How to Remove Advanced Mac Cleaner Virus

I downloaded and installed malwarebytes. Had to run the scan, clear the quarantine, empty the trash and restart my MacBook Pro twice, but it finally got rid it. Here's the link: Malwarebytes | Free Cyber Security & Anti-Malware Software

Method to remove Advanced Mac Cleaner App .

Enter in System library .

Click on finder > Take the cursor on top menu bar > Go > computer > Macintosh HD

Search the app in following folder .

( a ) Applications - Advanced Mac cleaner

Enter in User library , click on finder > Go > hold option key > click on library .

( a ) Folder Advanced Mac cleaner - click on it , the followings .plist are found .

msets.plist

rlist.plist

( b) In Application Support folder of Mac , there is a subfolder Advanced Mac cleaner

params.plist

Settings.plist

( c) Folder amc

amcuninstall

com.pcv.amcuuninstall.plist

com.pcv.hlpramcn.plist

helperamc

Inf.Adit

( d ) Folder Caches of Mac these are two remnants of the app .

com.Pcv.hlpramc

com.pcv.hlpramc

( e ) Cookies folder of Mac

com.pcv.hlpramc.binarycookies

com.pcv.rlistupdater.binarycookies

com.techyutils.cleaner.binarycookies

( f ) Folder hlpramc

Web settings.plist

( g ) Folder Launch Agents of Mac

com.pcv.hlpramcn.plist

( h ) Folder logs of Mac there are two log files .

helperamc.log

Advanced Mac Cleaner.log

( I ) Preferences folder of Mac

com.pcvhlpramc.plist

com.techyutils.cleaner.plist

( j ) Click on download folder , right click on the advancer cleaner file and delete .

amc_amc apstm.pkg

( k) Users and groups - open the pad lock by entering admin password .

Click on Login items - Advanced Mac Cleaner select the box , the app will be highlighted and click on subtract sign .

These are the files of Advanced Mac cleaner found in system library and user library folders , the individual advanced Mac cleaner folder and .plists found in subfolders are to be deleted .

Open finder > in applications folder right click on Advanced Cleaner app a prompt appears .

Advanced Mac Cleaner helper requires permission to complete the uninstallation .

Please provide the admin password to the next screen continue .

( a ) cancel

( b ) ok

Click on ok .

Again a prompt will appear enter user password .

You have to enter it correctly the app is removed permanently with its remnants also .

Yesterday, I inadvertently downloaded this malware onto my MacBook Pro also. I contacted the Apple Help Desk by phone, and 40 minutes later, this malware was gone from my computer. I was helped by a wonderful associate whose name was Audrey.

Her advice? Download malwarebytes from the internet. It is a trusted Apple vendor. Once it was installed, I allowed Audrey access to my computer's screen via their connection utility, and she walked me through, step by step, how to run the walwarebytes program to remove every trace of this malware.

This was easy for someone like me who is not terribly computer savvy!

Bob S

The only thing that worked for me was

Malwarebytes-Mac-3.1.1.505.pkg

I looked into it quite throughly before downloading it- articles in Mac Magazine, etc.

It took away the AMC and several other things I didn't know I had.

I got the 15 day free trial.

Don't ever give AMC any information.

seventy one wrote:

And you believed them? Think about it, that's how they sell their service to you.

If he scanned with Malwarebytes after dragging the Advanced Mac Cleaner app to the trash, then it probably would detect 7 other things left behind. Malwarebytes wouldn't call those things "viruses," but please remember that the average person is not familiar with the distinctions between viruses and other malicious software, and will use the term "virus" as a catch-all for malicious software. We should not expect people to have the same knowledge that we do.

PLEASE READ

Although I've only just made an account so I could reply to the thread, I have found a much easier method to delete "Advanced Mac Cleaner," all I had to do was:

Step 1

Open finder and make sure you're in "All My Files." (You can find out by looking at the top of the 'Finder' window.

Step 2

Click the search bar at the top right of your 'Finder' window and type "Advanced Mac Cleaner."

Step 3

Click or highlight (depending on how many copies you have because I had two) the "Advanced Mac Cleaner" and drag to the bin in your taskbar at the bottom of your screen.

Step 4

Enter your bin and at the top right underneath the search bar there is an "Empty" button. Confirm the empty and you should be safe.

Hey mark7484 and everyone else that comes across my post. I too accidentally downloaded Advanced Mac cleaner. It didn't do much harm other then popping up at annoying times. I believed when i updated my adobe acrobat or flash player or something. I guess i didn't download what i was trying to update from an authorized sight. I got Advanced Mac Cleaner popup downloaded and installed all by itself. There was no uninstall for it, and every time i moved it from my applications to my Trash it would repopulate (pop up) itself. Every time i turned on my computer it would appear back in my applications folder. I read every thread i could find on this unwanted pop up or virus or whatever you want to call it. Every solution was pretty much the same, move it to the trash then find any associated files and erase them. 1/2 of the threads i read said for me buy there malware product, or download it for free. it'll fix your problem. Like everyone else before me i was very hesitant to download some software that i didn't really understand. Like everyone else i was afraid it would do more harm then good, or leave some other malware on my computer that would be worse then Advanced Mac Cleaner. I tried every single idea - all of them. Out of desperation i actually went on to the Advanced Mac Cleaner website. It actually had an uninstall program for it. With much trepidation, i downloaded the uninstall and ran it. And you know what....IT WORKED!!!. This was the only solution that actually worked for me. Now i realize this is literally my first post on Apple Discussions, even though I've owned 3 different macs over the last 9 years. I love Mac over PC and i will probably never go back. I say this because if i would have read this post i wouldn't trust it.

All that being said if you get as motivated as i was to uninstall Advanced Mac Cleaner, you might try my solution. Either way, Good luck everyone!! 🙂

Some thing happened to me. One day when I was cleaning up my Mac anyway, I decided to spend some time getting rid of this. After looking into several things, including things found on this site

and on the Mac site. I finally used Malwarebytes-Mac.3.11. I did some research to make sure that wasn't infected too, and finally downloaded the free 15 day trial. I was delighted when it worked! It also found a couple of other things that I didn't know were on there and corralled them and they are gone! I am so happy!

These are the latest folders and remnants of Advanced Mac cleaner , in your Mac if it was downloaded previously the names could be different , I downloaded this app in my Mac and exactly same folders and remnants were seen in the locations of system library and user library .

Also Malware bytes Anti - malware was used by me and to be honest it removed the files of app.

You can delete the app in both ways manually or using malware bytes and it worked .

I tried everything recommended here and everywhere else. The only thing that worked

was Malwarebytes free 15 day trial. It worked perfectly. It is so good to be rid of that

virus.

Here is the procedure that worked for me :

1) In my Applications folder, I found and deleted the following using the Finder [2] :

* Advanced Mac Cleaner

* CoreUpdates

* OptiBuy

2) I also had to go to Chrome preferences and fix my default search search engine and default home page which had been changed. While I was there, I deleted the caches for the last few hours.

3) Then I went to System Preferences -> user accounts -> login items, and removed the unwanted apps from there.

4) Open up folder ~/Library/LaunchDaemons

and delete :

com.CoreUpdates.agent.plist

com.OptiBuy.agent.plist

5) Finally, you may need to remove the helperamc app.

This is an app that pops up ads. It has a daemon so that the app relaunches after it is killed.

To get rid of it, go to a terminal app, and type :

launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.pcv.hlpramcn.plist

# kill helperamc app from ActivityMonitor between these commands

rm ~/Library/Application\ Support/amc/helperamc.app

I'm always very careful and do not download anything from any page. I get Adobe outdated click here to update? Nope not going to happen. I will go directly to Adobe and check for updates. Other then that I go to Apple App store for updates. I also clear out any unwanted cookies at least 4 times a day (I have questions on this as well). Last week on some site I had my Mac locked up with that Mac Adv Cleaner. No menu, no dock and force quit not working. Shut the wifi modem off and shutdown. Started up cleaned the cookies (unwanted) and found MACleaner in the app folder. Deleted, modem back on everything working fine again. A few times (at least once a day) MACleaner window pops up? Can't figure what site I'm on that keeps putting it back in the folder? Just kept deleting it. Last night before shutdown I checked to make sure it wasn't in the App folder, it wasn't. This morning at startup, first thing that pops up GMCleaner window and it's back in the App folder? Apple should have SOMETHING to block unwanted downloads. It's going directly to the App folder not the download folder. I do have the ASK before downloading on.

Sorry, I didn't mean to come across as scolding. I just wanted you and others to remember it. AMC loaded onto mine and I didn't even click on it. Just a bad webpage and let them know too. I had my computer locked up by it. Nothing could be done, no menus, no dock, force quit locked out. Found it in the app folder but wasn't sure if deleting just that would fix it so I played their game, went to AMC site and found uninstall and that worked for me. Others have other ways but I stick to what worked for mine. Good luck

I used the free 15 day trial of Malwarebytes. It worked perfectly. It is the

only thing that worked. It is so good to have that stupid virus off my computer!

This worked--so far Ad Mac Clner has not returned: Download OnyX (It is a free and great Mac maintenance app) from the internet. Open. In "Files" go to "Erase" heading and erase w/1 pass. I also ran the "Maintenance" program at the front of the whole app. Don't know which of the two steps zapped the bad guy. So far, AMC has not shown back up. I'll revisit here if it does and report.