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Level 1

58 points

how to get rid of MacBooster mini software?

hate it when this crappy mac software sneaks in... I wasn't paying attention when I installed VLC on a reformatted HD and got it from mac.software (top link in google and it looked just like the Videolan site)... thought everything was fine and then noticed strange behaviour ... did a bot of checking and found out this Macbooster app was piggy-backed with the VLC download! Why the **** this happens beats me, especially as I just can't seem to track it down anywhere ... Spotlight can't find it, going through all the preference folders can't find it... I know it's there as it pops up on Activity Monitor from time to time (see pic).

Any software that "cons" its way onto a mac is suspect and is not to be trusted IMO - any idea how to get rid of it... or even actually find where it's hiding?

Posted on Jan 9, 2015 6:12 PM

Best reply

stedman1

Community+ 2024

Level 10

257,286 points

Posted on Jan 9, 2015 6:16 PM

Check the links below for options to remove the Adware

http://www.adwaremedic.com/index.php

Remove unwanted adware that displays pop-up ads and graphics on your Mac - Apple Support

And, read this article below to see how the Adware arrived on your computer.

How to install adware

View in context

54 replies

media_lush Author

Level 1

58 points

Jan 10, 2015 6:52 PM in response to thomas_r.

sigh.... as I've said I can't find it! - Spotlight doesn't find it... all the checks I've performed already couldn't find it... I've pretty much looked in every folder in my Library and couldn't find (made invisible folders visible to be double sure).... the Activity Monitor is the only place it shows up... roughly for about 3 seconds, disappears for 30 seconds to a minute and reappears again...

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,565 points

Jan 11, 2015 4:56 AM in response to thomas_r.

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,565 points

Jan 10, 2015 6:57 PM in response to media_lush

If you would care to furnish the information that I asked for a few hours ago, this discussion could be wrapped up in a few minutes.

thomas_r.

Level 7

31,995 points

Jan 10, 2015 7:17 PM in response to media_lush

media_lush wrote:

the Activity Monitor is the only place it shows up... roughly for about 3 seconds, disappears for 30 seconds to a minute and reappears again...

Yeah, that's undoubtedly the action of one of those .plist files I mentioned in my second post. One of them is probably running MacBooster Mini on a periodic basis. The contents of those files will tell us what they're doing and where any processes they run (like MacBooster Mini) are located.

media_lush Author

Level 1

58 points

Jan 10, 2015 7:26 PM in response to thomas_r.

I think we have a winner here; I did as you said and actually found ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.iobit.MacBoosterMini.plist and deleted it... restarted my mac and watched Activity Monitor for a couple of minutes and it hasn't shown up!

THANKS!

anyway, I also feel I should add a few more comments here:

I've had rather differing layers of "help" here and was surprised to observe a little comment war develop - I don't really want to get into that but just say that I tend to trust commentators with a lot of "points"... furthermore I feel the ones that go out of their way to be helpful from the get go deserve the likes and this solved's

in the end the EtreCheck software seemed to highlight the problem exactly and the subsequent exact instructions has finally got rid of the pesky software [I'll be interested to see if the actual developer site gets back to me explaining how to get rid of their software]. Additionally you should always check where you download VLC from... the fact it was deliberately hidden in the http://vlc-media-player.macsoftware.com version is pretty scuzzy by both parties... I will be making my presence known to both parties in the next few days [I'm admin of one of the biggest mac groups on Facebook and they'll be getting both barrels from me]

thanks again

media_lush Author

Level 1

58 points

Jan 10, 2015 7:28 PM in response to thomas_r.

see my previous response... forgot to add the screen grabs

Jan 10, 2015 7:30 PM in response to thomas_r.

Apparently this needs clarification...

Linc Davis wrote:

You should be aware that "thomas_r" (Thomas Reed) is the developer of "adwaremedic," and that he asks for money from those who use it or visit his website—a fact not disclosed in his comment. He would prefer that all discussion of adware be diverted from ASC to his site.

There is no need for Thomas to disclaim his site or software here, since at the very least (and without delving into the Terms of Use of this site) he has not linked to it in this discussion. Offering this disclaimer for him serves little purpose, other than to (again) suggest one has an agenda against him.

thomas_r.

Level 7

31,995 points

Jan 10, 2015 7:40 PM in response to media_lush

media_lush wrote:

I think we have a winner here; I did as you said and actually found ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.iobit.MacBoosterMini.plist and deleted it... restarted my mac and watched Activity Monitor for a couple of minutes and it hasn't shown up!

Glad to hear it!

Regarding your screenshots, I can't read the contents of the com.iobit.MacBoosterMini.plist file (too small in the screenshot), but the com.iobit.AMCDaemon.plist file points to another folder here:

/Library/Application Support/AMC/

This AMC folder should be deleted as well. Whatever app is being opened by the com.iobit.MacBoosterMini.plist file may also be inside that folder, or it may be in a different place. Without the com.iobit.MacBoosterMini.plist file keeping it active, it's not really a threat... but if you still have the com.iobit.MacBoosterMini.plist file, open it in TextEdit, copy the contents and paste them here.

I've had rather differing layers of "help" here and was surprised to observe a little comment war develop

I wish I could say I was surprised, but really, any time someone disagrees with Linc, you can guarantee there will be some negative comments made. I apologize that you got dragged into such unpleasantness.

media_lush Author

Level 1

58 points

Jan 10, 2015 7:47 PM in response to thomas_r.

put the AMC folder into the trash

this is com.iobit.MacBoosterMini.plist

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">

<dict>

<key>KeepAlive</key>

<true/>

<key>Label</key>

<string>com.iobit.MacBooster-mini</string>

<key>Program</key>

<string>/Users/jan/Library/Application Support/MacBooster/MacBooster mini.app/Contents/MacOS/MacBooster mini</string>

<key>Version</key>

</dict>

</plist>

thomas_r.

Level 7

31,995 points

Jan 10, 2015 7:53 PM in response to media_lush

Ahh, that one involves a different folder. You'll also want to remove the MacBooster folder found here:

~/Library/Application Support/

(That's the Library folder in your user folder, not the same Library folder containing the AMC folder and the com.iobit.AMCDaemon.plist file.)

media_lush Author

Level 1

58 points

Jan 10, 2015 8:02 PM in response to thomas_r.

done and done [I swear I checked this folder numerous times and couldn't see the MacBooster folder]

thomas_r.

Level 7

31,995 points

Jan 11, 2015 4:43 AM in response to media_lush

media_lush wrote:

[I swear I checked this folder numerous times and couldn't see the MacBooster folder]

😁 We've all been there.

I'm glad you were able to get rid of it!

Kurt Lang

Level 9

59,034 points

Jan 11, 2015 9:30 AM in response to media_lush

For future downloads, never, ever download anything from aggregate sites such as downloads.com, softonic.com and other places where you can get all kinds of different trial, shareware or free software from. They have almost all become a haven of adware attached to the software you actually want, so the garbage you don't want gets installed, too. I haven't seen this behavior at macupdate.com yet, but I'm keeping an eye out.

Anyway, my point is that I do use these sites to look for similar software titles because they are all in one place. I can then get quick reviews on all of them at once before I decide which ones I want to download and test. At that point, I then find the developer's site and download the software from them.

So in the case of VLC, always go directly to the developer's site. That will get you a download of VLC without any attached garbage.

media_lush Author

Level 1

58 points

Jan 11, 2015 10:05 AM in response to Kurt Lang

out of the close to hundred of times I've downloaded VLC I've always used VideoLan and it was the top hit on google... this time I wasn't paying that much attention and just selected the top hit... just goes to show what these companies do to get themselves above the developers sites in the rankings.... what I find unnerving is the amount of "five star ratings" this crappy software gets... have yet to hear from the MacBooster site itself on how to uninstall the mini version; glad I had LittleSnitch installed as I noticed a lot of pings when VLC launched. Finally is there a reason why Spotlight can't find "MacBooster" when launched... would have saved a lot of grief?

Kurt Lang

Level 9

59,034 points

Jan 11, 2015 10:34 AM in response to media_lush

this time I wasn't paying that much attention and just selected the top hit

That's like Firefox. If you're looking for it from a Windows computer, the top hit is a link to Yahoo, where you do get Firefox, but the installer also drops very difficult to remove crapware on your computer. The second link is to Mozilla's site (you won't get the same list results looking from a Mac).

I'm rather surprised Firefox hasn't (apparently) complained to Google that a garbage link to their software comes ahead of the real site.

how to get rid of MacBooster mini software?