How to remove OptimalUnit from Mac (Virus removal guide)

What is OptimalUnit

OptimalUnit is supposed to be an app that will improve the browsing experience, but according to security specialists, this program is adware. Adware is form of malicious software that can cause issues for your MAC. It can generate numerous additional popup, banner, pop-under and in-text link advertisements flooding on your internet browser; collect your confidential data like login details, online searches, etc; run in the background and drag down your MAC OS running speed; give more chances for other adware, PUPs even malicious software to get on your Mac.

Unwanted ads

Being affected by OptimalUnit adware you’ll be forced to use its own search engine. It could seem not to be dangerous, but you still should be very careful, since it may show unwanted and malicious advertisements designed to force you into buying certain questionable software or products, provide search results which may redirect your browser to certain deceptive, misleading or harmful web sites. We recommend that you use only the reliable search provider such as Google, Yahoo or Bing.

Unwanted search ads

Does adware steal your personal information? Adware can gather your Web surfing activity by saving URLs visited, IP addresses, web-browser version and type, cookie information, Internet Service Provider (ISP) and web-sites visited. Such kind of behavior can lead to serious security problems or user information theft. This is another reason why the OptimalUnit adware should be removed as quickly as possible. Here, in this article below, you can found the effective tutorial on How to delete OptimalUnit and unwanted advertisements from your MAC system for free.

How does OptimalUnit get on your MAC system

These days certain free programs creators bundle potentially unwanted software or adware software with a view to making some money. These are not free applications as install an unwanted software on to your Apple computer. So whenever you install a new freeware that downloaded from the Net, be very careful during installation. Carefully read the EULA (a text with I ACCEPT/I DECLINE button), choose custom or manual installation option, disable all third-party apps.

Threat Summary

Name	OptimalUnit
Type	adware, potentially unwanted program (PUP), pop-up virus, popup advertisements, popups
Symptoms	popups and newtabs are loaded without your request you keep getting redirected to unfamiliar websites there are unexpected apps in the ‘Applications’ section of Finder unexpected icons on your desktop your browser start page has modified and you are unable to change it back speed test good but internet slow your MAC OS is no stable leading to freezes
Removal	OptimalUnit removal guide

How to Remove OptimalUnit (removal tutorial)

According to computer security professionals, OptimalUnit adware removal can be finished manually and/or automatically. These tools which are listed below will help you remove adware, malicious internet browser addons, malicious software and potentially unwanted apps . However, if you’re not willing to install other software to remove adware, then use following tutorial to revert back your Apple Mac settings to defaults.

To remove OptimalUnit, perform the following steps:

Remove profiles created by OptimalUnit
Uninstall OptimalUnit related programs through the Finder
Remove OptimalUnit related files and folders
Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
Remove OptimalUnit from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
How to stay safe online
To sum up

Remove profiles created by OptimalUnit

OptimalUnit 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 the System Preferences icon ( ) in the Dock, or choose Apple menu ( ) > System Preferences.

In System Preferences, click Profiles, then select a profile related to OptimalUnit.

Click the minus button ( – ) located at the bottom-left of the Profiles screen to remove the profile.
Note: if you do not see Profiles in the System Preferences, that means there are no profiles installed on your Mac computer, which is normal.

Uninstall OptimalUnit related programs through the Finder

One of the first things to attempt for removal of adware software is to check your Mac device installed programs screen and look for unwanted and suspicious software. If there are any software you do not recognize or are no longer using, you should uninstall them. If that doesn’t work, then you may need to run malware removal utility like MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM).

Open the Finder.
Click “Applications”.
It will display a list of all programs installed on the Apple Mac.
Scroll through the all list, and delete questionable and unknown programs. Pay maximum attention to the program you installed last.
Drag the suspicious program from the Applications folder to the Trash.
Empty Trash.

Remove OptimalUnit related files and folders

Now you need to try to find OptimalUnit 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 OptimalUnit 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: installapp.plist, OptimalUnit.plist, com.machelper.plist, search.plist and macsearch.plist. Most often, browser hijackers, PUPs and adware software create several files with similar names.

Check for OptimalUnit 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 OptimalUnit 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 OptimalUnit 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.search.plist, com.macsearch.plist, com.installapp.plist, com.OptimalUnit.plist and com.machelper.plist. In most cases, browser hijackers, PUPs and adware software create several files with similar names.

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

If you carefully followed the previous steps, then you should be able to remove OptimalUnit. Of course, very often browser hijackers, potentially unwanted programs and adware hides on a Mac device, disguising itself as legitimate apps and files. Therefore, in some cases, it is difficult for an inexperienced user to decide whether a particular file is part of adware, PUPs and browser hijackers. Therefore, we suggest you to use MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) to scan the Mac device.

Please go to the following link to download the latest version of MalwareBytes Anti-Malware for Mac OS.

Malwarebytes Anti-malware (Mac)
20116 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: September 10, 2020
Once downloading is finished, close all programs and windows on your MAC OS. Open a folder in which you saved it. Run the downloaded file and follow the prompts.
Click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this utility for the OptimalUnit adware. A scan may take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your MAC and the speed of your Apple Mac. While the MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) is scanning, you can see number of objects it has identified either as being malicious software.
After the scan get finished, you’ll be displayed the list of all detected items on your MAC OS. Next, you need to press “Quarantine”.

Remove OptimalUnit from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

Annoying OptimalUnit adware software or other symptoms of adware software in your web browser is a good reason to find and delete harmful addons. This is an easy way to recover internet browsers settings and not lose any important information.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
In the top-right corner, expand the Chrome menu. Select ‘More tools’, then ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to remove OptimalUnit 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 issues with OptimalUnit removal, you need to reset Mozilla Firefox browser.
Safari
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.

Google Chrome

Mozilla Firefox

In the top-right corner, expand the Chrome menu.
Select ‘More tools’, then ‘Extensions’.
Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension.
Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box.

You can also try to remove OptimalUnit 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 issues with OptimalUnit removal, you need to reset Mozilla Firefox browser.

Safari

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

To put it simply, you need to use an ad-blocker tool (AdGuard, for example). It will block and protect you from malicious web-sites, unwanted advertisements and pop-ups. To be able to do that, the ad-blocking program uses a list of filters. Each filter is a rule that describes a malicious web-page, an advertising content, a banner and others. The ad-blocking program automatically uses these filters, depending on the web sites you’re visiting.

Visit the following page to download AdGuard.

Once the downloading process is complete, run the downloaded file. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen.

Follow the prompts. AdGuard will then be installed. A window will show up asking you to confirm that you want to see a quick tutorial. Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial which will assist you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you run your MAC, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop undesired popup advertisements, block malicious and misleading web-sites.

To sum up

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

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