how do I delete a AMC folder from my macbook air?

I was deleting some folders from my mac to make more space and I came across a folder called AMC and I didn't know what it was used for so i put it in the trash. But now when i try and empty my trash it says "the operation can't be completed because the item "AMCDaemon" is in use." so I clicked continue and then it said again "the operation can't be completed because the item "AMC" is in use," so I clicked continue again and it just stayed in my trash. I tried clicking all the options (skip, stop and continue) and the same thing popped up every time 😟 Please help me it's still in my trash now


I'm running a mac version 10.10.5

MacBook Air, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Dec 28, 2015 5:34 PM

Reply
8 replies

Dec 29, 2015 4:33 PM in response to Laralishous

Your question brings up the subject of removing adware. This is a general comment on that subject.

Under no circumstances should you ever allow anti-virus software to delete something for you.

The only tools that anyone needs to detect and remove adware are the Finder and a web browser, both of which you already have. Anyone who has enough computer skill to install adware can just as well remove it without using anything else.

Apple's general statements about malware protection are here and here, and here are its instructions for removing the most common types of ad-injection malware. Those statements don't mention any third-party "anti-virus" or "anti-malware" product. Apple's method for removing adware involves, as I say, only the Finder and a web browser.

You become infected with malware by downloading unknown software without doing research to determine whether it's safe. If you keep making that mistake, the same, and worse, will keep happening, and no anti-malware will rescue you. The only safety lies in safe computing practices.

The Windows/Android anti-malware industry had more than $75 billion in sales in 2014 [source: Gartner, Inc.] Its marketing strategy is to convince people that they're helpless against malware attack unless they use its products. But with all that anti-malware, the Windows and Android platforms are still infested with malware—most of it far more harmful than mere adware. The same can be expected to happen to the Mac platform if its users trust the same industry to protect them, instead of protecting themselves.

You are not helpless, and you don't have to give full control of your computer—and your data—to strangers in order to be rid of adware.

These are generalities. Regarding the "malwarebytes" product in particular, you may be told that there are no reports that is has caused damage. In fact, there are such reports; for example:

I found malware or adware on my system the other day. I removed it with Maleware Bytes and since then Safari has not worked proper at all.

preferences pane will not load

Read that report and draw your own conclusions—not anyone else's conclusions.

The developer itself admitted that the Windows version of the product has been known to delete essential system files.

Whether the software damages the system or not, it prompts for your password in order to take full adminstrative control, and connects via the Internet to a server controlled by the developer. The developer's privacy policy, linked directly to the product page, reads in part as follows:

"Without limiting the Privacy Policy, you agree that Malwarebytes may track certain data it obtains from your Computer including data about any malicious software or other threats flagged by the Software, data about your license, data about what version of the Software you are using and what operating conditions it runs under and data concerning your geographic location."

(Emphasis added.) So the developer admits to tracking your location, as well as other unspecified data, and gives itself the legal right to collect any data it chooses. How it uses that right, you don't know. By running the software, you accept these terms.

It's sometimes said that the Malwarebytes product only removes adware rather than malware as such (if there's a difference), and that it therefore shouldn't be stigmatized as anti-malware. The developer's own description does distinguish between adware and malware, and specifically mentions removing malware as a selling point six times. A self-described employee of the developer wrote in an ASC discussion, "Actually, it's also a malware removal app..." (emphasis added.)

The question then is: as a security-conscious computer user, do you want to take risks where there is no benefit?

Dec 29, 2015 4:33 PM in response to Laralishous

First, never use any kind of "anti-virus" or "anti-malware" software on a Mac. That's how you create problems, not how you solve them.

You installed a fake "utility" called "Advanced Mac Cleaner." Like any software that purports to automatically "clean up" or "speed up" a Mac, it's a scam, and some variants of it are ad-injection malware.

To remove it, please take the steps below. Some of the files listed may be absent in your case. Back up all data before proceeding.

Malware is always changing to get around the defenses against it. This procedure works as of now, as far as I know. It may not work in the future. Anyone finding this comment a few days or more after it was posted should look for a more recent discussion, or start a new one.

If you paid for the software with a credit card, consider reporting the charge to the bank as fraudulent.

Step 1

Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:

~/Library/LaunchAgents

Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select

Services Open

from the contextual menu.* A folder named "LaunchAgents" may open. If it does, look inside it for files with a name that begins in either of these ways:

com.pcv.

com.WebShoppy

Move any such file to the Trash.

*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 may not see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.

Step 2

Open this folder as in Step 1:

/Library/LaunchAgents

Inside it there may be one or more files with a name beginning in

com.WebTools

If so, move those files, and only those, to the Trash. You may be prompted for your administrator login password.

Don't delete the LaunchAgents folder or anything else inside it.

Log out or restart the computer.

Step 3

Open the Applications folder and move an item named "Advanced Mac Cleaner" (if it's present) to the Trash. Also remove any items with a name such as "Shoppy" or "WebShoppy." Empty the Trash.

Step 4

In the Extensions tab of the Safari preferences window, uninstall an extension named "XSearch" if it's present. Also remove any other extensions that you don't know you need. If in doubt, remove all of them. None is required for normal operation. You may have to do the equivalent in the Chrome and Firefox browsers, if you use either of those.

Step 5

The malware is now permanently inactivated, provided that you don't reinstall it. This step is optional.

Delete the following items, if they exist, as in Step 1:

/Library/Application Support/amc

~/Library/AdvancedMacCleaner

~/Library/Application Support/WebTools

There's no need to log out or restart after taking this step.

The problem may have started when you downloaded something, such as the application "FileZilla," from the "Sourceforge" website or some other Internet cesspit. Never visit that site again. All software should be downloaded only from the developer's website or from the Mac App Store, if applicable.

Dec 29, 2015 8:24 AM in response to Linc Davis

I've asked you countless times to cite just one other example. It seems you haven't been able to accomplish that. So your only conclusion is drawn from this single unfortunate fellow whose system was corrupted before he ever downloaded the software. How much testing have you done with Malwarebytes to draw your conclusions? Testing for yourself is an integral part of answering questions in these forums, which you seem to ignore.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

how do I delete a AMC folder from my macbook air?

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