What is Genieo and why did it appeared misteriosouly on my MacBook Pro?

I got in touch with Russell Gulvin, from FixKB. He says that someone pretending to be me contacted them and gave permission. He can't find that e-mail at this point, though.

Whether that story is true or not, the page is now updated and properly attributes the source. Keep in mind that, although it is up-to-date at this moment in time, it may or may not stay that way.

robertafromcameron park wrote:

This seemed to work...

It seems to work, but it doesn't. Follow the instructions at Adware Removal Guide : Genieo and consider the use of his Adware Removal Tool which will take care of the rest.

Is there any relationship to ZipCloud which registers the same time as Geneio?

Genieo has partnership agreements with dozens of companies, so it's certainly possible.

Both of these FREE tools work great!

Mac Adware Removal Tool (This one took several hours to find all Malware and Adware files but worth it)

http://macscan.securemac.com

TSM Adware Removal Tool (this one looked for specific Malware and finds it within seconds)

http://www.thesafemac.com/new-adware-removal-tool/

I've used them both yesterday on my iMac and my MacbookAir and was able to clean all Malware and Adware files which are sent to the trash and you can review them before you delete them. Very Cool!

AZPublishing wrote:

Both of these FREE tools work great!

Mac Adware Removal Tool (This one took several hours to find all Malware and Adware files but worth it)

http://macscan.securemac.com

Something is not right here. I'm unaware of anything titled "Mac Adware Removal Tool" from SecureMac and I don't see it anywhere in the link you provided. They had some free tools years ago, but if you are talking about MacScan it is not free (other than the demo) but costs $40 for the fully operational version. It is also not very good at finding malware (see MacScan Disappoints and his latest Mac anti-virus testing 2014 where it only found 2% of the samples). In addition to that it is well known for falsely identifying files as infected due to it's unique signature methodology, so I hope you didn't clean up something important to you or your system. There are much more effective A-V scanners available, many are actually free. But avoid Avast! as we discovered just yesterday Avast installs adware!

Dear thomas_r.

My Sophos software recently found the Genieo threat on my computer and when asked to eliminate it, stated that it could not do it. Susequently, I have been searching the web for the solution. As being a novice computer person, this is taking more of my time than I would like.

What Sophos found was the file, InstallGenieo.dmg download on my hard disk plus several more copies on backups located on an external drive used by TimeMachine.

It appears that I may not have installed the Genieo adware but had merely downloaded the installation file. I don't have the "house" icon nor can I find the application file for Genieo.

So, my question is ..... shall I just delete the InstallGenieo.dmg file from both my hard disk and my backups, or should I go through your entire removal guide?

If it is a matter of removing files from my Time Machine, I will research how to do that effectively and therefore put my time to better use in actually getting rid of this nuisance so as not to come back again.

Thanks ever so much for your assistance.

Jim K.

Leesburg, GA

harvey49 wrote:

shall I just delete the InstallGenieo.dmg file from both my hard disk and my backups, or should I go through your entire removal guide?

The InstallGenieo.dmg file is just a disk image file containing the installer. By itself, it's not harmful, so long as you don't open it and run the installer. It can - and should - be deleted. There's really no need to bother removing it from your backups, since you're quite unlikely to restore it from your backups and then open it and run the installer. However, if you do want to, go here:

http://pondini.org/TM/12.html

Follow the directions in the green box, labeled "To delete via the Time Machine browser". You can ignore the rest of the page.

As for my guide, if you think you might have installed Genieo, but aren't sure, it would be wise to go through all the steps. Alternately, you could just run my Adware Removal Tool, which will take care of it for you automatically. It sounds like this probably isn't necessary, but there are some variants of Genieo that do not install the Genieo app, so it's best to just be on the safe side.

@Harvey49 a new FREE version has been upload which removes Genieo here:

TSM Adware Removal Tool (this one looked for specific Genieo and other Malware and finds it within seconds)

http://www.thesafemac.com/new-adware-removal-tool/

AZPublishing wrote:

a new FREE version has been upload which removes Genieo here:

TSM Adware Removal Tool (this one looked for specific Genieo and other Malware and finds it within seconds)

Yes, that's the exact same tool that thomas_r. recommended about three hours ago, but it does not remove any malware, only all currently known adware infections.

Hey MadMacs0

I posted an answer just before Thomas's with two solutions both worked fine for me on my iMac and MacbookAir which cleaned all malware and adware off both machines, just check my older post. Good luck.

I also use three other tools to clean my systems once a week:

1) CleanMyMac2 (I love this better than MacKeeper)

2) MacKeeper ( I still use it to see if CleanMyMac2 missed anything)

3) ClamXav (you probably need this too) slow but runs a full scan

MacKeeper is an aggressively-marketed scam app that is currently the subject of two separate class-action lawsuits alleging fraud. It has no place on any Mac.

CleanMyMac is not the subject of any lawsuits, but it is also completely unneeded, and makes its money just by convincing users that they do need it.

For more information on why you do not need to use utilities like these to clean your Mac, see The myth of the dirty Mac. Besides which, these utilities have no role whatsoever in removing Genieo, or any other adware, and thus don't need to be mentioned on this topic. The generalized "uninstall" features they each offer are completely useless, and should never be used for any purpose, much less removing sneaky adware. For information on why, see How to uninstall software.

(Fair disclosure: The Safe Mac is my site, and contains a Donate button, so I may receive compensation for providing links to The Safe Mac. Donations are not required.)

Sorry, Thomas I read your "The myth of the dirty Mac" page and I'm not impressed, it's all basic Apple 101 and you really have no credible solution to speeding up a Mac during boot up and during launches of apps that have slowed down over time. That said, lot's of words but really a waste of time reading it. Other than your adware removal tool which seems to work fine and I like it, I guess you are really here peddling your wares over other companies! HOWEVER, Bad mouthing your competition gives you no added credibility. You calling other apps SCAMS, is no more than a slick used car salesman telling customers how bad the competition is. Good Luck with that!

AZPublishing: Could you please tell us your credentials? thomas-r has been around here for some time. You are a relative newcomer. If we are to take seriously your critical comments about other participants, it would help to know something about you. Please note that I am not suggesting that a newcomer cannot be more knowledgeable than an "old hand", but I would like to be convinced you should be taken seriously.

AZPublishing wrote:

you really have no credible solution to speeding up a Mac during boot up and during launches of apps that have slowed down over time.

Sure I do... you just remove whatever crapware third-party software you have installed that is causing those slowdowns. Like MacKeeper or CleanMyMac.

I don't use such junk software, and my system does not slow down over time. None of my OS X systems ever have, and I've been using OS X since Mac OS X 10.1. The idea that a Mac system needs cleaning in order to keep from slowing down is a complete myth.

Not to mention that it is a totally inappropriate thing to suggest here, on a topic devoted to removing Genieo. It is utterly unrelated to that topic.

AZPublishing wrote:

I posted an answer just before Thomas's with two solutions both worked fine for me on my iMac and MacbookAir which cleaned all malware and adware off both machines, just check my older post.

You posted that answer over a week ago (not just before Thomas') which had some incorrect information in it that I read very carefully and responded to, but you have not yet acknowledged.

If you think everybody that visits here reads all sixteen pages to find your suggestion you are sadly mistaken. That's the biggest problem with these ancient and over-extended discussions. They are too much to read and can easily be out-of-date, which is also the case with this one which started almost 20 months ago.

I also use three other tools to clean my systems once a week:

1) CleanMyMac2 (I love this better than MacKeeper)

2) MacKeeper ( I still use it to see if CleanMyMac2 missed anything)

3) ClamXav (you probably need this too) slow but runs a full scan

Not sure how long you have been using Macs, but weekly maintenance hasn't been required for decades. In fact, any sort of required periodic maintenance is now taken care of by OS X. There is certainly the need for occasional troubleshooting of a new issue, but they can normally be taken care of without the use of third party software and when such things are needed, there is a freeware utility available that will do everything that a pricy commercial "cleaner" app will do. I'm absolutely certain that I have some preference files left over from apps that I haven't used for years and years, but they take up such little room that it's not worth my time to hunt them down. Similarly, I have all the language modules and code segments that came with ever piece of software I own / use. That way I know that I can update it without complications and everything will continue to work as designed. Just last week we helped a CleanMyMac2 user with no backup learn that he had permanently crippled his Mac and would have to erase the disk and start from scratch. So knowing that you use the above apps, I hope you invest at least as much time doing backups as you waste by running them.

As far as my needing ClamXav, I can assure you that I do, but only to provide uncompensated tech support for the product on the ClamXav Forum. I do not use it to protect myself from malware infections as I spend my free time keeping track of all current threats to OS X and avoid infecting myself accidentally.

AZPublishing wrote:

I guess you are really here peddling your wares over other companies!

FYI, Thomas' ART has no competition at this time. Yes, there are one or two other freeware apps that will remove Genieo, but none yet that will remove all currently known adware. There are a few A-V scanners that will catch some, but not all components and most will not offer to clean things up after locating it.

I've never had the misfortune of having accidentally installed any such adware, but from what others have said, it apparently does slow down a users browsing experience and is known to cause crashes, at least for some Safari users. But the real advantage is to get rid of the intrusive, unwelcome and annoying ad experience that adware imposes on users. If we all stopped using ad blockers so that Internet sites could continue to afford to offer their services free, they wouldn't have to resort to these more aggressive methods.