- How to remove apps from Launchpad on a Mac. Use the special tool, App Cleaner & Uninstaller, to delete apps from the Launchpad correctly. This tool automatically finds the service files of any program and allows you to delete them along with the unneeded app in just a few clicks. Here is how it works.
- Apr 22, 2017 Switching from Windows to Mac? The ONLY 10 tips you need to know - Duration: 14:50. Macinhome Mac Consulting - Apple Certified Consultants 739,292 views.
/Applications/Chrome Apps.localized Delete the apps from there. (Note that means your user folder, not the regular Applications folder which is at /Applications without.) Finally, empty the trash to remove from launchpad. If you use Chrome Canary: it will have its own additional folder in /Applications.
Macs don’t get malware, right? Unfortunately, that’s a common myth that’s been widely disproven. Mac viruses aren’t as common, but they do happen, mostly via browser malware.
More than that, some apps you run on a Mac — like a browser — are particularly vulnerable to malware, spyware and general hijacking.
We’ve previously covered how to remove a browser hijack from Safari. But you may be using Google Chrome, which is still one of the most popular browsers available today.
RELATED:
If you’ve noticed your Google Chrome or Mac acting weird, your machine may have a browser hijacker. There’s a variety of malware out there, but we’ll use a common and annoyingly persistent hijack called Kuklorest as an example.
Contents
- 4 Final Steps
Remove Kulkorest from Chrome Browser
Before taking any additional steps, you’ll want to remove Kuklorest from your browser. The simplest way to do this is to just delete Google Chrome.
Of course, if you don’t want to delete the app itself for some reason, you can ways remove the malicious extensions manually.
- Launch Google Chrome.
- Click the menu icon in the upper-right corner. It’ll appear like three vertical dots or lines.
- Hover your cursor over More Tools.
- In the pop-up menu that appears, click on extensions.
- Click the Remove button next to any suspicious extensions to delete them.
Oftentimes, a browser hijack will let the default webpage that opens to a phony search engine. You’ll want to rid your browser of that, too.
- Click the menu icon in the upper-right corner.
- Select Settings from the drop-down menu.
- Scroll down and find a section called On Startup.
- Then, click on Open a specific page or set of pages.
- Click the menu icon next to any weird pages and then click Remove.
- Repeat for any other suspicious set pages.
Finally, you’ll also want to delete any sketchy-sounding search engines from your browser in general. Here’s how.
- Click the menu icon in the upper-right corner.
- Select Settings from the drop-down menu.
- Scroll down and find the Search Engine heading.
- Click on Manage search engines.
- Click on the Menu icon next to any suspicious search engines.
- Select Remove from list from the drop-down menu.
- Then, set a legitimate search engine under the Search Engine heading. We recommend Google but go with the one you like the best.
Remove Kulkorest from Applications on MacBook
That’s the end of it, right? Not necessarily. Sometimes, Kulkorest will be so deeply embedded that it will infiltrate your applications folder and other parts of your system.
In these cases, a bit of extra digging will be required to officially get rid of it.
- First, open your Applications folder in a new Finder window.
- Then, search through the Applications folder and delete any sketchy apps that you don’t use or remember adding.
- Some notable additions might be Mac Tuneup or InstallMac. Occasionally, you may even find an app with the name of the malware itself (like Kuklorest).
Sometimes, Kuklorest can be particularly stubborn and will just continue to sit in your Applications folder.
At least one user recommends manually dragging the malicious app directly into the Trash — which seems to work if it’s being persistent.
Clear Out Your Mac Files and Folders
In addition to the Applications folder, a piece of malware may also be hiding deeper within your system.
- Open a new Finder window.
- Click on Go in the top menu bar.
- In the drop-down menu, click on Go to Folder.
- Type in the name of the following folders to search for them.
/Library/LaunchAgents
Library/Application
~/Library/LaunchAgents~
/Library/LaunchDaemons
Library/Application
~/Library/LaunchAgents~
/Library/LaunchDaemons
Unfortunately, this is the trickiest and most tedious part of the process. You’ll need to comb through these folders and delete any files that appear suspicious.
Your best friend in these cases is Google. If you find a file that doesn’t look right, just Google the name of it.
It’s also helpful if you arrange the icons by date modified or date added. That way, you can weed out any files that were present before symptoms arose. This will also group files that were added at the same time together (like malicious files that were installed at once).
Other users will report whether or not that file is malware — if it is, send it to the Trash bin. Some files may be “locked” by an administrator. Ignore the warnings and delete them anyway.
Final Steps
At this point, you’ll want to empty the Trash. You may run into issues doing so, however.
Once all the files associated with the browser hijack are deleted, the malware itself should be inactive. But it’s always safe to run a virus scan using a vetted program like Malwarebytes.
Continue to keep an eye on your Mac over the next couple of weeks to see if you noticed anything else strange. For stubborn issues, you may want to uninstall Chrome from your MacBook and re-install it.
We hope that you found this short article useful. We are hopeful that this fixes the issue of Chrome browser on your Mac and speeds up your browsing experience.
Mike is a freelance journalist from San Diego, California.
While he primarily covers Apple and consumer technology, he has past experience writing about public safety, local government, and education for a variety of publications.
He’s worn quite a few hats in the journalism field, including writer, editor, and news designer.
Related Posts:
Browser hijackers have become one of the most common types of malware on the Mac. Whether you use Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or another browser entirely, you’re at risk of browser hijacking. Here, we’ll tell you how you can tell if your browser has been hijacked and how to remove the culprit.
What is browser hijacking?
It’s a type of malware that once it has been downloaded and installed, takes control of your web browser. Typically, it will change your homepage to one that the hacker wants you to visit, and change your default search engine to one that allows the hacker to monitor your searches and clicks.
That information will then be used to display adverts. Some browser hijacking also involves installing toolbars that claim to find discounts or offer coupons for online shopping sites. In reality, this is adware, designed to get you to click on a link that will take you to a suspicious website in order to increase its advertising revenue.
Hijackers may also download files to your Mac that monitor your activity or steal data. For example, your Mac may get infected with a software keylogger that can record your banking and e-mail authentication information.
Well-known examples
There are a number of hijackers that have become well-known because they are so widespread. You might have heard of some of them. Many of them have names that make them sound like search or shopping extensions.
- Pitch of Case
- Search Quick
- Time Search Now
- Booking app
- Fuq.com
All of these hijackers sneak onto your Mac by bundling themselves with apparently legitimate applications or disguising themselves as updates, for example to Flash Player. And they all intercept your browser’s homepage and default search engine and change it to wherever the hacker wants you to go.
macOS’ GateKeeper feature safeguards your Mac and checks the apps you’re about to download. It approves apps that are already on the App Store or those whose code is signed by an authorized developer. To install anything else the GateKeeper doesn’t advise, you need to confirm the download. In macOS Catalina, Gatekeeper goes one step further. Code-signed apps must also be notarized by Apple – that means they are checked for malware, among other things – in order to get past GateKeeper. CleanMyMac X is one such notarized app, meaning it has been approved by Apple.
How can I tell if my browser has been hijacked?
There are a number of possible symptoms:
- Has your browser’s homepage changed without you changing it?
- Have you started seeing lots of adverts you wouldn’t normally see?
- Has your default search engine changed?
- Is your browser running more slowly than usual or behaving erratically?
If the answer to any of those questions is ‘yes’, it’s likely your browser has been hijacked.
![Chrome Chrome](/uploads/1/2/6/2/126226072/356557932.jpg)
![Remove Apps From Chrome Mac Remove Apps From Chrome Mac](/uploads/1/2/6/2/126226072/660201380.png)
How can I avoid being hijacked?
Hijackers find their way onto your Mac using a number of different techniques. However, in each case, they are downloaded after an action initiated by the user, such as clicking a link in a phishing email or on a questionable website.
- Don’t click on any link in an email or instant message unless you are certain where it leads.
- Don’t respond to pop-up adverts that claim a component, like Flash Player, is out of date, or that your system needs to be repaired.
- Avoid downloading apps from free. software download sites that use their own proprietary download manager.
- Keep your operating system and all your apps up to date – CleanMyMac X has an updater that scans apps installed on your Mac, checks for updates, and then allows you to update all those that have new versions available.
How to remove browser malware
There are two ways to remove hijackers – the manual, tiresome, way or the automatic, fast method.
Chrome Mac App Store
To remove browser hijackers in Safari manually:
- In Safari, click on the Safari menu and choose Preferences.
- Select the Extensions tab and look for any extensions you don’t recognize.
- If you find one, click on it and press Uninstall.
- Now, choose the General tab and set your homepage to your preferred start page.
- Finally, select the Search tab and choose the search engine you want to use.
To delete browser hijackers in Chrome:
- Launch Chrome and type the following in the address bar: “chrome://extensions”.
- Look for any extensions you don’t recognize.
- If you see one, press Remove next to it.
- Now, paste this in the address bar: “chrome://settings”.
- Scroll down to “On start-up” and decide what page do you want to see at the start of your browser.
- In the “Search engine” section, choose a default search engine.
Firefox:
- Launch Firefox and click on the three lines at the right of the address bar.
- Choose “Add-ons” and then “Extensions”.
- Look for any extensions that seem suspicious.
- If you find one, click on it and choose “Remove”.
- Click on the three lines again and choose “Options”.
- Set your homepage and default search engine to those you want to use.
Browser hijacker removal the easy way
The easiest method and the one we recommend is to use CleanMyMac X, which has a tool for deleting Extensions.
- Download, install, and launch CleanMyMac X.
- Choose Extensions in the sidebar.
- Click on a browser, and check the box next to the extensions you want to delete.
- Press Remove.
How To Remove Google Chrome Apps From Mac
CleanMyMac X also has a tool that allows you to clear browser caches. You should certainly do that if you have had malware in your browser.
- In CleanMyMac X, choose the Privacy module.
- Press Scan.
- When it’s finished, check the box next to your browser in the main window.
- Press Remove.
How To Delete Google Chrome From Mac
The browser hijacker is a common type of malware that typically comes bundled with apps downloaded in download managers from free software sites. Once installed, they change the homepage and default search engine for your browser in order to direct you to pages that display adverts. They may also steal data. Fortunately, with the help of CleanMyMac X, they are fairly easy to remove.