How to remove apps that were downloaded via apple-warning.com and similar web pages

What is apple-warning[.]com?

apple-warning[.]com is one of many sites claiming that visitors' devices are infected with viruses and encouraging them to download and install a potentially unwanted application (PUA) to supposedly remove detected threats.

Typically, people do not visit addresses such as apple-warning[.]com intentionally - the web pages are opened through other dubious websites, deceptive advertisements, or by installed PUAs.

apple-warning[.]com claims that the user's iPhone and battery are infected and damaged by three viruses. It encourages people to remove the viruses immediately, otherwise they will cause even more damage. The app designed to remove detected malware can be downloaded by tapping the "Download and install" button.

At the time of research, this site promoted an application called Super BlockerAd. Note that all software should be downloaded directly from official websites and not through deceptive sites such as apple-warning[.]com. As mentioned, these pages are commonly opened by PUAs that are installed on users' browsers and/or devices.

PUAs do more that just open dubious websites. Generally, they feed users with ads and collect various data. They display coupons, banners, surveys, pop-ups, and other ads. It is not safe to click these ads, since they can open untrusted pages (including apple-warning.com) or cause download/installation of potentially malicious apps.

PUAs can also gather details such as users' IP addresses, geolocations, addresses of visited pages, entered search queries, etc. In some cases, they are capable of accessing sensitive information as well. Furthermore, the developers could misuse collected data to generate revenue by selling it to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who then misuse it in other ways.

Threat Summary:

Name	apple-warning.com pop-up
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Mac malware, Mac virus.
Fake Claim	This page claimis that the visitor's iPhone and battery are infected and damaged.
Detection Names	CRDF (Malicious), ESET (Phishing), Kaspersky (Phishing), Sophos AV (Malicious), Full List (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address	95.217.111.214
Promoted Unwanted Application	Super BlockerAd
Symptoms	Your Mac becomes slower than normal, you see unwanted pop-up ads, you are redirected to dubious websites.
Distribution methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake Flash Player installers, torrent file downloads.
Damage	Internet browser tracking (potential privacy issues), display of unwanted ads, redirects to dubious 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.

There are many web pages similar to apple-warning[.]com. Some examples are apple-online-guard[.]com, guardapl[.]com and contentfilled[.]com. In most cases, they claim that the device is infected with viruses and encourage visitors to download and install an app to supposedly fix the problem.

In any case, no software should be downloaded through such web pages. If PUAs are already installed on the browser or operating system, remove them immediately.

How did potentially unwanted applications install on my computer?

Typically, PUAs are downloaded and installed through deceptive ads that execute certain scripts, or the set-ups of other, mainly free programs. This latter distribution method is known as "bundling" and is used to deceive people into downloading and installing unwanted apps by including them into the set-ups as 'additional offers'.

In most cases, information about included apps is provided in options such as "Custom", "Advanced". Users who download and install programs without checking and changing these settings often inadvertently agree to download anr install apps that are included in the set-ups.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

You are advised to download all programs from official websites and via direct links. Other channels, tools such as third party downloaders, torrent clients, eMule (and other Peer-to-Peer networks), unofficial wen pages, etc., can be used to distribute unwanted apps. The same applies to third party installers. Check all "Advanced", "Custom" and other similar settings and decline offers to download or install additionally-included apps.

Intrusive ads that are shown on dubious pages often lead to untrusted websites or cause download/installation of unwanted applications. These ads should not be clicked. Remove unknown, unwanted, suspicious extensions, plug-ins and add-ons installed on the browser, and programs of this kind installed on the operating system immediately.

If your computer is already infected with PUAs, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate them.

Text in a pop-up displayed by apple-warning[.]com:

Apple Security  

Tuesday
14 April 2020

(3) Viruse has been detected on your
iPhone and battery has been infected
and damaged.

If you do not remove this malware now, it may cause
more damage to your device. How to fix this:

Step 1: Tap the button below & install the recommended
virus protection tool for free from the AppStore

Step 2: Run the app to remove all malware to repair your
phone to 100%

1 minutes and 26 seconds

Download and Install

Detected by Apple

Screenshot of a another apple-warning[.]com variant:

Text in this variant:

AdBlocker Update

Continue Watching In Safe Mode & Install AdBlocker

Install

Screenshot of Super BlockerAd downlaod page:

To enable pop-up blocking, fraudulent website warnings, and remove web browsing data in mobile Apple devices, follow these steps:

First, go to "Settings", and then scroll down to find and tap "Safari".

Check if the "Block Pop-ups" and "Fraudulent Website Warning" toggles are enabled. If not, enable them immediately. Then, scroll down and tap "Advanced".

Tap "Website Data" and then "Remove All Website Data".

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 apple-warning[.]com?
• 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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