What is adware? How to remove adware and unwanted programs from your Mac? How to stop ads and pop-ups from Macs?
Adware programs are those pesky applications on Mac that tend to harass users with a lot of different pop-ups, redirects, banners and many other forms of advertisements. On Mac, they can exist from harmless pesky push notifications all the way up to being extremely annoying programs on your computer that pretend to be helpful, but display all forms of ad-supported content that makes your Mac a nightmare to use. In this article, we will show you how to get rid of those applications permanently an prevent them from annoying you in the future.
Adware Summary
| Name | Adware |
| Type | Adware for Mac OS |
| Short Description | Aims to show a lot of ads with the main goal to redirect you to the third-party sites that are advertised for the revenue of the adware developer. |
| Symptoms | May show pop-ups, redirects, banners, redirections, push notifications and many other adware content. |
| Distribution Method | Via software bundling or via other methods. |
| Detection Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Adware Download Combo Cleaner | User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss Adware. |
Adware on Mac – How Did I Get It and What Does It Do?
The primary way of getting adware on your Mac is allegedly done via software bundling. This is basically when the adware developer decides to include the installer of the adware program In one of the install steps of a free app you may be trying to install. There, the pesky adware program may exist in the a form, similar to what the image below shows:
Besides bundling, adware programs can also be installed by the you, the user, if you believe the adware is a legitimate app that can help improve your browsing activity or improve your PC’s health.
Either way, once an adware app gets slithered into your Mac, you may immediately notice the following types of advertisements to begin appearing:
- Pop-ups.
- Push notifications ads.
- Taken over banner spaces on the sites you have visited.
- Ad-supported search results appearing on a hoax search engine in your browser.
- Redirects to third-party sites.
These ads may not only contain cookies and other trackers that may obtain what you search, type and do online, but they may also lead you to a lot of dangerous sites, such as:
- Malicious sites.
- Scamming websites.
- Websites that may be fake tech support scams.
- Phishing sites.
This is what makes adware programs indirectly dangerous for your computer and their removal is highly recommended from your Mac.
Remove Adware from Your Mac
In order to make sure that all the components and files of an adware program currently residing on your Mac are gone, we recommend that you read the instructions underneath. For maximum effectiveness, we strongly advise that you combine them with an advanced anti-malware software. Such professional anti-malware software has the power to detect and remove these programs safely and effectively.
Ventsislav Krastev
Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
Follow Me:
- Guide 1: Get rid of Adware from Mac OS X.
- Guide 2: Remove Adware from Google Chrome.
- Guide 3: Erase Adware from Mozilla Firefox.
- Guide 4: Uninstall Adware from Microsoft Edge.
- Guide 5: Delete Adware from Safari.
- Guide 6: Eliminate Adware from Internet Explorer.
Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Get rid of Adware from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall Adware 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 Adware 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: Scan for and remove Adware files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Adware, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. Combo Cleaner offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.
Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Remove Adware from Google Chrome.
Step 1: Start Google Chrome and open the drop menu
Step 2: Move the cursor over "Tools" and then from the extended menu choose "Extensions"
Step 3: From the opened "Extensions" menu locate the unwanted extension and click on its "Remove" button.
Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Google Chrome by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.
Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Erase Adware from Mozilla Firefox.
Step 1: Start Mozilla Firefox. Open the menu window
Step 2: Select the "Add-ons" icon from the menu.
Step 3: Select the unwanted extension and click "Remove"
Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.
Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Uninstall Adware from Microsoft Edge.
Step 1: Start Edge browser.
Step 2: Open the drop menu by clicking on the icon at the top right corner.
Step 3: From the drop menu select "Extensions".
Step 4: Choose the suspected malicious extension you want to remove and then click on the gear icon.
Step 5: Remove the malicious extension by scrolling down and then clicking on Uninstall.
Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Delete Adware from Safari.
Step 1: Start the Safari app.
Step 2: After hovering your mouse cursor to the top of the screen, click on the Safari text to open its drop down menu.
Step 3: From the menu, click on "Preferences".
Step 4: After that, select the 'Extensions' Tab.
Step 5: Click once on the extension you want to remove.
Step 6: Click 'Uninstall'.
A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall the extension. Select 'Uninstall' again, and the Adware will be removed.
Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Eliminate Adware from Internet Explorer.
Step 1: Start Internet Explorer.
Step 2: Click on the gear icon labeled 'Tools' to open the drop menu and select 'Manage Add-ons'
Step 3: In the 'Manage Add-ons' window.
Step 4: Select the extension you want to remove and then click 'Disable'. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected extension, and some more add-ons might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click 'Disable'.
Step 5: After the unwanted extension has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red 'X' button located at the top right corner and start it again.
