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

What is SkilledInitiator

According to security experts, SkilledInitiator is an adware app. Adware is type of malware that can cause problems for your Mac. It can generate numerous additional pop up, banner, pop-under and in-text link advertisements flooding on your browser; gather your privacy information such as login details, online searches, etc; run in the background and drag down your computer running speed; give more chances for other adware, PUPs even malware to get on your computer.

Does adware steal your data? The SkilledInitiator adware can analyze the location and which Internet websites you visit, and then present advertisements to the types of content, goods or services featured there. Its authors can gather and sell your browsing information and behavior to third parties.

How does SkilledInitiator get on your computer

These days certain free software creators bundle potentially unwanted software or adware software with a view to making some money. These are not free programs as install an unwanted apps on to your MS Windows computer. So whenever you install a new free programs 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 method, reject all additional software.

Threat Summary

Name	SkilledInitiator, “SkilledInitiator 1.0 app”
Type	adware, PUP (potentially unwanted program), Mac virus, Mac malware
Detection Names	ApplicUnwnt, Adware.MAC.Generic, Adware/Adload!OSX, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, OSX.Trojan.Gen, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, MacOS.Agent-MT and Program:MacOS/Vigram.A
Distribution	Freeware installers, fake software updaters, suspicious pop-up advertisements and torrent downloads
Symptoms	You keep getting redirected to unfamiliar web sites, unwanted advertisements appear on web-sites that you are visiting, there is an unexpected program in the ‘Applications’ section of the Finder, unwanted toolbars in your web-browser, your browser start page has changed and you cannot change it back, slow Internet or slow browsing.
Removal	SkilledInitiator removal guide

How to Remove SkilledInitiator adware (removal tutorial)

In most cases adware requires more than a simple uninstall through the use of the Finder in order to be fully removed. For that reason, our team created several removal ways which we’ve combined in a detailed tutorial. Therefore, if you’ve the SkilledInitiator adware on your MAC and are currently trying to have it deleted then feel free to follow the steps below in order to resolve your problem. Some of the steps will require you to restart your MAC system or close this web page. So, read this tutorial carefully, then bookmark this page or open it on your smartphone for later reference.

To remove SkilledInitiator, complete the steps below:

1. Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device
2. Check the list of installed applications
3. Remove SkilledInitiator related files and folders
4. Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
5. Remove SkilledInitiator from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
6. How to stay safe online

Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device

SkilledInitiator 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 SkilledInitiator.

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 applications

In order to delete SkilledInitiator you need to do is to delete unknown and dubious programs from your machine using the Finder. When uninstalling adware, browser hijackers and potentially unwanted programs, check the list of installed programs and try to find suspicious applications and uninstall them all. Pay special attention to recently installed software, as it is most probably that SkilledInitiator сame along with it.

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

You will see a list of apps installed on your Apple Mac. We recommend to pay maximum attention to the program you installed last. Most probably, it’s the SkilledInitiator adware software. If you’re in doubt, you can always check the program by doing a search for her name in Google, Yahoo or Bing.

Once the program which you need to uninstall is found, simply right click on its name, and select “Move to Trash”.

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

Remove SkilledInitiator related files and folders

Now you need to try to find SkilledInitiator 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

Manual SkilledInitiator removal requires some computer skills. Some files and system entries that created by the adware can be not completely removed. We advise that use MalwareBytes AntiMalware to scan the Mac. Moreover, this application will help you to remove toolbars, PUPs, browser hijackers and adware that your MAC system can be affected too.

Visit the following page to download the latest version of MalwareBytes Anti Malware for Apple Mac.

After downloading is done, run it and follow the prompts. Press the “Scan” button for checking your Apple Mac for the SkilledInitiator . Depending on your Apple Mac, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. While the MalwareBytes Anti Malware utility is checking, you may see number of objects it has identified as being affected by malicious software. Review the report and then click the “Quarantine” button.

The MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) is a free program that you can use to remove all detected folders, files, malicious services and so on.

Remove SkilledInitiator from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

If you have ‘SkilledInitiator ‘ removal problem, then remove unwanted extensions can help you. In the steps below we will show you the way to get rid of malicious extensions without reinstall. This will also allow to remove SkilledInitiator from your browser.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
In the top right hand corner, click on ‘three vertical dots’, and this will open up the main menu on Chrome. Select ‘More tools’, then ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to remove SkilledInitiator adware by reset 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 SkilledInitiator 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

If you surf the Web, you can’t avoid malvertising. But you can protect your browser against it. Download and use an adblocker program. AdGuard is an ad blocker which can filter out a large number of of the malicious advertising, stoping dynamic scripts from loading harmful content.

1. AdGuard can be downloaded from the following link.
   
   

   AdGuard for Mac download
   3687 downloads
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: January 17, 2018
   
2. Once the downloading process is complete, launch the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. Once the installation is complete, click “Skip” to close the setup program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that 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 start your Apple Mac, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop intrusive advertisements, block harmful and misleading web pages.

To sum up

After completing the steps outlined above, your MAC should be clean from the SkilledInitiator adware and other malicious software. The Safari, Chrome and Firefox will no longer redirect you to scam web-pages and online ads. Unfortunately, if the step-by-step instructions does not help you, then you have caught a new adware, and then the best way – ask for help here.