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I now begin to understand some of the references in this post http://www.mac-forums.com/security-awareness/337539-adware-removal.html?highlight=Adware+Removal
Initially I was confused the first OP seemed to be referring to what at first sight appeared to be, an albeit unnecessary, application called Mac Adware Cleaner. Expensive too, at AU $39.00 it bore a surprising resemblance to another app which I admit to using myself, CleanMyMac.
I will not bother to justify my use of this app, suffice to say I installed the first version several years ago, before becoming a regular member of these forums and didn't know any better. I will say in it's defence that the developers, MacPaw are a reputable company and this app has never caused a problem for either my wife or I.
I suggest it is applications like MacKeeper and now Mac Adware Cleaner and Advanced Mac Cleaner that give these type of apps a bad name so the view, held by many on this forum, that it is better to avoid them all is not such a bad idea.
Getting back to the topic I later decided the OP must be referring to Advanced Ad Cleaner. This led me to a little web searching and I eventually found this artical; http://www.macsecurity.net/view/109/
This article suggests that popups;
View attachment 25492
Like this are the result of "Scareware" produced by the fake Optimisation Utility (Advanced Ad Cleaner) and clicking the "install now" button will probably result in even more problems. Advanced Ad Cleaner a rogue utility which over time causes "increasing functional problems and yet more reminders to upgrade to the premium version and thus resolve the errors, which are all falsified in the first place". See: https://www.cnet.com/forums/discussions/how-to-get-rid-of-advanced-mac-cleaner-virus-scam-tool/
"Mac Adware Cleaner popups manual removal for Mac" In the first reference we see instructions for removal of Advanced Ad Cleaner but there's a problem, note that this article was written in 2016 but the illustrated steps for manual removal show windows and preference settings which do not exist any more and have not for a few years. It is no longer possible to "Reset Safari" as suggested from the Safari menu bar nor can you "Reset" Firefox in quite the way suggested although it is possible to remove addons and restore browser settings using "Refresh."
If however you find the manual method a little difficult to follow there is another suggestion for Automatic removal, wait for it.........you can simply use the very large DOWNLOAD NOW button to install MacKeeper and use it's Advanced Uninstaller to "have MacKeeper completely eliminate all components of the app from your Mac by clicking Remove in the bottom left-hand part of the GUI. Doing so will ensure all components of the virus and its remainders, which may have not been removed in the manual way, will be thoroughly cleaned up. AAAAAAH!
After I regained my composure I found another page from the same site (http://www.macsecurity.net/) suggests using yet another app called MacBooster for the same purpose.
After all that I found the solution to the removal of this nasty little utility, (usually innocently installed as part of a bundle of software from somewhere else) on Mac Users Forums well answered in this post from Linc Davis https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7245101?start=0&tstart=0
Is it any wonder that users get tied in knots trying to find solutions to problems which in this case are deliberatly created by the unscrupulous developers of the solution.
The installation of yet another invasive "cleaning" application to remove another is laughable yet I can see how some users could easily dig themselves into a progressively deeper hole by following the apparently genuine instructions from this site or that when their obvious intention is to flog you a different piece of equally worthless software when all the while the required tools are built in to the macOS.
Thank goodness for sites like this one.
Initially I was confused the first OP seemed to be referring to what at first sight appeared to be, an albeit unnecessary, application called Mac Adware Cleaner. Expensive too, at AU $39.00 it bore a surprising resemblance to another app which I admit to using myself, CleanMyMac.
I will not bother to justify my use of this app, suffice to say I installed the first version several years ago, before becoming a regular member of these forums and didn't know any better. I will say in it's defence that the developers, MacPaw are a reputable company and this app has never caused a problem for either my wife or I.
I suggest it is applications like MacKeeper and now Mac Adware Cleaner and Advanced Mac Cleaner that give these type of apps a bad name so the view, held by many on this forum, that it is better to avoid them all is not such a bad idea.
Getting back to the topic I later decided the OP must be referring to Advanced Ad Cleaner. This led me to a little web searching and I eventually found this artical; http://www.macsecurity.net/view/109/
This article suggests that popups;
View attachment 25492
Like this are the result of "Scareware" produced by the fake Optimisation Utility (Advanced Ad Cleaner) and clicking the "install now" button will probably result in even more problems. Advanced Ad Cleaner a rogue utility which over time causes "increasing functional problems and yet more reminders to upgrade to the premium version and thus resolve the errors, which are all falsified in the first place". See: https://www.cnet.com/forums/discussions/how-to-get-rid-of-advanced-mac-cleaner-virus-scam-tool/
"Mac Adware Cleaner popups manual removal for Mac" In the first reference we see instructions for removal of Advanced Ad Cleaner but there's a problem, note that this article was written in 2016 but the illustrated steps for manual removal show windows and preference settings which do not exist any more and have not for a few years. It is no longer possible to "Reset Safari" as suggested from the Safari menu bar nor can you "Reset" Firefox in quite the way suggested although it is possible to remove addons and restore browser settings using "Refresh."
If however you find the manual method a little difficult to follow there is another suggestion for Automatic removal, wait for it.........you can simply use the very large DOWNLOAD NOW button to install MacKeeper and use it's Advanced Uninstaller to "have MacKeeper completely eliminate all components of the app from your Mac by clicking Remove in the bottom left-hand part of the GUI. Doing so will ensure all components of the virus and its remainders, which may have not been removed in the manual way, will be thoroughly cleaned up. AAAAAAH!
After I regained my composure I found another page from the same site (http://www.macsecurity.net/) suggests using yet another app called MacBooster for the same purpose.
After all that I found the solution to the removal of this nasty little utility, (usually innocently installed as part of a bundle of software from somewhere else) on Mac Users Forums well answered in this post from Linc Davis https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7245101?start=0&tstart=0
Is it any wonder that users get tied in knots trying to find solutions to problems which in this case are deliberatly created by the unscrupulous developers of the solution.
The installation of yet another invasive "cleaning" application to remove another is laughable yet I can see how some users could easily dig themselves into a progressively deeper hole by following the apparently genuine instructions from this site or that when their obvious intention is to flog you a different piece of equally worthless software when all the while the required tools are built in to the macOS.
Thank goodness for sites like this one.
