What is Mac Control? Is Mac Control a virus? How to remove Mac Control malware from your Mac?
Mac Control is a very dangerous Trojan that aims to take control over your Mac. It is known by a lot of different detection names and this malware is not to be underestimated. It can steal your files, copy your saved passwords and even obtain financial data that you may enter on your browser, like credit card details, for instance. If you see the Mac Control detection, you should immediately focus on removing it from your Mac. Read this article to learn how to remove Mac Control from your computer and understand how to protect your Mac Against future menaces, like this Trojan.
Threat Summary
| Name | Mac Control |
| Type | Trojan Horse for Mac OS |
| Short Description | Aims to slither on your Mac undetected and perform series of malcious activities. |
| Symptoms | One of the symptoms could be a fake app posing as a legitimate one. The virus aims to be completely undetected, so other symptoms could include odd behavior of your Mac. |
| Distribution Method | Via malspam or via compromised websites. |
| Detection Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by malware Download Combo Cleaner | User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss Mac Control. |
Mac Control Trojan – How Did I Get It and What Does It Do?
The Mac Control malware’s main purpose is to convince you into downloading an opening it’s infection file. The virus may initiate the infection process as a result of being uploaded on sites, where Mac Control may pretend to be some sort of useful app for your Mac. It can also pose as a document or a file that may be sent to you via e-mail spam messages. If sent via e-mail, the infection file of Mac Control, could pretend to be various different types of seemingly important documents, like invoices, receipts and other types of files that aim to lure victims into opening them.
Once Mac Control has entered your Mac, it can gain permissions to perform a lot of activities. Typical for programs, like Mac Control is to take advantages of your internet connection in order to create a lot of different types of files and objects in the system directories of your Mac. These files could be well-concealed and even duplicated, so that even if you delete Mac Control manually, there is no guarantee that a backup file won’t be triggered to restart the infection.
The Mac Control Trojan is capable of performing the following activities on your Mac;
- Log the keystrokes you type.
- Obtain your IP and MAC addresses.
- Steal files from your Mac.
- Activate your camera and/or microphone.
- Steal any saved passwords and logins on your browser.
- Steal your AppleID logins.
- Track your Mac’s location with FindMyMac.
- Download and run other viruses on your Mac.
- Update itself, to remain hidden from traditional antivirus programs that have detected it.
Not only this, but Mac Control is a clever spyware too. It can fool traditional antivirus programs, that it has been removed, while still being active on the computers it has infected. MacControl’s main detection names by most antivurus vendors are the following:
→ MacOS/MaControl
Mac.OSX.Trojan.MacControl.A
Trojan.Mac.Macontrol.twjbj
Backdoor.Macontrol.Lknm
BackDoor.Macontrol.2
Trojan.MacKontrol..1
OSX_LONGAGE.A
BehavesLike.Java.Suspicious.nv
OSX/MacCtrl-A
malicious (high confidence)
OSX/MaControl.A.1
Mac.OSX.Trojan.MacControl.A
Backdoor.OSX.MaControl.b
Mac.OSX.Trojan.MacControl.A
OSX32-Trojan/Macontrol.B
Backdoor.OSX.MaControl.b
Mac.OSX.Trojan.MacControl.A
malware (ai score=82)
Trojan.Generic
Trojan.Agent.ged (CLASSIC)
Backdoor.OSX.Longage.A
Trojan.OSX.Mackontrol
MAC/MacKontrol.B!tr
MacOS:MacKontrol-A
Malware.Radar01.Gen
If you see these detections, then immediate removal of Mac Control should be on your to-do list.
How to Effectively Remove Mac Control
If you have experience with manually tracking down such advanced threats and removing them, then the first steps of the removal manual below are for you to try.
However, since Mac Control can foll some traditional antivirus programs that it has been removed, but the threat can still remain persistent on your Mac, we strongly recommend removing Mac Control with an advanced anti-malware software, like the one underneath. Such specific program is created to remove this malware by eliminating every related virus file from your Mac. Not only this, but this tool guarantees that your Mac will stay protected from most existent threats for Mac out there.
Ventsislav Krastev
Ventsislav is a cybersecurity expert at SensorsTechForum since 2015. He has been researching, covering, helping victims with the latest malware infections plus testing and reviewing software and the newest tech developments. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for learning new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management, Network Administration and Computer Administration of System Applications, he found his true calling within the cybersecrurity industry and is a strong believer in the education of every user towards online safety and security.
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Preparation Phase:
Before starting to follow the steps below, be advised that you should first do the following preparations:
- Backup your files in case the worst happens.
- Make sure to have a device with these instructions on standy.
- Arm yourself with patience.
Step 1: Uninstall Mac Control and remove related files and objects
1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:
- Go to Finder.
- In the search bar type the name of the app that you want to remove.
- Above the search bar change the two drop down menus to “System Files” and “Are Included” so that you can see all of the files associated with the application you want to remove. Bear in mind that some of the files may not be related to the app so be very careful which files you delete.
- If all of the files are related, hold the ⌘+A buttons to select them and then drive them to “Trash”.
In case you cannot remove Mac Control via Step 1 above:
In case you cannot find the virus files and objects in your Applications or other places we have shown above, you can manually look for them in the Libraries of your Mac. But before doing this, please read the disclaimer below:
You can repeat the same procedure with the following other Library directories:
→ ~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
Tip: ~ is there on purpose, because it leads to more LaunchAgents.
Step 2: Remove Mac Control – related extensions from Safari / Chrome / Firefox
Remove an extension from Safari and reset it.
Remove a toolbar from Google Chrome
Remove a toolbar from Mozilla Firefox
Step 3: Scan for and remove Mac Control files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Mac Control, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. SpyHunter for Mac offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.
