Did Area Product sneak into your Mac without your knowledge? This behavior is typical for adware applications, and Area Product fits the description.
Area Product “Virus” App for Mac
Is your default browser (Safari, Chrome, etc.) affected by intrusive pop-ups associated with an app called Area Product? Or maybe there is a persistent browser extension attached to your browser that you can’t remove? These are examples which depict the behavior of a potentially unwanted application (PUA).
The Area Product app could be difficult to remove permanently, being able to reappear after every system start. Such unwanted programs usually come with adware (ad-supported software) functionalities, thanks to which your browser is flooded with intrusive ads.
What can you do to rid your system of the intrusive Area Product app and the pop-ups it shows? We may be able to help you with the instructions located at the bottom of this article.
Threat Summary
| Name | Area Product |
| Type | PUP |
| Short Description | A questionable application that hijacks your default browser, be it Chrome or Safari. It can perform browser modifications without your knowledge to add a browser extension and generate intrusive advertisements. |
| Symptoms | The homepage, new tab page and search engine in preferred web browser can be altered to display a bogus search engine. Browser slowdowns may occur due to increased number of online ads. The program may start every time you start the affected Mac. |
| Distribution Method | Freeware Installations, Bundled Packages |
| Detection Tool |
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| User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss Area Product. |
Area Product “Virus” App – More Information
Because Area Product could suddenly appear on your Mac, it is classified as a potentially unwanted application with adware capabilities. The sudden and unexpected appearance of Area Product makes many users believe that it is a type of malware or virus, thus calling it “Area Product virus.” The application may not be malicious; however, the fact that it demonstrates persistence when attempting to remove it makes it highly suspicious.
Why is Area Product installed on your Mac? The truth is that such unwanted apps manage to affect a Mac operating system via bundling and more specifically, bundled downloads. Bundling is a method widely used by app developers with the purpose of monetizing their apps quickly by displaying advertisements. For this to be possible, legitimate applications could have included the this ad-supported app in their installation setups, and you could have downloaded them without knowing.
Another possible installation method is that you intentially downloaded the Area Product app from a third-party store, believing it is a useful tool. In many cases, ad-supported apps and browser extensions could promise you the best deals for products you wish to purchase, coupons, or to display competitive prices to help in your online shopping. However, these promises are only tricks to get you to install the app.
Once started on your Mac, the Area Product “virus” could change your Safari or Chrome browser settings to display advertisements. Note that adware and PUPs could also be able to collect specific information related to your browsing habits. This data collection takes place with tracking technologies such as cookies, web beacons, scripts, etc.
As a result, the app could collect:
- Visited URLs and websites
- Browser’s home page
- Search queries
- Search queries on the visited web pages
- Type of used browser
- Operating system type
- Internet protocol (IP) address
- Geographic location
- The domain name of current Internet service provider (ISP)
The bottom line is that longer Area Product runs on your Mac, the more exposed you become to a range of issues. That is why its complete removal is absolutely recommended.
Remove Area Product – Instructions
In order to remove Area Product along with all entries it created on your Mac system, you should complete several removal steps in a precise order. The instructions below give you manual and automatic removal approaches. In order to fully get rid of files installed by potentially unwanted programs, we recommend that you combine the steps. Also note that the manual removal might turn out to be time-consuming and complicated, so be patient. If you don’t feel comfortable with the manual steps, navigate to the automatic part of the guide.
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Steps to Prepare Before Removal:
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.
- 1. Scan for Mac Malware
- 2. Uninstall Risky Apps
- 3. Clean Your Browsers
Step 1: Scan for and remove Area Product files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Area Product, 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.
Quick and Easy Mac Malware Video Removal Guide
Bonus Step: How to Make Your Mac Run Faster?
Mac machines maintain probably the fastest operating system out there. Still, Macs do become slow and sluggish sometimes. The video guide below examines all of the possible problems that may lead to your Mac being slower than usual as well as all of the steps that can help you to speed up your Mac.
Step 2: Uninstall Area Product 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:
2. Find Activity Monitor and double-click it:
3. In the Activity Monitor look for any suspicious processes, belonging or related to Area Product:
4. Click on the "Go" button again, but this time select Applications. Another way is with the ⇧+⌘+A buttons.
5. In the Applications menu, look for any suspicious app or an app with a name, similar or identical to Area Product. If you find it, right-click on the app and select “Move to Trash”.
6. Select Accounts, after which click on the Login Items preference. Your Mac will then show you a list of items that start automatically when you log in. Look for any suspicious apps identical or similar to Area Product. Check the app you want to stop from running automatically and then select on the Minus (“-“) icon to hide it.
7. Remove any leftover files that might be related to this threat manually by following the sub-steps below:
- 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 Area Product 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:
1. Click on "Go" and Then "Go to Folder" as shown underneath:
2. Type in "/Library/LauchAgents/" and click Ok:
3. Delete all of the virus files that have similar or the same name as Area Product. If you believe there is no such file, do not delete anything.
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 3: Remove Area Product – related extensions from Safari / Chrome / Firefox
Area Product-FAQ
What is Area Product on your Mac?
The Area Product threat is probably a potentially unwanted app. There is also a chance it could be related to Mac malware. If so, such apps tend to slow your Mac down significantly and display advertisements. They could also use cookies and other trackers to obtain browsing information from the installed web browsers on your Mac.
Can Macs Get Viruses?
Yes. As much as any other device, Apple computers do get malware. Apple devices may not be a frequent target by malware authors, but rest assured that almost all of the Apple devices can become infected with a threat.
What Types of Mac Threats Are There?
According to most malware researchers and cyber-security experts, the types of threats that can currently infect your Mac can be rogue antivirus programs, adware or hijackers (PUPs), Trojan horses, ransomware and crypto-miner malware.
What To Do If I Have a Mac Virus, Like Area Product?
Do not panic! You can easily get rid of most Mac threats by firstly isolating them and then removing them. One recommended way to do that is by using a reputable malware removal software that can take care of the removal automatically for you.
There are many Mac anti-malware apps out there that you can choose from. SpyHunter for Mac is one of the reccomended Mac anti-malware apps, that can scan for free and detect any viruses. This saves time for manual removal that you would otherwise have to do.
How to Secure My Data from Area Product?
With few simple actions. First and foremost, it is imperative that you follow these steps:
Step 1: Find a safe computer and connect it to another network, not the one that your Mac was infected in.
Step 2: Change all of your passwords, starting from your e-mail passwords.
Step 3: Enable two-factor authentication for protection of your important accounts.
Step 4: Call your bank to change your credit card details (secret code, etc.) if you have saved your credit card for online shopping or have done online activiites with your card.
Step 5: Make sure to call your ISP (Internet provider or carrier) and ask them to change your IP address.
Step 6: Change your Wi-Fi password.
Step 7: (Optional): Make sure to scan all of the devices connected to your network for viruses and repeat these steps for them if they are affected.
Step 8: Install anti-malware software with real-time protection on every device you have.
Step 9: Try not to download software from sites you know nothing about and stay away from low-reputation websites in general.
If you follow these reccomendations, your network and Apple devices will become significantly more safe against any threats or information invasive software and be virus free and protected in the future too.
More tips you can find on our MacOS Virus section, where you can also ask any questions and comment about your Mac problems.
About the Area Product Research
The content we publish on SensorsTechForum.com, this Area Product how-to removal guide included, is the outcome of extensive research, hard work and our team’s devotion to help you remove the specific macOS issue.
How did we conduct the research on Area Product?
Please note that our research is based on an independent investigation. We are in contact with independent security researchers, thanks to which we receive daily updates on the latest malware definitions, including the various types of Mac threats, especially adware and potentially unwanted apps (PUAs).
Furthermore, the research behind the Area Product threat is backed with VirusTotal.
To better understand the threat posed by Mac malware, please refer to the following articles which provide knowledgeable details.