Remove MacKeeper Adware

How to manually remove MacKeeper from your Mac

How to uninstall MacKeeper from your Mac | Macworld

Fixes for Adware and Pop-ups

1. Malwarebytes
2. DetectX 2.11
3. Remove adware that displays pop-up ads and graphics on your Mac
4. Stop pop-up ads and adware in Safari - Apple Support

Basics for Uninstalling Software

Most OS X applications are completely self-contained "packages" that can be uninstalled by simply dragging the application to the Trash. Applications may create preference files that are stored in the /Home/Library/Preferences/ folder. Although they do nothing once you delete the associated application, they do take up some disk space. If you want you can look for them at the above location and delete them, too.

Some applications may install an uninstaller program that can be used to remove the application. If you cannot find the uninstaller then you could download the freeware, Easy Find, to locate files that need to be removed. The places you need to search include:

1. /Home/Library/Applications Support/ folder. Check if the application has created a folder then delete the folder that's in the Applications Support folder.
2. Applications may install a startupitem or a LogIn item. Startupitems are usually installed in the /Library/StartupItems/ folder or the /Home/Library/StartupItems/ folder. LogIn Items are set in the Users & Groups preferences. Open it inSystem Preferences, then click on the LogIn Items tab. Select the item from the list and click on the Delete [-] button to remove it.
3. Some software use startup daemons or agents. Look for them in /Library/LaunchAgents/ and /Library/LaunchDaemons/ or in /Home/Library/LaunchAgents/.

Some applications install a receipt in the /Library/Receipts/ folder. Usually with the same name as the program or the developer. The item generally has a ".pkg" extension. Be sure you also delete this item as some programs use it to determine if it's already installed.

There are many utilities that can uninstall applications. Here is a selection:

1. AppZapper
2. AppDelete
3. Hazel
4. AppCleaner
5. CleanApp
6. iTrash
7. AppBolish
8. AppUninstaller
9. Uninstaller

For more information visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on removing software.

designerjc wrote:

I have looked at the MalwareBytes website and the popups seemed to get worse.

Did you just look at the website, or did you download and run Malwarebytes? If you didn't download it, try that, it should remove whatever adware and junk software you have installed.

If you noticed pop-ups preventing you from downloading Malwarebytes on your computer, that is something that some adware has been known to do in "self-defense." Download on another computer and transfer on a flash drive, or restart the computer in safe mode to download and run Malwarebytes:

Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple Support

you shouldn't have Chrome on an iMac: Chrome itself is mal-ware

you shouldn't have enabled "allow Safari to install unchecked 3rd party software". go to settings turn that off.

let apple upgrade your browers, not some mal-intents. they will never improve your browser they will only attack it - they might even give a little candy (a small neat feature) for the opportunity of giving you headaches

let Apple take care of Safari updates for you, and don't use Chrome

delete your cache using "Clear History" and reboot. if that didn't work it will likely resolve itself next Sierra update.

on the other hand "pop-up ads" are pop-ups. just ignore them or turn off pop-up ads in options. some websites (surprise, us government sites) require you have pop-ups on - which of course is a pain.

QuietMacFan wrote:

Chrome itself is mal-ware

That is not at all true. There is some debate as to whether Chrome is a reasonable browser to use on the Mac, but it is absolutely not because Chrome is "malware." Malware is deliberately malicious software. Chrome may be the best browser for everyone, based on possible performance issues and questions of privacy with Google services/software, but it is not malicious.

delete your cache using "Clear History" and reboot.

1) That will not solve any adware problems. It may help eliminate a tech support scam pop-up on a per incident basis only.

2) If you do wish to clear your browser history, rebooting after doing so is absolutely unnecessary and a waste of time.

Mackeeper is such a huge pain. I ended up just using Remove MacKeeper Adware to remove it.