How to uninstall EssentialType from Mac (Virus removal guide)

What is EssentialType

According to security professionals, EssentialType is an adware program. Adware can make big problem to your Apple Mac. Adware also known as ‘adware software’ is a form of malicious software that shows unwanted ads in form of popups, discounting deals, promos or even fake alerts on the MAC screen. Adware software can seriously affect your privacy, your computer’s performance and security. Adware software can be installed onto your MAC computer without your knowledge.

The worst is, adware software can have spyware and keyloggers built into the program, leading to greater damage to your MAC system and possible invasion of your data. You should get rid of adware as soon as possible. Here, in this post below, you can found the helpful guide on How to get rid of EssentialType and annoying ads from your machine for free.

How does EssentialType get on your machine

Adware is bundled within various free software. This means that you need to be very careful when installing programs downloaded from the Internet, even from a large proven hosting. Be sure to read the Terms of Use and the Software license, choose only the Manual, Advanced or Custom install mode, switch off all bundled web-browser addons and applications are offered to install.

Threat Summary

Name	EssentialType, EssentialType 1.0 app
Type	adware software, potentially unwanted program (PUP), Mac virus, Mac malware
Detection Names	OSX.Trojan.Gen, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, Adware/Adload!OSX, ApplicUnwnt, MacOS.Agent-MT, Osx.Adware.Cimpli and Adware.MAC.Generic
Distribution	Free software installers, torrent downloads, fake update tools and malicious pop-up ads
Symptoms	Every time you perform an Internet search, your web browser is redirected to another web site, internet browser popups appear and recommend fake security software, there is an unwanted program in the ‘Applications’ section of the Finder, an unexpected toolbar appears in your browser, your computer settings are being changed without your request, low ping but slow Internet.
Removal	EssentialType removal guide

How to Remove EssentialType (removal steps)

In the few simple steps below we will have a look at the adware and how to get rid of EssentialType from Firefox, Safari and Google Chrome browsers for Mac, natively or by using a few free removal tools. Some of the steps below will require you to exit this website. So, please read the guide carefully, after that bookmark it or open it on your smartphone for later reference.

To remove EssentialType, execute the steps below:

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

Remove profiles created by EssentialType

EssentialType 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 associated with EssentialType.

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.

Check the list of installed software

Check the list of installed programs on your Mac device and delete all unknown and recently installed applications. If you see an unknown program with incorrect spelling or varying capital letters, it have most likely been installed by malware and you should clean it off first with malware removal tool like MalwareBytes Free.

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

Carefully browse through the list of installed applications and remove all questionable and unknown apps.

After you have found anything suspicious that may be the EssentialType adware software or other potentially unwanted program, then right click this program and choose “Move to Trash”. Once complete, Empty Trash.

Remove EssentialType related files and folders

Now you need to try to find EssentialType 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.

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

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

Some files created by EssentialType are hidden from the user. To find and delete them, you need to enable “show hidden files”. To do this, use the shortcut CMD + SHIFT + . Press once to show hidden files and again to hide them. There is another way. Click Finder -> Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal. In Terminal, paste the following text: defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES

Press Enter. Hold the ‘Option/alt’ key, then right click on the Finder icon in the dock and click Relaunch.

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

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

Check for EssentialType 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 EssentialType 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.system.plist, com.search.system.plist, com.EssentialType.system.plist, com.installapp.system.plist and com.machelper.system.plist. In most cases, adware, browser hijackers and potentially unwanted programs create several files with similar names.

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

If you carefully followed the previous steps, then you should be able to get rid of EssentialType. Of course, very often adware, potentially unwanted programs and browser hijackers hides on a Mac computer, 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, PUPs and adware. Therefore, we suggest you to run MalwareBytes to scan the Mac device.

Visit the following page to download MalwareBytes.

When the download is finished, close all apps and windows on your MAC. Run the saved file. Follow the prompts.

The MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) will automatically start and you can see its main screen as shown on the image below.

Now press the “Scan” button to detect EssentialType adware. This procedure can take quite a while, so please be patient. During the scan MalwareBytes Free will search for threats present on your MAC system.

Once finished, a list of all items found is prepared. When you are ready, press the “Quarantine” button. The MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) will delete EssentialType .

Remove EssentialType from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

Annoying EssentialType or other symptoms of adware in your browser is a good reason to find and remove harmful extensions. This is an easy way to recover web-browsers settings and not lose any important information.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
In the top-right corner, expand the Chrome menu. 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 EssentialType adware software 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 EssentialType adware 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

In order to increase your security and protect your Apple Mac against new annoying advertisements and malicious websites, you need to use ad blocking application that blocks an access to harmful advertisements and web pages. Moreover, the program may stop the open of intrusive advertising, that also leads to faster loading of webpages and reduce the consumption of web traffic.

Download AdGuard from the following link.

When the download 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 press “Get Started” to see an quick guide that will help you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you start your machine, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop unwanted popup ads, block malicious and misleading web-pages.

To sum up

Now your Apple Mac should be clean of the EssentialType . We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted pop ups and unwanted malicious web pages) and MalwareBytes Free (to periodically scan your computer for new adware softwares and other malicious software).

If you are still having problems while trying to remove EssentialType from the Mozilla Firefox, Safari and Chrome, then ask for help here here.