Hi
Could someone please point me in the right direction as to how to delete Genieo from my Mac. Is this not something Apple themselves should not offer full instructions for as it seems to be a common issue upsetting quite a few Mac users????? It is difficult to know who's advice to follow as! Come on Apple Sort this problem out!
Thanks
MacBook Pro
You installed the "Genieo/InstallMac" rootkit. The product is a fraud, and the developer knowingly distributes an uninstaller that doesn't work. I suggest the tedious procedure below to disable Genieo. This procedure may leave a few small files behind, but it will permanently deactivate the rootkit (as long as you never reinstall it.)
Malware is constantly changing to get around the defenses against it. The instructions in this comment are valid as of now, as far as I know. They won't necessarily be valid in the future. Anyone finding this comment a few days or more after it was posted should look for more recent discussions or start a new one.
Back up all data. You must know how to restore from a backup even if the system becomes unbootable. If you don't know how to do that, or if you don't have any backups, stop here and ask for guidance.
Step 1
In the Applications folder, there should be an item named "Genieo". Select it and open the Finder Info window. If it shows that the Version is less than 2.0, download and install the current version from the genieo.com website. This may seem paradoxical, since the goal is to remove it, but you'll be saving yourself some trouble as well as the risk of putting the system in an unusable state.
There should be another application in the same folder named "Uninstall Genieo". After updating Genieo, if necessary, launch "Uninstall Genieo" and follow the prompts to remove the "newspaper-style home page." Restart the computer.
This step does not completely inactivate Genieo.
Step 2
Don't take this step unless you completed Step 1, including the restart, without any error messages. If you couldn't complete Step 1, stop here and ask for instructions.
Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:
/Library/Frameworks/GenieoExtra.framework
Right-click or control-click the line and select
Services ▹ Reveal in Finder (or just Reveal)
from the contextual menu.
If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. In the Finder, select
Go ▹ Go to Folder...
from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. You won't see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.
A folder should open with an item named "GenieoExtra.framework" selected. Move that item to the Trash. You'll be prompted for your administrator password.
Move each of these items to the Trash in the same way:
/Library/LaunchAgents/com.genieo.completer.update.plist
/Library/LaunchAgents/com.genieo.engine.plist
/Library/LaunchAgents/com.genieoinnovation.macextension.plist
/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.genieoinnovation.macextension.client.plist
/Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.genieoinnovation.macextension.client
/usr/lib/libgenkit.dylib
/usr/lib/libgenkitsa.dylib
/usr/lib/libimckit.dylib
/usr/lib/libimckitsa.dylib
~/Library/Application Support/com.genieoinnovation.Installer
~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.genieo.completer.download.plist
~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.genieo.completer.update.plist
If there are other items with a name that includes "Genieo" or "genieo" alongside any of those listed above, move them as well. There's no need to restart after each one. Some of these items will be absent, in which case you'll get a message that the file can't be found. Skip that item and go on to the next one.
Restart and empty the Trash. Don't try to empty the Trash until you have restarted.
Step 3
From the Safari menu bar, select
Safari ▹ Preferences... ▹ Extensions
Uninstall any extensions you don't know you need, including ones called "Genieo" or "Omnibar," and any that have the word "Spigot" or "InstallMac" in the description. If in doubt, uninstall all extensions. Do the equivalent for the Firefox and Chrome browsers, if you use either of those.
Your web browser(s) should now be working, and you should be able to reset the home page and search engine. If not, stop here and post your results.
Make sure you don't repeat the mistake that led you to install this software. Chances are you got it from an Internet cesspit such as "Softonic" or "CNET Download." Never visit either of those sites again. You might also have downloaded it from an ad in a page on some other site. The ad has a large green button labeled "Download" or "Download Now" in white letters. The button is designed to confuse people who intend to download something else on the same page. If youever download a file that isn't obviously what you expected, delete it immediately.
You may be wondering why you didn't get a warning from Gatekeeper about installing software from an unknown developer, as you should have. The reason is that the Genieo developer has a codesigning certificate issued by Apple, which causes Gatekeeper to give the installer a pass. Apple could revoke the certificate, but as of this writing, has not done so, even though it's aware of the problem. This failure of oversight is inexcusable and has seriously compromised the value of Gatekeeper and the Developer ID program. You can't rely on Gatekeeper alone to protect you from harmful software.
You can use the Adware Removal Tool available at http://www.thesafemac.com/art to remove it.
You might also consider installing Anti Virus software that also offers real time protection so that it will reduce the chances of you getting infected in the future.
I know that this is the opposite of many of the power members of the forums. It seems most here would rather you come to them for help after your Mac gets infected with Malware instead of having members protect themselves from getting infected with Malware in the first place.
If you are careful on the web and only install software from known vendors then the chances of needing an Anti Virus app is extremely low. And so far all of the malware that is out there is easily removable.
With that said, there are several paid versions as well as several free versions. It really depends on how you use your Mac on what would work best for you.
If you feel that you want to have an Anti Virus app installed on your Mac, I usually recommend avast! Free Anti Virus for Mac (http://www.avast.com) Avast will catch the majority of Windows viruses that you may get in email so that you do not accidently forward them in mail to a Windows user. It also does an excellent job at detecting Mac malware that is out there on the web. It can detect and block these before you run the installers. The only caveat of avast is that if you decide to run a scan with this software, you should set the Detail level to "Infections Only". Otherwise it may show warnings on files that it is unable to read, and its possible that you may delete some files that may be needed by your system or other apps.
Sophos Anti Virus (http://www.sophos.com) is another good free Anti Virus app that will protect you from passing on Windows based viruses through email. My only issue with Sophos is that it has been unable to detect some malware that was in the wild for Macs.
The biggest issue though with using any Anti Virus app is that people get lazy and they rely on the Anti Virus app to protect them on the web rather than using safe web practices.
So with all that... You don't need to run Anti Virus software on your Mac, but the decision is yours.
clive1000 wrote:
Is this not something Apple themselves should not offer full instructions for as it seems to be a common issue upsetting quite a few Mac users????? It is difficult to know who's advice to follow as! Come on Apple Sort this problem out!
A couple of comments regarding this.
Genieo is legitimate software, signed with an Apple Developer ID. Although some A-V software scanners will identify it, they consider it to be a Potentially Unwanted Application, primarily because many users don't fully realize what they are installing at the time. Be sure to read all the installer dialogs to prevent this.
Apple is fully aware of what's going on with this (although I'm reasonably certain they didn't read your last comment here) and have chosen to not revoke the Developer's ID or add it to the XProtect blacklist. I suspect they consider Internet advertising as a fact-of-life. It's not malware as it doesn't do anything considered to be malicious, but I think we can all agree that it's annoying.
how to delete genieo from my mac
