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Q: Advanced Mac Cleaner

A window keeps popping up for an an app called Advanced Mac Cleaner.  Is this legit?  Should I do it or is it a third party scam?

MacBook Pro

Posted on Jul 18, 2015 4:37 PM

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Q: Advanced Mac Cleaner

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  • by Ren_Hoek,Helpful

    Ren_Hoek Ren_Hoek Nov 5, 2015 7:09 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Nov 5, 2015 7:09 AM in response to Linc Davis

    It will also create an entry in StartupItems.  Go to System Preferences > Users & Groups.  Click on your account (also know as Current User).  Click on Login Items.  There will be a Mac Cleaner entry there.*  Select it, and click on the "-" button to remove it.

     

     

     

     

    *Oops, I just deleted it without carefully noting the name.  8(   It is obvious though.

  • by Parkerwise,

    Parkerwise Parkerwise Dec 15, 2015 7:53 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 15, 2015 7:53 PM in response to Linc Davis

    I accidentally downloaded this trying to update flashplayer.  Before finding this post, I decided to move it to the trash, and now I cannot use your method because the file cannot be found.  Any ideas on how to go about getting rid of the app now?

     

    Thanks for your time,

    Parker

  • by nursethalia,

    nursethalia nursethalia Dec 17, 2015 9:51 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 17, 2015 9:51 AM in response to Linc Davis

    I ended up with AMC when a site issued me a fake warning that my Java was out of date. As soon as it asked me if I wanted to also include a download of AMC with my Java update, I knew it was a scam, hit "no" and "quit", but it was too late. I followed the steps above and thought it had worked, but even after rebooting, I had the same issue. I did some more hunting and found that my computer was not deleting the "helperamc" exe file in the AMC folder in Application Suh pport, saying it couldn't be deleted because it was still running. Activity Monitor couldn't Force Quit it, and even using kill commands -3 and -9 in Terminal would just cause it to generate a new PID number.


    I was going insane trying to delete this last file because it kept the popup coming, but I found a solution. If anyone else has this issue getting rid of that last file, I did some research into Mac adware and found a number of positive reviews for Malwarebytes. DL'd it, ran the scan, and it deleted that last AMC file easily (and found more adware called Conduit that I didn't realize I'd had).

  • by nursethalia,

    nursethalia nursethalia Dec 17, 2015 9:58 AM in response to Parkerwise
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 17, 2015 9:58 AM in response to Parkerwise

    I ended up with the curse of Advanced Mac Cleaner it when I got a (fake, I now realize) popup saying my Java was out of date. I was an idiot and didn't just go to the official Java site to make sure it was legit (I was already up to date). Deleted AMC from my startups and Applications folder but the popup kept showing up.

     

    I did some research and found an anti-adware app called Malwarebytes that got really decent reviews from reputable sites, so crossing my fingers that I wan't just downloading more "crapware", I gave it a spin and it deleted all the Advanced Mac Cleaner files I'd missed during my initial hunt. I'd suggest giving it a try, but make sure you download it from the official site or else you might get more adware pretending to be the official stuff. https://www.malwarebytes.org/

  • by MWood919,

    MWood919 MWood919 Dec 20, 2015 3:41 PM in response to jlfbw
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 20, 2015 3:41 PM in response to jlfbw

    I came across the option to install Advanced Mac Cleaner when installing the latest DivX player updates.  I looked it up on Google (and ended up here) before clicking the "Skip" option on that step.  DivX is a reputable enough company, right?  Why would they be pushing this scam crap?

  • by BobTheFisherman,

    BobTheFisherman BobTheFisherman Dec 20, 2015 3:47 PM in response to MWood919
    Level 6 (15,483 points)
    Dec 20, 2015 3:47 PM in response to MWood919

    Because they have an agreement with them where they likely get reimbursed for getting people to download it.

  • by xxtourist,

    xxtourist xxtourist Dec 26, 2015 1:11 PM in response to jlfbw
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 26, 2015 1:11 PM in response to jlfbw

    I have this pop-up on my computer as well after updating Frostwire, but when I follow these steps the files listed show up nowhere on my computer, not even 1. I dont know where this thing is hiding?

  • by surfertom,

    surfertom surfertom Dec 26, 2015 3:06 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 26, 2015 3:06 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Thank you VERY much Linc. Your instructions were perfect. Noticed the same thing upon seeing a flash out of date message in Firefox. Don't normally use Firefox so I just thought my Flash Player was out of date in it. When it was installing I was not paying a lot of attention and noticed the ZIPCloud and MacCleaner names being downloaded. Then Maccleaner window popped up to scan. I force quit, removed the apps, then went online and found your great reply. Now found the "amc" folder you mentioned and removed it as well.

     

    Feel pretty lucky right now. Ha.

     

    Tom

  • by surfertom,

    surfertom surfertom Dec 26, 2015 3:10 PM in response to Ren_Hoek
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 26, 2015 3:10 PM in response to Ren_Hoek

    Thanks Ren. Just saw your note and you are right. Removed!

     

    Tom

  • by M_Barnum_Photo,

    M_Barnum_Photo M_Barnum_Photo Jan 12, 2016 12:18 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 12, 2016 12:18 PM in response to Linc Davis

    I'm having the same problem with my MacPro. It's an older on from like 2010. I've tried the steps you mentioned, but I can't find anything on my computer. I did go crazy last week deleting everything I could think of to try and get rid of it, but it's still there when I go to my Disk Utility. I've got Apple UDIF read-only compressed (bzip2) Media which is a Flash Player and Apple UDIF read-only compressed (zlib) Media which is the AdvancedMacCleaner. But I can't find any other trace of them on my computer, and they won't erase.

  • by nursethalia,

    nursethalia nursethalia Jan 12, 2016 12:31 PM in response to M_Barnum_Photo
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 12, 2016 12:31 PM in response to M_Barnum_Photo

    I had the same issue after following the steps. I finally searched around for reviews of reputable adware removal for Macs (I didn't even know they existed - I always assumed Macs just didn't get viruses or "crapware") and tried Malwarebytes at https://www.malwarebytes.org/

     

    It managed to find those last hidden files and had AMC gone within seconds. I should have just used it to begin with, given all the time I spent file hunting, lol!

  • by unikanic,

    unikanic unikanic Jan 15, 2016 8:53 AM in response to jlfbw
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 15, 2016 8:53 AM in response to jlfbw

    Here what it look's like,

    Lucky I didn't press "Start Repair" I suspected it was not from Apple.
    I beleave I got this when I downloaded FileZilla (a free software for FTP.), from well know reputable company.

    2nd image was what I got yesterday, and now Today I get a game. Wow!

    I read the above post (page one 2nd entry ) and it's not working for me it can not find the files?

    I think since I work on Mac (1988) this is the 2nd malware/virus that get that I am aware of.

     

    Screen Shot 2016-01-12 at 8.57.32 AM.pngScreen Shot 2016-01-14 at 11.26.22 AM.png

    Screen Shot 2016-01-15 at 11.17.49 AM.png

  • by unikanic,

    unikanic unikanic Jan 15, 2016 9:13 AM in response to unikanic
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 15, 2016 9:13 AM in response to unikanic

    I have downloaded https://www.malwarebytes.org/ it deffenetly found Mac cleaner and look's like it fixed my problem.

    Thanks you

     

    Screen Shot 2016-01-15 at 12.00.30 PM.png

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Jan 15, 2016 9:16 AM in response to Terence Devlin
    Level 9 (50,876 points)
    Desktops
    Jan 15, 2016 9:16 AM in response to Terence Devlin

    Terence Devlin wrote:

     

    I also used Clean My Mac 3 to help me uninstall all files related to the file

     

    And that's even worse...

    +1

  • by jehrke7,

    jehrke7 jehrke7 Apr 5, 2016 8:36 AM in response to jlfbw
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Apr 5, 2016 8:36 AM in response to jlfbw

    I have recently been using a program called "MacClean."  Is this also a scam?  It appears to speed computers up at least for a while...It's also been fairly handy in removing applications.  Anyone else use this or know anything about it?

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