how do I remove mac adware cleaner?

Don't click the button...

Your browser and or computer may have adware installed which likely may have

been associated with some other software download from untoward web sites...

You could check this Apple support page to see if you can remove extensions or

other identifiable products as mentioned that would be the cause of such issues.

• Stop pop-up ads and adware in Safari - Apple Support

Another idea, in addition to searching as described in the above page suggests,

would be to read more about these kinds of troubles so as to avoid them later;

and avoidance is part of the longer range plan, a path to a cure. Careful browsing

along with limiting where one chooses to attempt to get software downloads or

images, or perhaps music, etc from sites that load their files with adware, malware,

and junk, can be avoided. Some items that get installed modify the OS or browser

to later allow other things to be installed. Or some company who sent out the ads

will offer to 'fix' your computer with a click-on ad such as you have there. Don't!

Phony "tech support" / "ransomware" popups and web pages

• Tech Guides - The Safe Mac: (adware, malware, + performance guides)

http://www.thesafemac.com/tech-guides/

Also, there is an updated product formerly known as AdwareMedic by Thomas R

that now is offered through MalwareBytes, for free; it can help remove most kinds

of adware and malware items. http://www.adwaremedic.com/index.php

You could safely download the above and also use this other item to generate a

report which could be posted back to an ASC discussion thread, that will tell more

about your computer's status. It would be a general report, not as deep as using

a Command-line or terminal utility code to get; although they can be helpful if the

complex reports are decoded by someone more knowledgable.

See Etrecheck: http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck

http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck_story - about etrecheck

Hopefully this will be of help...

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

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.

Glad to hear you were able to resolve the issue; given your choice

worked, there also are those other sources of information to read

should you get bored. They're not as boring as twiddling thumbs!

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

thank you, thank you, thank you! all other recommendations weren't successful - your's was easy, fast and SUCCESSFUL !

Linc Davis,

I followed your steps :-)

Although you wrote "There's no need to log out or restart after taking this step" I wanted to empty the trash to get rid of the buggers.

However, when I tried to empty the trash, I got these error messages that prevented my desired action:

The second and third messages popped up when I pressed Skip or Continue.

Therefore, I decided to restart my Mac. After restarting it, I could empty the trash of what appeared to be the remaining item: the WebTools folder.

I'm posting this in case others encounter this problem. Restarting, in my case, was better than keeping on with my work on the computer.

Marsha

After manually removing pieces per Linc's advice (which I have done more than once!), I decided to check out the Mawarebytes. It indeed found other little buggers and got rid of them for me. Restart.

🙂

Linc Davis, you are super! So many of your posts have helped me with my Mac! Thank you, thank you!

Thank you so much! This was the best advice that I was able to find. No need to install an unwanted app to remove an app that I did not want either. Very helpful!