How to uninstall OpticalUpdater app/extension from Mac

What is OpticalUpdater

OpticalUpdater is supposed to be an app that will improve the browsing experience, but according to security researchers, this application is adware. By definition, adware is a piece of software which presents advertisements on a computer. However, people basically use the word ‘adware’ to describe a type of malicious software that displays unwanted ads to the user. Most commonly, this kind of adware do not have any uninstall procedures and can use technologies that are similar to those used by malware to penetrate the computer.

Does adware steal your personal data? The OpticalUpdater adware can monetize its functionality by gathering privacy data from your browsing sessions. This user data, later, can be easily sold to third party companies. This puts your sensitive information at a security risk.

Therefore, the adware is quite dangerous. So, we recommend you remove it from your machine immediately. Follow the guidance presented below to uninstall OpticalUpdater from your MAC and Firefox, Chrome and Safari.

How does OpticalUpdater get on your MAC OS

Adware usually spreads together with certain free programs that you download off of the Internet. So, think back, have you ever download and run any free programs. In order to avoid infection, in the Setup wizard, you should be be proactive and carefully read the ‘Terms of use’, the ‘license agreement’ and other install screens, as well as to always select the ‘Manual’ or ‘Advanced’ setup option, when installing anything downloaded from the Net.

Threat Summary

Name	OpticalUpdater, OpticalUpdater 1.0 app
Type	adware, potentially unwanted program (PUP), Mac malware, Mac virus
Detection Names	MacOS.Agent-MT, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, ApplicUnwnt, Adware/Adload!OSX, OSX.Trojan.Gen, Adware.MAC.Generic and Program:MacOS/Vigram.A
Distribution	Freeware installers, dubious popup advertisements, torrent downloads and fake update tools
Symptoms	Every time you perform an Internet search, your browser is redirected to another web-page, you experience a large count of of unwanted popup windows, unexpected program installed without your say-so, new toolbars on your desktop, unexpected changes in your browser like using a new default search engine, slow Internet browsing speeds.
Removal	OpticalUpdater removal guide

How to remove OpticalUpdater adware

In the few simple steps below we will have a look at the adware software and how to remove OpticalUpdater from Firefox, Chrome and Safari browsers for Apple Mac, natively or by using few free removal tools. Certain of the steps below will require you to close this webpage. So, please read the few simple steps carefully, after that bookmark it or open it on your smartphone for later reference.

To remove OpticalUpdater, follow the steps below:

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

Remove profiles created by OpticalUpdater

OpticalUpdater 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 computer. If there is Profiles in the list, then click on it, then select a profile associated with OpticalUpdater.

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

Check the list of installed programs

Try to identify and delete the program that causes the appearance of unwanted advertisements or internet browser redirect, using the Applications list which is located in the Finder.

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

Carefully browse through the list of installed programs and remove all dubious and unknown applications.

When you’ve found anything dubious that may be the OpticalUpdater adware or other potentially unwanted program, then right click this program and choose “Move to Trash”. Once complete, Empty Trash.

Remove OpticalUpdater related files and folders

Now you need to try to find OpticalUpdater 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.

OpticalUpdater creates several files, these files must be found and removed. Below is a list of files associated with this unwanted program.

• /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.OpticalUpdater.system.plist
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.OpticalUpdater.service.plist
• /Library/Application Support/.(RANDOM)/System/com.OpticalUpdater.system
• ~/Library/Application Support/.(RANDOM)/Services/com.OpticalUpdater.service.app

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 OpticalUpdater 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: com.machelper.plist, com.net-preferences.plist, installapp.plist, com.google.defaultsearch.plist, , com.OpticalUpdater.service.plist, search.plist and macsearch.plist. Most often, potentially unwanted programs, adware software and browser hijackers create several files with similar names.

Check for OpticalUpdater 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. Check the contents of suspicious folders, if there is a file with a name similar to com.OpticalUpdater.system, then this folder must be deleted. Move all suspicious folders to the Trash.

Check for OpticalUpdater 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 OpticalUpdater 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.installapp.system.plist, com.machelper.system.plist, com.OpticalUpdater.system.plist, com.macsearch.system.plist and com.search.system.plist. In most cases, adware, potentially unwanted programs and browser hijackers 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 OpticalUpdater. Of course, very often adware, browser hijackers and PUPs 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 browser hijackers, adware and potentially unwanted programs. Therefore, we advise you to run MalwareBytes to scan the Mac computer.

Click the following link to download MalwareBytes AntiMalware.

After the downloading process is finished, run it and follow the prompts. Press the “Scan” button to begin scanning your MAC OS for the OpticalUpdater adware. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your Apple Mac and the speed of your Apple Mac. While the tool is scanning, you can see number of objects and files has already scanned. You may remove items (move to Quarantine) by simply click the “Quarantine” button.

The MalwareBytes AntiMalware is a free program that you can use to remove all detected folders, files, malicious services and so on.

Remove OpticalUpdater from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

If you are still getting OpticalUpdater adware, then you can try to get rid of it by removing malicious extensions.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
Click on ‘three dots menu’ button at the top right corner of the Chrome window. When the drop-down menu appears, choose ‘More tools’ and click on ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to get rid of OpticalUpdater 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 OpticalUpdater adware software removal, you need to reset 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

It’s important to run ad blocker applications such as AdGuard to protect your MAC from harmful web-sites. Most security experts says that it is okay to stop advertisements. You should do so just to stay safe! And, of course, the AdGuard can to block misleading and other unwanted web-pages.

Click the link below to download AdGuard.

Once downloading 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 guidance. Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick guidance which will help you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you run your machine, AdGuard will start automatically and stop intrusive pop up ads, block malicious and misleading webpages.

Finish words

Once you’ve done the few simple steps outlined above, your computer should be clean from this adware and other malware. The Firefox, Chrome and Safari will no longer show any unwanted ads when you browse the Net. Unfortunately, if the step-by-step guide does not help you, then you have caught a new adware software, and then the best way – ask for help.

Please create a new question by using the “Ask Question” button in the Questions and Answers. Try to give us some details about your problems, so we can try to help you more accurately. Wait for one of our trained “Security Team” or Site Administrator to provide you with knowledgeable assistance tailored to your problem with the OpticalUpdater adware.