How to uninstall Elementary Unit app/extension from Mac

What is ElementaryUnit

ElementaryUnit is supposed to be an app that will improve the browsing experience, but according to security researchers, it is an adware program. Adware is form of malicious software that can cause problems for your Apple Mac. It can generate numerous additional popup, banner, pop-under and in-text link ads flooding on your browser; gather your personal data such as login details, online searches, etc; run in the background and drag down your machine running speed; give more chances for other adware software, potentially unwanted applications even malicious software to get on your machine.

Another reason why you need to remove the ElementaryUnit adware is its online data-tracking activity. Adware software has the ability to gather a wide variety of marketing-type data about you such as what webpages you are opening, what you are looking for the Internet and so on. This confidential information, afterwards, may be sold to third parties.

Adware is usually written in ways common to malicious software, spyware and hijackers. In order to get rid of ElementaryUnit adware, you will need follow the steps below or use free adware removal tool listed below.

How does ElementaryUnit get on your MAC

In many cases, adware come bundled with the installers from file sharing web-sites. So, install a free programs is a a good chance that you will find a bundled adware. If you don’t know how to avoid it, then use a simple trick. During the installation, choose the Custom or Advanced installation option. Next, press ‘Decline’ button and clear all checkboxes on offers that ask you to install optional apps. Moreover, please carefully read Term of use and User agreement before installing any software or otherwise you can end up with another unwanted application on your MAC like this adware.

Threat Summary

Name	ElementaryUnit. Elementary Unit 1.0 app
Type	adware, potentially unwanted program (PUP), pop-up virus, pop-up advertisements, pop-ups
Symptoms	unwanted ads appear on webpages that you are visiting your internet browser is rerouted to web sites you did not want new extensions suddenly installed on your internet browser unexpected changes in your web browser such as using a new default search engine low ping but slow Internet your Apple Mac became slower than normal
Removal	ElementaryUnit removal guide

How to Remove ElementaryUnit (removal instructions)

As with removing adware, malware or PUPs, there are few steps you can do. We recommend trying them all. If you do only one part of the guidance, then it should be use malware removal utility, because it should remove adware software and stop any further infection. But to completely get rid of ElementaryUnit adware software you’ll have to at least reset your web browser settings like newtab, search provider by default and homepage to default state, delete all unwanted and suspicious programs, and get rid of adware software by malicious software removal utilities. Some of the steps will require you to restart your computer or shut down this website. So, read this tutorial carefully, then bookmark this page or open it on your smartphone for later reference.

To remove ElementaryUnit, use the following steps:

1. Remove profiles created by ElementaryUnit
2. Check the list of installed software
3. Remove ElementaryUnit related files and folders
4. Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
5. Remove ElementaryUnit from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
6. How to stay safe online
7. To sum up

Remove profiles created by ElementaryUnit

ElementaryUnit can make changes to the Mac system such as malicious changes to browser settings, and the addition of malicious system profiles. You need to check the system preferences, find and remove malicious profiles and ensure your settings are as you expect.

Click Apple menu ( ) > System Preferences.

In System Preferences, select Profiles. if there is no Profiles in the list of preferences, that means there are no profiles installed on the Mac device. If there is Profiles in the list, then click on it, then select a profile associated with ElementaryUnit.

To delete a malicious profile, click on the minus button ( – ) located at the bottom-left of the Profiles screen.

Check the list of installed software

It’s of primary importance to identify and remove potentially unwanted programs, adware and browser hijackers through ‘Applications’ section of your Finder.

Open Finder and click “Applications” as shown on the image below.

You will see a list of software installed on your machine. We recommend to pay maximum attention to the program you installed last. Most probably, it is the ElementaryUnit adware. If you are in doubt, you can always check the program by doing a search for her name in Google, Yahoo or Bing.

When the program which you need to remove is found, simply right press on its name, and choose “Move to Trash”.

Don’t forget, choose Finder, then “Empty Trash”.

Remove ElementaryUnit related files and folders

Now you need to try to find ElementaryUnit related files and folders, and then delete them manually. You need to look for these files in certain directories. To quickly open them, we recommend using the “Go to Folder…” command.

Click on the Finder icon. From the menu bar, select Go and click “Go to Folder…”. As a result, a small window opens that allows you to quickly open a specific directory.

Check for ElementaryUnit generated files in the /Library/LaunchAgents folder

In the “Go to Folder…” window, type the following text and press Go:
/Library/LaunchAgents

This will open the contents of the “/Library/LaunchAgents” folder. Look carefully at it and pay special attention to recently created files, as well as files that have a suspicious name. Move all suspicious files to the Trash. A few examples of files: search.plist, ElementaryUnit.plist, com.machelper.plist, macsearch.plist and installapp.plist. Most often, potentially unwanted programs, browser hijackers and adware software create several files with similar names.

Check for ElementaryUnit generated files in the /Library/Application Support folder

In the “Go to Folder…” window, type the following text and press Go:
/Library/Application Support

This will open the contents of the “Application Support” folder. Look carefully at its contents, pay special attention to recently added/changed folder. Move all suspicious folders to the Trash.

Check for ElementaryUnit generated files in the “~/Library/LaunchAgents” folder

In the “Go to Folder…” window, type the following text and press Go:
~/Library/LaunchAgents

Proceed in the same way as with the “/Library/LaunchAgents” and “/Library/Application Support” folders. Look for suspicious and recently added files. Move all suspicious files to the Trash.

Check for ElementaryUnit generated files in the /Library/LaunchDaemons folder

In the “Go to Folder…” window, type the following text and press Go:
/Library/LaunchDaemons

Carefully browse the entire list of files and pay special attention to recently created files, as well as files that have a suspicious name. Move all suspicious files to the Trash. A few examples of files to be deleted: com.macsearch.plist, com.machelper.plist, com.ElementaryUnit.plist, com.search.plist and com.installapp.plist. In most cases, PUPs, browser hijackers and adware software create several files with similar names.

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

You can delete ElementaryUnit associated files automatically with a help of MalwareBytes Anti-Malware. We suggest this free malware removal utility because it can easily get rid of browser hijackers, adware, PUPs and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and system entries.

1. Installing the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware is simple. First you will need to download MalwareBytes Anti Malware from the following link.
   
   

   Malwarebytes Anti-malware (Mac)
   20851 downloads
   Author: Malwarebytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: September 10, 2020
   
2. Once the download is complete, please close all programs and open windows on your MAC. Run the downloaded file. Follow the prompts.
3. The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) will launch and show the main window.
4. Further, press the “Scan” button to begin checking your machine for the ElementaryUnit adware. While the utility is checking, you can see how many objects and files has already scanned.
5. When the system scan is finished, MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) will show a list of all items found by the scan.
6. Make sure all threats have ‘checkmark’ and press the “Remove Selected Items” button.
7. Close the Anti-Malware and continue with the next step.

Remove ElementaryUnit from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

This step will show you how to get rid of malicious plugins. This can delete ElementaryUnit and fix some surfing issues, especially after adware software infection.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
Click on ‘three dots menu’ button at the top right corner of the Google Chrome window. In the menu go to ‘More tools’, then ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to remove ElementaryUnit adware by reset Google Chrome settings.	Click on ‘menu’ button and select ‘Add-ons’. Go to ‘Extensions’ tab. To uninstall an add-on, click on ‘Remove’ button next to it. If you are still experiencing problems with ElementaryUnit adware removal, you need to reset Firefox browser.
Internet Explorer	Safari
Click ‘Tools’ button in the top-right corner. Select ‘Manage add-ons’. In the drop-down menu under ‘Show’, select ‘All add-ons’. To delete an add-on, double-click it; in the new window click ‘Remove’. Another solution to remove ElementaryUnit adware software from IE is reset IE settings.	On the top menu select ‘Safari’, then ‘Preferences’. Select ‘Extensions’ tab. Select an extension you want to delete and click ‘Uninstall’ button next to it.

How to stay safe online

Use ad-blocking program like AdGuard in order to block advertisements, malvertisements, pop-ups and online trackers, avoid having to install harmful and adware browser plug-ins and add-ons which affect your computer performance and impact your machine security. Surf the Internet anonymously and stay safe online!

1. Download AdGuard on your MAC OS from the following link.
   
   

   AdGuard for Mac download
   3687 downloads
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: January 17, 2018
   
2. When the downloading process is finished, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. When the setup is done, press “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial which will help you get to know AdGuard better.
4. In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you launch your MAC OS, AdGuard will start automatically and stop intrusive ads, block harmful and misleading websites.

To sum up

Now your MAC should be clean of the ElementaryUnit adware. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted ads and undesired malicious web pages) and MalwareBytes Anti Malware (to periodically scan your MAC for new malicious software, hijackers and adware software). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Mac OS. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new browser hijackers, malicious software and adware are released.

If you are still having problems while trying to delete ElementaryUnit ads from your browser, then ask for help here.