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

What is UpgradedPlatform

UpgradedPlatform is a malicious application that belongs to the Adware category. Adware is short for ‘ad supported’ software. Additionally, some malware contains adware or behaves similarly to adware software. Adware presents unwanted advertisements that appear in pop ups or sponsored links on computer screens. In order to show unwanted ads as often as possible adware can modify your web-browser settings. You may even find that the MAC system settings are changed without your conscious permission. The authors of adware software do so in order to make profit via third-party ad network. Thus every your click on the ads makes profit for them.

Another reason why you need to remove the UpgradedPlatform adware is its online data-tracking activity. It can analyze the location and which Net web-sites you visit, and then present advertisements to the types of content, goods or services featured there. Adware software authors can gather and sell your surfing information and behavior to third parties.

How does UpgradedPlatform get on your machine

Adware usually spreads bundled with free applications . So, when you installing freeware, carefully read the disclaimers, choose the Custom or Advanced setup type to watch for additional apps that are being installed, because some of the applications are PUPs and adware software.

Threat Summary

Name	UpgradedPlatform, UpgradedPlatform 1.0 app
Type	adware software, PUP (potentially unwanted program), Mac malware, Mac virus
Detection Names	Adware/Adload!OSX, MacOS.Agent-MT, OSX.Trojan.Gen, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, Adware.MAC.Generic, ApplicUnwnt and Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload
Distribution	Free software installers, torrent downloads, fake software updaters and malicious popup ads
Symptoms	When you go to a webpage, you’re automatically redirected to another web-page that you do not intend to visit, advertising banners appear in places they shouldn’t be, new entries appear in your Applications folder, unwanted web-browser toolbars, your web browser start page has replaced and you cannot modify it back, fast Internet but slow browsing speeds.
Removal	UpgradedPlatform removal guide

How to remove UpgradedPlatform adware

There present several free adware removal utilities. Also it is possible to remove UpgradedPlatform manually. But we suggest to combine all these solutions below into the one removal algorithm. Follow the steps of the tutorial. 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 restart your Apple Mac.

To remove UpgradedPlatform, complete the following steps:

1. Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device
2. Delete UpgradedPlatform related applications through the Finder
3. Remove UpgradedPlatform related files and folders
4. Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
5. Remove UpgradedPlatform from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
6. How to stay safe online

Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device

UpgradedPlatform can install a configuration profile on the Mac system to block changes made to the browser settings. Therefore, you need to open system preferences, find and delete the profile installed by the adware.

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 UpgradedPlatform.

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, which is normal.

Delete UpgradedPlatform related applications through the Finder

Check the list of installed apps and delete all unknown or dubious applications. This is an important step, it so often happens that PUPs, browser hijackers and adware are built into free software, so by removing these programs you can get rid of web-browser redirects and intrusive ads.

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

It will display a list of all applications installed on your Apple Mac. Scroll through the all list, and uninstall any dubious and unknown applications. Right click to suspicious program and select “Move to Trash”. Another solution is drag the application from the Applications folder to the Trash.

Most important, scroll through the all list, and move to trash any unknown applications. Don’t forget, choose Finder -> Empty Trash.

Remove UpgradedPlatform related files and folders

Now you need to try to find UpgradedPlatform 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

Manual UpgradedPlatform removal requires some computer skills. Some files and system entries that created by the adware software may be not completely removed. We advise that use MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) to scan the Mac computer. Moreover, this program will help you to remove potentially unwanted programs, toolbars, adware software and browser hijackers that your MAC can be affected too.

Please go to the following link to download the latest version of MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) for Mac.

Once the download is complete, close all windows on your Apple Mac. Further, open the saved file. Follow the prompts.

The MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) will automatically start and you may see its main window such as the one below.

Next, click the “Scan Now” button for checking your MAC system for the UpgradedPlatform adware. Depending on your computer, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. When a threat is found, the count of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the checking is finished.

When MalwareBytes has completed scanning, it will show the Scan Results. You may remove items (move to Quarantine) by simply click the “Quarantine” button.

The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) will begin to delete UpgradedPlatform adware.

Remove UpgradedPlatform from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

This step will show you how to delete malicious plugins. This can remove UpgradedPlatform and fix some browsing issues, especially after adware software infection.

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. In the menu go to ‘More tools’, then ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to get rid of UpgradedPlatform 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 issues with UpgradedPlatform 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

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

Download AdGuard on your MAC OS from the following link.

When downloading 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 instructions. Press “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will allow you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you start your MAC, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop intrusive pop ups, block harmful and misleading websites.

To sum up

After completing the step-by-step instructions shown above, your MAC should be free from UpgradedPlatform and other malware. The Google Chrome, Safari and Firefox will no longer redirect you to various unwanted ads and scam web-pages. Unfortunately, if the few simple steps does not help you, then you have caught a new adware, and then the best way – ask for help here.