How to uninstall StartEssentials app/extension from Mac (Virus removal guide)

What is StartEssentials

StartEssentials app is an adware. Adware is a form of malicious software that delivers unwanted advertisements. Some of these advertisements are scams or fake advertisements designed to trick you. Even the harmless ads can become really irritating. Adware can be installed unintentionally and without you knowing about it, when you open email attachments, install free applications.

Another reason why you need to get rid of the StartEssentials adware is its online data-tracking activity. It can have spyware and keyloggers built into the app, leading to greater damage to your computer and possible invasion of your personal information. If you are unfortunate have adware or malware running on your MAC system, you can follow the suggestions here to remove StartEssentials from your Apple Mac and web browser.

How does StartEssentials get on your machine

Probably adware get installed onto your Apple Mac when you have installed some free programs like E-Mail checker, PDF creator, video codec, etc. Because, in many cases, adware software can be bundled within the setup files from file sharing websites. So, you should run any files downloaded from the World Wide Web with great caution! Always carefully read the ‘User agreement’, ‘Software license’ and ‘Terms of use’. In the Setup wizard, you should choose the Advanced, Custom or Manual install mode to control what components and third-party apps to be installed.

Threat Summary

Name	StartEssentials, StartEssentials 1.0 app
Type	adware software, PUP (potentially unwanted program), Mac malware, Mac virus
Detection Names	OSX.Trojan.Gen, Adware.MAC.Generic, ApplicUnwnt, MacOS.Agent-MT, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A, Adware/Adload!OSX, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload and Osx.Adware.Cimpli
Distribution	Freeware installers, shady pop-up ads, fake software updaters and torrent downloads
Symptoms	When you go to a web-site, you’re frequently redirected to another website that you do not intend to visit, popup ads won’t go away, there is an unwanted program in the ‘Applications’ section of the Finder, unexpected internet browser addons or toolbars keep coming back, unwanted changes in your web browser like displaying new tabs you didn’t open, low ping but slow Internet.
Removal	StartEssentials removal guide

How to remove StartEssentials adware

Not all unwanted software such as StartEssentials are easily uninstallable. You might see pop-ups, deals, text links, in-text ads, banners and other type of ads in the Firefox, Safari and Chrome and might not be able to figure out the application responsible for this activity. The reason for this is that many undesired applications neither appear in the Finder. Therefore in order to fully delete adware software, you need to complete the following steps. Read it once, after doing so, please bookmark this page (or open it on your smartphone) as you may need to exit your web-browser or reboot your MAC system.

To remove StartEssentials, follow the steps below:

1. Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device
2. Uninstall StartEssentials related software through the Finder
3. Remove StartEssentials related files and folders
4. Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
5. Remove StartEssentials from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
6. How to stay safe online
7. Finish words

Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device

StartEssentials 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 related to StartEssentials.

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

Uninstall StartEssentials related software through the Finder

In order to remove StartEssentials you need to do is to remove unknown and questionable programs from your MAC using the Finder. When deleting browser hijackers, adware software and potentially unwanted programs, check the list of installed programs and try to find suspicious applications and remove them all. Pay special attention to recently installed applications, as it is most likely that StartEssentials сame along with it.

Make sure you have closed all web-browsers and other software. Next, remove any unknown and suspicious software from machine using the Finder.

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

Look around the entire list of apps installed on your computer. Most probably, one of them is the StartEssentials adware. Choose the questionable program or the program that name is not familiar to you and uninstall it.

Drag the dubious program from the Applications folder to the Trash.

Most important, don’t forget, choose Finder -> Empty Trash.

Remove StartEssentials related files and folders

Now you need to try to find StartEssentials 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.

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

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

Some files created by StartEssentials 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 StartEssentials 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.net-preferences.plist, installapp.plist, search.plist, macsearch.plist, com.machelper.plist, com.StartEssentials.service.plist and com.google.defaultsearch.plist, . Most often, adware, PUPs and browser hijackers create several files with similar names.

Check for StartEssentials 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.StartEssentials.system, then this folder must be deleted. Move all suspicious folders and files to the Trash.

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

We suggest using MalwareBytes to scan the Mac device for browser hijackers, adware and potentially unwanted programs. This free tool is an advanced malicious software removal program designed by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This program uses the world’s most popular antimalware technology. It’s able to help you delete malicious software and other security threats from your Mac device for free.

1. Visit the page linked below to download MalwareBytes.
   
   

   Malwarebytes Anti-malware (Mac)
   20851 downloads
   Author: Malwarebytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: September 10, 2020
   
2. After downloading is finished, please close all applications and open windows on your Apple Mac. Run the downloaded file. Follow the prompts.
3. The MalwareBytes will open and display the main window.
4. Further, click the “Scan” button . MalwareBytes application will scan through the whole machine for the StartEssentials adware. This procedure can take some time, so please be patient.
5. Once the checking is finished, a list of all items detected is prepared.
6. Review the scan results and then click the “Remove Selected Items” button.
7. Close the AntiMalware and continue with the next step.

Remove StartEssentials from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

Unwanted ads or other symptoms of adware in your browser is a good reason to find and get rid of malicious plugins. This is an easy method to restore web browsers settings and not lose any important information.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
In the top right hand corner, click on ‘three vertical dots’, and this will open up the main menu on Google Chrome. When the drop-down menu appears, select ‘More tools’ and click on ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to delete StartEssentials 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 StartEssentials adware software 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 computer against new intrusive advertisements and harmful web-pages, you need to run adblocker application that stops an access to harmful ads and web-sites. Moreover, the program can stop the open of intrusive advertising, which also leads to faster loading of web-pages and reduce the consumption of web traffic.

Visit the page linked below to download AdGuard.

When the downloading process is done, 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 instructions that will assist you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you start your machine, AdGuard will start automatically and stop annoying ads, block malicious and misleading web sites.

Finish words

After completing the steps shown above, your MAC should be clean from this adware software and other malicious software. The Chrome, Safari and Mozilla Firefox will no longer open any unwanted ads when you surf the Internet. Unfortunately, if the step-by-step guide does not help you, then you have caught a new adware, 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 StartEssentials adware.