How can I make sure every link I click will open in Safari?

Avira and CleanMyMac both should be removed in my opinion. Feel free to click the search tab on the top of this screen and enter either of those app names into there and you will see the problems users have experienced.

The first step to removing either of these apps is to use any provided uninstaller. You may find that even with the uninstaller, the apps do not want you to fully remove their software. Follow up using EtreCheck to verify there are not files that are sill being launched in your LaunchAgents and LaunchDaemons folders.

This may help with Avira:

https://support.avira.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000982665-How-do-I-uninstall-leftover-files-relating-to-Avira-Antivirus-for-Mac-without-the-uninstaller

Were you able to run their uninstaller here:

https://support.avira.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000982665-How-do-I-uninstall-leftover-files-relating-to-Avira-Antivirus-for-Mac-without-the-uninstaller

1. Download the zip file
2. After it is downloaded, double click it and you will find the file named "Avira.Uninstall.command"
3. Double click that and you are met with a warning saying it cannot be opened.
4. Go to  > System Settings > Privacy & Security, and scroll down to the Security section and you should see the file name with an option to Open Anyway. Go ahead and click that.
5. It will Open the Terminal app and require your computer login password. Type it and press return (nothing is shown on the screen when you type the password)
6. Give it a couple of seconds to run and your will see a message that the process was completed.
7. Quit Terminal and check if any files remain.

If you still see Avira files, they are probably in on or more of the following locations. To get to these folders go to Finder > Go > Go to Folder, and paste each location there. Notice that one of them has a "~" in front. Start up in Safe Mode first, then delete any Avira file at these locations.

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

/Library/LaunchDaemons

~/Library/LaunchAgents

/Library/LaunchAgents

Restart again to exit Safe Mode. It should not be this difficult to delete any app, which is one of the reasons why both of these are not recommended and they intentionally make them hard to remove. If you would like assistance with the files located in the above folders, you can post the screenshots of those folders here. You can also post the EtreCheck report, using the Additional Text option when posting, if you wish. It does not contain any personal information.

First start up in Safe Mode

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

1. Then go to Finder > File > New Finder Window
2. Click the Magnifying Glass in the upper right and enter "Avira" then [Return]
3. Click the "+" in the upper right
4. Click "Kind" and change it to "System Files"
5. Click "aren't included" and change it to "are included"
6. Move Avira files to the trash
7. Restart Computer

Are you finding success in opening the links after restarting?

Have you tried starting up in Safe Mode to see if that makes a difference?

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

Assuming that there is not a problem with the link and the fact it happens on 2 different browsers, it could point to a third party process running on startup. The best way to view these files is by posting the free EtreCheck report using the Additional Text option when posting. Remove any AntiVirus, Cleaners, and VPN first.

Using EtreCheck - Apple Community

Your Mac will do that all on its own. Any third party cleaning apps only interfere with the Mac being able to operate efficiently. CleanMyMac removes cache files that are meant to speed up your computer by not requiring constant disk/web access. Removing these files will only result in your Mac running slower as they need to be rebuilt anytime they are needed. Your Mac will thank you for uninstalling that app.

CleanMyMac Opinion - Apple Community

CleanmyMac - Apple Community

Is it safe to use cleanmymac x? - Apple Community

cleanmymac - Apple Community

Here are the steps. You may need to print this instructions unless you have another device to follow along as you will not be able to view this page as you do each step:

• BOOT INTO RECOVERY MODE

Turn off your computer, then hold power button while starting up until Options button appears. Click the button and continue, you may be asked to choose your startup drive.

• DISABLE SIP by following these steps

In the menu bar of the Recovery Mode, choose Utilities > Terminal.

Enter the command "csrutil disable", without quotes followed by the Return key

Quit Terminal by going to Terminal > Quit

• RESTART

Go to Apple menu and choose Restart

• OPEN TERMINAL

In the Utilities Folder there is an app called Terminal. Double click to open it.

Enter the following command and hit return. (Make sure there is a space on each side of "-")

sudo systemextensionsctl uninstall - com.avira.scanservice.systemextension

Quit Terminal by going to Terminal > Quit

• BOOT INTO RECOVERY MODE

Turn off your computer, then hold power button while starting up until Options button appears. Click the button and continue, you may be asked to choose your startup drive.

• ENABLE SIP by following these steps

In the menu bar of the Recovery Mode, choose Utilities > Terminal.

Enter the command "csrutil enable" without quotes and then the Return key.

Quit Terminal by going to Terminal > Quit

• RESTART

Let me know if there is any trouble along the way.

I know the file is there as well. We are going to have to manually get the BundleID and TeamID. So replace the section in the previous instructions that starts with OPEN TERMINAL to this:

• OPEN TERMINAL

In the Utilities Folder there is an app called Terminal. Double click to open it.

Then type this long command that you will need to scroll to reveal the portion that does not fit in the width of the screen to get the TEAMID (make sure all spaces are in there and any capital 0 is a zero):

codesign -dvvv /Library/SystemExtensions/261A24D6-857A-4FD4-8188-C0FC1DFA66FB/com.avira.scanservice.systemextension 2>&1 | awk -F= '/^TeamIdentifier/ {print $NF}'

This will return the alphanumeric TEAMID that you will need in a later command.

Now we need to get the BUNDLEID by entering this long command (again scroll to see what is beyond the screen width and make sure to use spaces as they are shown):

codesign -dvvv /Library/SystemExtensions/261A24D6-857A-4FD4-8188-C0FC1DFA66FB/com.avira.scanservice.systemextension 2>&1 | awk -F= '/^Identifier/ {print $NF}'


Note what is returned here as this is the BUNDLEID and you will now enter this command using that TEAMID and the BUNDLEID. Enter this command substituting what you have for the TEAMID and BUNDLEID with the spaces in the appropriate place:

systemextensionsctl uninstall TEAMID BUNDLEID

Now proceed to the next section of the original instructions that start with:

• BOOT INTO RECOVERY MODE

For the files you are unable to delete, select it and go to File > Get Info. Post a screen shot (or just the Get Info window) of the files you cannot delete. It should look something like this, so the location is visible and also the Permissions on the bottom. The easiest way to do a screenshot of a window is to hold Shift-Command-4, and after releasing, the cursor will turn into a crosshair where you can then click and drag from the upper left corner to the lower right and release the button press. The file is usually saved on your Desktop or can be found in the Recent tab of the sidebar of a Finder window like seen it the screenshot of my previous post.

To quit the Terminal app, click Terminal in the Menu Bar and go down to Quit Terminal, then proceed to the next step. Restarting or shutting off your computer will quit Terminal automatically, but it is best practice to quit open programs first.

Did you receive any errors when entering the Terminal commands that are in bold in the instructions?

It should just take a couple of seconds to run each command.

You can post those screenshots for the files you are unable to delete in normal mode to help identify where they are stored. Once that is done, it may still be necessary to use Safe Mode to delete them as some of the files won't let you delete them when they are running and starting in Safe Mode prevents them from running.

I am pretty sure you will need to be in Safe Mode to remove this file (you can try without). After that go to Finder > Go > Go to Folder, and copy/paste this location into the text box:

/Library/SystemExtensions

You should then see the folder/file that starts with 261A24D6-857A-4F...

Drag this to the trash.

heather0kay wrote:

Thanks. How do I keep my mac running quick & smoothly without clean my mac?

The MacOS software does a pretty good job of keeping everything working, without needing external tools. After 3.5 years this MacBook Air (M1, 2020) is still running pure Apple software and has no problems to need cleaning.

That usually only comes up when the command has not yet finished running after you have entered it. Give it a good 15 seconds and note if anything shows up under the command after you have typed in and hit the Return key. Usually you will get some confirmation with the command prompt showing again after you enter the command or a message that says "[Process Complete]".

Is this when doing the csrutil disable command?