Mac Purifier Unwanted Application (Mac)

What is Mac Purifier?

Similar to Safe Cleaner for Mac, Mac Clean Pro, and many others, Mac Purifier is a dubious application presented as a great system optimization tool.

Judging on the features offered, Mac Purifier may seem legitimate and useful, however, developers proliferate this app using a deceptive marketing method called "bundling" and, thus, it often infiltrates systems without permission. Therefore, Mac Purifier is categorized as a potentially unwanted application (PUA).

The main Mac Purifier feature is malware removal. After performing a full system scan, users are presented with a list containing hundreds of viruses/threats that must be eliminated. Yet, only the paid (full) versions are supposedly capable of this. In other words, users must pay to remove the threats.

Note that hundreds of "bundled" fake anti-virus/system optimization tools generate false search results in this way. Therefore, it is currently unknown whether Mac Purifier can actually be trusted - it is not confirmed whether the listed infections actually exist.

There is a strong chance that cyber criminals intentionally attempt to scare unsuspecting users simply to trick them into purchasing the 'full' version. Therefore, we advise you to uninstall this application and certainly not to pay for the full version.

"Bundling" is often used to proliferate several potentially unwanted applications at once, and so Mac Purifier may not be the only PUA that has infiltrated your computer.

In most cases, "bundling" is used to proliferate adware and browser hijackers. These apps deliver intrusive advertisements, cause unwanted redirects, and gather sensitive information, thereby posing a direct threat to your privacy and Internet browsing safety. As well as removing Mac Purifier, you should eliminate other dubious applications/browser plug-ins.

Threat Summary:

Name	Mac Purifier potentially unwanted application
Threat Type	Mac malware, Mac virus
Detection Names	Avast (MacOS:TuneUpMyMac-B [PUP]), BitDefender (Adware.MAC.Generic.12987), DrWeb (Program.Mac.Unwanted.TuneUpMyMac.15), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of OSX/TuneupMyMac.D Potentially Unwanted), Full List (VirusTotal)
Symptoms	Your Mac became slower than normal, you see unwanted pop-up ads, you get redirected to shady websites.
Distribution methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake flash player installers, torrent file downloads.
Damage	Internet browsing tracking (potential privacy issues), displaying of unwanted ads, redirects to shady websites, loss of private information.
Malware Removal (Mac)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your Mac with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner for Mac To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited seven days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Research shows that there are hundreds of potentially unwanted applications, all of which are virtually identical. These programs deliver fake promises to provide "useful features", however, these false claims are only attempts to give the impression of legitimacy and trick users to install.

Developers release potentially unwanted applications only to generate revenue, and thus most deliver no value for regular users. Bogus apps promote in-app purchases, cause redirects, deliver ads, and record information.

How did potentially unwanted applications install on my computer?

Mac Purifier is free for anyone to download on its official website, however, as mentioned above, it is also proliferated using a deceptive marketing method called "bundling" - stealth installation of third party apps with regular (typically free) software.

Developers do not disclose "bundled" PUA installations properly - they hide them within "Custom/Advanced" settings (or other sections) of the download/installation processes.

In addition, many users rush and skip steps - behavior that often leads to inadvertent installation of apps such as Mac Purifier. In this way, many users expose their systems to risk of various infections and compromise their privacy.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Select "Custom/Advanced" options and carefully analyze each window of the download/installation dialogs. Opt-out of additionally-included apps and decline offers to download/install them. We recommend that you download programs from official sources only, using direct download links.

Third party downloaders/installers are monetized using the "bundling" method, and thus these tools should not be used. Potentially unwanted applications are often distributed using intrusive advertisements.

Developers invest many resources into intrusive ad design, thereby making them seem legitimate, however, the ads often redirect to dubious websites (gambling, adult dating, pornography, etc.).

If you experience these redirects, eliminate all dubious applications and browser plug-ins. If your computer is already infected with PUAs, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate them.

Appearance of "Mac Purifier" scam (GIF):

Official Mac Purifier promotion website:

Official Mac Purifier installation setup:

IMPORTANT NOTE! Mac Purifier adds itself to the list of applications that automatically run upon each user log in. Therefore, before commencing, perform these steps:

• Go to System Preferences -> Users & Groups. 
• Click your account (also known as Current User).
• Click Login Items.
• Look for the "Mac Purifier" entry.  Select it, and click the "-" button to remove it.

Instant automatic Mac malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of Mac malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner for Mac By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited seven days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is Mac Purifier?
• STEP 1. Remove PUA related files and folders from OSX.
• STEP 2. Remove rogue extensions from Safari.
• STEP 3. Remove rogue add-ons from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove potentially unwanted plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox.

Video showing how to remove adware and browser hijackers from a Mac computer:

Potentially unwanted applications removal:

Remove potentially unwanted applications from your "Applications" folder:

Click the Finder icon. In the Finder window, select “Applications”. In the applications folder, look for “MPlayerX”,“NicePlayer”, or other suspicious applications and drag them to the Trash. After removing the potentially unwanted application(s) that cause online ads, scan your Mac for any remaining unwanted components.

Remove adware-related files and folders

Click the Finder icon, from the menu bar. Choose Go, and click Go to Folder...

Check for adware generated files in the /Library/LaunchAgents/ folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: /Library/LaunchAgents/

In the "LaunchAgents" folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by adware - "installmac.AppRemoval.plist", "myppes.download.plist", "mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist", "kuklorest.update.plist", etc. Adware commonly installs several files with the exact same string.

Check for adware generated files in the ~/Library/Application Support/ folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: ~/Library/Application Support/

In the "Application Support" folder, look for any recently-added suspicious folders. For example, "MplayerX" or "NicePlayer", and move these folders to the Trash.

Check for adware generated files in the ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: ~/Library/LaunchAgents/

In the "LaunchAgents" folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by adware - "installmac.AppRemoval.plist", "myppes.download.plist", "mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist", "kuklorest.update.plist", etc. Adware commonly installs several files with the exact same string.

Check for adware generated files in the /Library/LaunchDaemons/ folder:

In the "Go to Folder..." bar, type: /Library/LaunchDaemons/

In the "LaunchDaemons" folder, look for recently-added suspicious files. For example "com.aoudad.net-preferences.plist", "com.myppes.net-preferences.plist", "com.kuklorest.net-preferences.plist", "com.avickUpd.plist", etc., and move them to the Trash.

Scan your Mac with Combo Cleaner:

If you have followed all the steps correctly, your Mac should be clean of infections. To ensure your system is not infected, run a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus. Download it HERE. After downloading the file, double click combocleaner.dmg installer. In the opened window, drag and drop the Combo Cleaner icon on top of the Applications icon. Now open your launchpad and click on the Combo Cleaner icon. Wait until Combo Cleaner updates its virus definition database and click the "Start Combo Scan" button.

Combo Cleaner will scan your Mac for malware infections. If the antivirus scan displays "no threats found" - this means that you can continue with the removal guide; otherwise, it's recommended to remove any found infections before continuing.

After removing files and folders generated by the adware, continue to remove rogue extensions from your Internet browsers.

Remove malicious extensions from Internet browsers

Remove malicious Safari extensions:

Open the Safari browser, from the menu bar, select "Safari" and click "Preferences...".

In the preferences window, select "Extensions" and look for any recently-installed suspicious extensions. When located, click the "Uninstall" button next to it/them. Note that you can safely uninstall all extensions from your Safari browser - none are crucial for regular browser operation.

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Safari.

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "More Tools" and click "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Google Chrome.

Remove malicious extensions from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window) and select "Add-ons and themes". Click "Extensions", in the opened window locate all recently-installed suspicious extensions, click on the three dots and then click "Remove".

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Mozilla Firefox.

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