what is advanced mac cleaner

Advanced Mac Cleaner is crap software frequently found installed alongside adware (aka, ad-injection malware). It should be removed. Unfortunately, it worms its way deeply into the system, so removal isn't trivial.

To remove it, make sure to quit the Advanced Mac Cleaner app, then drag it from the Applications folder into the trash.

Next, you'll need to remove all of the following files:

/Library/Application Support/amc/ ~/Library/Advanced Mac Cleaner/ ~/Library/hlpramc/ ~/Library/Application Support/Advanced Mac Cleaner/ ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.pcv.hlpramc.plist ~/Library/Logs/helperamc.log ~/Library/Preferences/com.PCvark.Advanced-Mac-Cleaner.plist

If you're not sure how to find these files, see:

http://www.thesafemac.com/locating-files-from-paths/

Hope this helps!

(Fair disclosure: I am affiliated with Malwarebytes, whose site I am recommending above.)

So this entire thread has nothing to do with the location of its accidental

posting status; since the topic device is not vintage pre-2006 PPC iMac.

If following visitors here do not have a PowerPC (IBM/Motorola/Apple CPU)

model vintage/obsolete iMac G3/G4/G5 they should post in the correct place.

intel-based iMac = link to Apple iMac_Intel discussions community

Maybe next time the hosts won't ignore a relocation request.

Good luck! 🙂

I also would advise against it. It's a total scam. Don't pay anything for it. If there's anything wrong with your mac, it's that program. If you want some good antivirus for your mac, google AdwareMedic. It's donationware, and after you run it, it'll find most viruses on your Mac. Good Luck!

A slight variation of one of the files in the list:

~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.pcv.hlpramc 1.48.39 PM.plist

1.48.39 is probably a version number, so one should look for and remove anything matching com.pcv.hlpramc*

Hi there,

I'm having this same helperamc problem. I located these files apart from '/Library/Application Support/amc/', '/Library/Advanced Mac Cleaner/' and '/Library/Application Support/Advanced Mac Cleaner/. - none of which appear in my /Library. The remaining files have been dragged to my trash.

When I go to clear the trash it tells me that these files are already running and therefore cannot delete.

Could someone please let me know how to completely remove all traces of helperamc as I'm getting very frequent and periodical notifications from my Avast security, letting me know that /Library/Application Support/amcr/... is blocked.

Thanks in advance

It's probably important to add that when I go into Activity Monitor to try to force quit the helperamc.app, I am unable to stop it. Upon clicking force quit the only thing that happens is that the PiD number increases by 1.

I found that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware program detects and removes the vestiges of Advanced Mac Cleaner. You can download it from here. You don't even have to install the program to get it to work. You can run it right from the disk image once you mount it. You don't even need to choose to install the helper. So, if you aren't keen on installing a program to solve this issue but aren't enjoying the manual process, this is a good way to go. A bonus is that it will look for and remove other similar malware like the infamous MacKeeper.

Is the hardware in this topic thread really a G5 PowerMac running 10.5.8?

Usually there had not been a version of AdwareMedic or Malwarebytes

capable of running on a powerPC based Mac... As such, I've asked host

to move this to the MacPro intel based Mac tower section, if so.

just curious - how does this thing install itself? Just found it on wife's iMac but her account is not admin and she doesn't know the password to enable installs. (learned this the hard way!) It appears this little gem was able to bypass the password. scary to say the least if true.

and btw - thanks for the removal tips s

Since your Mac computer appears to be new enough to run the already suggested product

that in a previous entry was successful to alleviate the same problem you stated, and the

Mac is not a PowerPC build (pre-2006) you could get the adwaremedic free product & run it

from this link: http://www.adwaremedic.com/index.php

Appears the host(s) did not heed my suggestion to move this thread to the Intel Mac area

where most of the hardware involved would seem to be a good match. The older OS X on

the earlier model Macs would not be able to run the adware medic product, since those

would use nothing newer than Leopard 10.5.8 and could not use it. Also, those old Macs

running pre-10.6 rarely get an adware infection; especially if safe browsing techniques are

used and if one polices there browser extensions. And avoids third-party downloads that

may hitch a ride on other software that sometimes needs no Admin password to install if

the browser is set to automatically download or install add-on or extensions; or if the item

(such as 'free download' of normally retail pay-to-get applications) is a fake, and the user

chooses to bittorrent or other sites to get bad copies of altered software to use, instead of

going to the maker's own web site and obtaining the correct official product.

See the earlier post by Thomas R. where a link to manual removal or discovery of what the

ailment involved may be; consider info from http://www.thesafemac.com/tech-guides/

There are manual ways to find and remove odd things that users get by accident or through

web site browsing and clicking on items that can automatically download to affect your Mac.

Some utilities are helpful in the hands of a knowledgeable user diagnostic, but there are

many that are junk and propose to solve an issue while messing up your OS X. Some are

such poorly made things (by design, probably) that you end up thinking you need to call

some bogus 800# and give them a credit card number, or let strangers get into your Mac.

Those should be transparent, & most authority-shy citizens should know how to self-police.

Since the most recent OS X is involved and/or others that do not run on the older PowerPC

G3/G4/G5 Mac hardware, this thread should (have) be(en) moved to a Intel-mac section...

So maybe another suggestion to the discussion Host may be helpful in that regard. I tried.

Good luck! 🙂

I use the product you recommended and it works. It catches the adware that Kaspersky doesn't, but this file keeps showing up:

/Library/Application Support/amc/

None of the others. What do you recommend I do or what I should investigate on why I remove it and it goes away and then it comes back? Great detail and awesome software. Thanks in advance.

I'm glad I saw this before I clicked! Beware the website mactroubleshoot-support.com It looks just like an apple page and the apple icon even pops when you type in the web address but none of the links work when you try to click them.

It's crap scammer. Get rid of it.

Would also advise against it.

An advanced scam!