   

2. One at a time, type the following locations below then click Go. Look for any recently added suspicious files in these locations.

   

   • ~/Library/ApplicationSupport
   • ~/Library/Caches
   • ~/Library/containers
   • ~/Library/LaunchAgents
   • ~/Library/Logs
   • ~/Library/Preferences
   • ~/Library/Webkit
   • /Library/ApplicationSupport
   • /Library/Caches
   • /Library/Frameworks
   • /Library/LaunchAgents
   • /Library/LaunchDaemons
   • /Library/Preferences
   • /Library/Logs
   • /Library/Webkit
3. Delete recently added suspicious files you want to delete by dragging and dropping them to the Trash .

Restart your Mac

After completing the above steps, empty your Trash, and then restart your Mac.

Resetting Browser settings

There are some instances where malware applies system changes to your Mac. If the issue on your browser persists:

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Reset Browser Settings in Safari

1. Change the Homepage setting.
   1. Open Safari.
   2. On the menu bar near the Apple Logo, click Safari, and then select Preferences.... The Preferences window for Safari will appear.

      

   3. Click on the General tab, and then change the Homepage field to your preferred website that will open when you launch Safari.

      

2. Change the default search engine.
   1. Click on the Search tab, and then choose your preferred Internet Search engine (Google for example).

      

3. Clear cache data.
   1. Click on the Privacy tab, and then click Manage Website Data.... A new window will appear.

      

   2. Click Remove All.

      

   3. Click Remove Now to confirm.

      

   4. Click on the Advanced tab, and then check the box for Show Develop menu in menu bar. The Develop option will now be available in the menu bar.

      

   5. Click on Develop from the menu bar, and then select Emtpy Caches.

      

Reset Browser Settings in Google Chrome

1. Reset browser settings.

   Note that this will reset your browser's startup page, new tab page, search engine, and pinned tabs. This will also disable all extensions and clear temporary data like cookies. Your bookmarks, history, and saved passwords will not be cleared.

   1. Open Google Chrome.
   2. On the menu bar near the Apple Logo, click Chrome, and then select Preferences.... A new tab for Chrome settings will open.

      

   3. Scroll down to the bottom, and click on Advanced.

      

   4. Scroll down further to Reset Settings, and then click on Restore settings to their original defaults. Click Reset settings on the confirmation window to proceed.

      

2. Change the Homepage setting.
   1. Scroll to the On startup section, and then select what page will open when you launch your Google Chrome browser.

      

3. Change your default search engine.
   1. Scroll to the Search engine section, and then select your preferred search engine (Google for example).

      

4. Clear cache data.
   1. On the upper-right corner of the browser, click the menu icon, and then select More Tools > Clear Browsing Data.... A new tab for Chrome Settings will open.

      

   2. Select the time range of data you want to clear.

      

   3. Tick only the option for Cookies and other site data, and then click Clear data.

      

Reset Browser Settings in Mozilla Firefox

1. Refresh your browser.

   Note that refreshing the browser will remove your add-ons and customizations, and restore the browser settings to their default.

   1. Open Firefox.
   2. On the upper-right corner of your browser, click the menu icon, select Help, and then select Troubleshooting Information.

      

   3. Under Give Firefox a tune up, click Refresh Firefox.... On the confirmation box, click Refresh Firefox.

      

      

2. Change the Homepage setting.
   1. On the menu bar near the Apple Logo, click Firefox, and then select Preferences. The Preferences window for Firefox will appear.

      

   2. Click Home, and then change the settings under New Windows and Tabs to your preferred page that will open when you launch Firefox.

      

3. Change the default search engine.
   1. Click Search, and then under Default Search Engine and One-click Search Engines, choose your preferred search engine (Google for example). Also remove malicious or suspicious search sites.

      

4. Clear cache data.
   1. Select Privacy & Security, and then scroll down until you see Cookies and Site Data.

      

   2. Tick both Cookies and Site Data and Cached Web Content, and then click Clear. A confirmation box will appear.

      

   3. Click Clear Now to proceed.

      

Antivirus One is one of the best Mac malware scanner and remover currently on the Apple Store. It checks malware on your Mac thoroughly and provides information what viruses or other threats it has detected.

To get rid of malware on your Mac using Antivirus One:

1. Open your Antivirus One. On the upper-right corner of your screen, near the sound controls and the system clock, click the Antivirus One icon on the Menu bar.

   

2. Click the Smart Scan button.

   

You can also choose any of the three scan options available:

Click the Scan tab, then click the type of scan you want to run.

• Full Scan

  Select this option to scan all the files on your macOS device. This generally take longer than other types of scans but it checks every file on your Mac thoroughly.

• Quick Scan

  Select this option if you only want to check the files that are most likely to contain malicious software. This scan is quicker than the Full Scan and will generally detect the same malware.

• Custom Scan

  Select this option if you want to check specific files or contents of folders on your Mac.