MacKeeper/Zerobit Pop Up ad Problem

"I ran into the same problem that is seems many mac users have encountered, endless Mackeeper/zeobit pop-up windows, as well as a few pop-up windows advertising iTunes or amazon gift cards. After scouring forums and installing Glimmer Blocker and Ghostery with limited success I happened across directions for removing the mackeeper software. Although I never installed the Mackeeper app I perused my Library files for anything with 'zeobit' in the name anyway. Interestingly what I found were files with the 'vsearch' name that seem to have been causing the problem. Below is the list of files I removed and have had no problems since.

/Library/LaunchAgents/com.vsearch.agent.plist

/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.vsearch.helper.plist

/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.vsearch.daemon

/Library/Application Support/VSearch

/Library/Application Support/VSearch/Agent/VSearchAgent.app

/Library/Application Support/VSearch/DP.plist

/Library/Application Support/VSearch/Version.plist

Hope this helps anybody else that has experienced this annoyance."

Thank you...this solved the problem for me. Many thanks!!!!

Hayleyroo wrote:

"I ran into the same problem that is seems many mac users have encountered, endless Mackeeper/zeobit pop-up windows, as well as a few pop-up windows advertising iTunes or amazon gift cards.

Great, but I that's a slightly different issue than has been discussed far too long here. It isn't related specifically to MacKeeper, it's an adware infection called Downlite that is being experienced by more and more OS X users. There are several such things out there these days, most installed as part of a third party software download from C|Net's download.com, Softpedia or any number of Bittorrent sites. All currently known adware can be removed by running TheSafeMac's Adware Removal Tool.

I had 2 issues with my safari:

1. linked green words with double underlines everywhere

2. constant pop ups of mackeeper and torch

I googled as much as I could to get rid of the pop ups but I could not find an appropriate solution.

I then gave up and started googling on how to get rid of the green word problem. I found a solution below (in red) and not only did it fix the green words issue it also got rid of all the pop ups! 😉

DownLite is a program that pretends to be a torrent downloading app. This same adware has also been commonly seen under different names being downloaded by people looking for free video downloads online. These downloads are typically illegal movies and the like, downloaded from illegal sites like Pirate Bay. It should go without saying that any site offering any commercial offering (movies, software, etc) for free is illegal, and that such sites should be avoided. Unfortunately, that does seem to need saying, repeatedly. If you have been taking part in such activities, take this as a learning experience and stop doing so immediately!

Removal

Move the following items to the trash. Note that removing many of these files will require administrator access, so you will need to be sure you are logged in to an admin account on your Mac. If you are not, you will be unable to remove some of them. Also, some of these files may not be present in all variants of this adware. If you don’t know how to locate a file based on the path given below, you should read Locating files from paths.

/Library/Application Support/VSearch

/Library/LaunchAgents/com.vsearch.agent.plist

/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.vsearch.daemon.plist

/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.vsearch.helper.plist

/Library/LaunchDaemons/Jack.plist

/Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/Jack

/System/Library/Frameworks/VSearch.framework

After you have moved these items to the trash, restart the computer. After restarting, you can empty the trash.

Thanks, but that solution has already been posted here several times now.

I think I may have the solution. It may have installed an extension or something, but it doesn't show up in extensions. I just resolved my similar issue today. I never installed MacKeeper nor have I ever downloaded it.

What you're going to need to do is open Finder. In the bar at the very top, click "Go." Click "Computer" and open "Library." Look for the folders named LaunchAgents and LaunchDaemons. It doesn't matter what order you do it in, just open them and delete anything you know you didn't install. After they've been deleted, empty the trash and restart your Mac. This should resolve your issues. If not, then I don't know what the real solution is. I hope this helps!

Look@menow wrote:

Look for the folders named LaunchAgents and LaunchDaemons. It doesn't matter what order you do it in, just open them and delete anything you know you didn't install.

Ouch! That's an excellent way to disable third party software functionality. I'm sorry, but that is not the way to troubleshoot problems such as these. I would certainly agree that you can often find adware installed in such places, but it's important to recognize it for what it is, not automatically reject everything you do not recognize. A lot of software install here with names you might not recognize, including Apple.

As I recommended before, the Adware Removal Tool knows what to look for and will remove all currently known adware. It updates itself on the same day as anything new is discovered by the developer, who happens to be a colleague of mine.

Look@menow wrote:

I think I may have the solution.

Note that the OP had this problem over three years ago. I don't think they are looking for a solution any longer.

I know this is a long time from when the question was asked, but I had a very similar problem to the Originator. The mackeeper ad **** hides as DownLite. I used this website and deleted them to remove it. http://www.thesafemac.com/arg-downlite/ Remove these files and its gone.

cberigan wrote:

I know this is a long time from when the question was asked, but I had a very similar problem to the Originator. The mackeeper ad **** hides as DownLite.

Sort of. They are all interconnected through various advertising partnerships. I've always said that the MacKeeper developer has a larger advertising budget than it pays it's technical staff. Over the past years they have been known to hi-jack other developer web sites, compensate users to write positive reviews, offer consultant fees to media reviewers and many other questionable schemes to get your face with false promises. That's why there are two class-action suits against them alleging false and deceptive advertising.

But the DownLite download manager is relatively new and just one of over a half-dozen adware infections that are showing up on more and more Macs every day. They all produce rotating ad displays and it would seem that MacKeeper pays for more than the others.

I used this website and deleted them to remove it. http://www.thesafemac.com/arg-downlite/

I'm glad you found that and since that site is run by a colleague of mine I send everybody I run across to it. In fact, your solution has been posted in this discussion about several times already. Personally, I prefer his Adware Removal Tool as it takes care of all currently known adware and is self-updating within a day of anything new being discovered.

For what it's worth, my own observations on this extremely annoying MacKeeper issue.

I bought a second hand iMac recently, as a backup unit, so I don't have any idea of what history this machine has had. The pop-ups and pop-unders kept on appearing, reasonably randomly but often enough to get on my nerves. I had been looking for solutions but hadn't had much success.

The programme MacKeeper wasn't present, looking through the System and Library directories as often mentioned earlier failed to find any related files.

I downloaded AppCleaner which didn't find anything, other searches came up empty handed as well. This evening, I tackled the Preferences of both Safari and Firefox, in both of these cookies were to be found of the zeobit.mackeeper.xxx variety and zeobit.com as well. I deleted all cookies (needed clearning up anyway), for Safari the odd thing was that after deleting them all a number of cookies (amongst which zeobit.com and a mackeeper one) returned directly, which I needed to delete a second time. After that I closed both programmes and up to now, several hours later, I haven't had any problems any more. Also, the cookies folder is still free of any related files so I'm quietly optimistic now that I'm MacKeeper free.

Cheers, Bart

barttr60 wrote:

I bought a second hand iMac recently, as a backup unit, so I don't have any idea of what history this machine has had. The pop-ups and pop-unders kept on appearing

Your error is in using a second-hand machine as-is. You should never do that. There's just too much potential for trouble, including the possibility of having malware installed on the machine... perhaps even installed deliberately by the seller.

You need to erase the hard drive and reinstall the system from scratch.

Nah, I bought it from a friend who wasn't really all that Mac savvy to be honest. I cleaned all the remaining old files programmes out, except for some nice ITunes stuff :-) and did a complete system upgrade from 10.8.x to Mavericks. Perhaps indeed I should have done a complete reformat and clean install but it's been an interesting learning experience this way. ;-)

Anyhow, back on topic, I think that also part of the problem may be avoided by making sure that your web browser doesn't allow third party cookies to be installed, since I've noticed that some people have found that the problems started after visiting certain sites.

Cheers, Bart

barttr60 wrote:

Anyhow, back on topic, I think that also part of the problem may be avoided by making sure that your web browser doesn't allow third party cookies to be installed, since I've noticed that some people have found that the problems started after visiting certain sites.

See The myth of the dangerous cookie.

I would agree that you are better off not accepting third party cookies whenever possible. I have had the experience of not being able to use a site that I really needed to because of that setting, but that was some time ago and I suspect most sites have figured out that it's not a good idea to insist on that. But even that setting isn't foolproof as the rules for sharing cookie information are somewhat lax. This results in so-called "tracking cookies" which aren't directly involved in displaying ads, but indirectly help determine which ads are more likely to be read and acted upon by your browsing habits. This isn't all bad, since it will hopefully help eliminate areas you obviously show no interest in, but for users who are totally ad averse, even targeted ads are unacceptable.

Problem is, ads are what make the Internet free. Without them we would be paying for the privilege of using any search engine, researching any subject, reading the news, reading blogs, etc. Blocking ads can only have two outcomes. More adware to defeat the adblockers and pay the bills, or we will have to pay to do most of what we do at no additional cost today.

Thomas has written on this subject, as well in Are ad blockers worthwhile?.

I have a new MacBook Air I had been having terrine problems with the MacKeeer Pop up. I tried a lot of things mentioned in this thread. Nothing worked. I couldn't even find a lot of places I was supposed to search. Since I have AppleCare I called them. Here are the steps they had me take.

1. Open Safari preferences and click on extensions. I had Ad Blocker which I installed to get rid of Mackeeper pop ups and it didn't work.

2. He had me uninstall AdBlocker.

3 Went back to Safari Preferenes main window. Clicked on General.

4 He asked what I had entered in Home Page. I had nothing. He said put in anything. I entered apple.com.

5. He asked what I had for "New windows open with" ? I said blank page. He said fine.

6. He asked what search engine I was using. I was using Bing. He said to change it toYahoo or Google.

9. He had me click on Safari heading next to apple and get drop down menu, and click "reset Safari.

10 I reset safari.

I have not had the Mackeeper Pop up since. I had reset Safari before but it did not work. I have gone back to Bing for my search engine and still no MacKeeper.

Maybe this only works for OS 10.9. I don't know. Just wanted to share my experience.