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

What is ValidManager

ValidManager is a malicious application that belongs to the Adware category. Adware is form of software developed to inject adverts into your Internet browsing or even desktop experience. Adware can change your homepage, search provider, search results, or even add toolbars to your web-browser. ValidManager run in the background when you are online, and it can slow down your Apple Mac and affect its security and performance.

Another reason why you need to get rid of ValidManager is its online data-tracking activity. It can gather your Internet surfing activity by recording URLs visited, IP addresses, web-browser version and type, cookie information, Internet Service Provider (ISP) and websites visited. Such kind of behavior can lead to serious security problems or confidential information theft. This is another reason why the adware should be deleted without a wait.

By following few simple steps below it is easy to scan and remove adware from Google Chrome, Safari and Firefox and your computer. Learn how to remove ValidManager and amlicious apps, as well as how to run a full machine virus scan.

How does ValidManager get on your MAC system

Adware software usually is bundled with certain free programs that you download off of the Net. So, think back, have you ever download and run any freeware. 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 setup screens, as well as to always select the ‘Manual’ or ‘Advanced’ installation type, when installing anything downloaded from the Internet.

Threat Summary

Name	ValidManager, ValidManager 1.0 app
Type	adware, potentially unwanted program (PUP), Mac malware, Mac virus
Detection Names	Adware.MAC.Generic, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A, OSX.Trojan.Gen, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, ApplicUnwnt, Adware/Adload!OSX and MacOS.Agent-MT
Distribution	Free software installers, fake update tools, torrent downloads and malicious pop up ads
Symptoms	Your browser is redirected to web sites you did not want, undesired advertising links appear on web-pages that you are visiting, new entries appear in your Applications folder, new addons suddenly added on your web-browser, your internet browser start page has replaced without your permission, fast Internet but slow browsing speeds.
Removal	ValidManager removal guide

How to remove ValidManager adware

Fortunately, we have an effective solution which will help you manually or/and automatically remove ValidManager from your web browser and bring your web browser settings, including search provider by default, startpage and new tab page, back to normal. Below you’ll find a removal guidance with all the steps you may need to successfully delete adware software and its components. Read it once, after doing so, please bookmark this page (or open it on your smartphone) as you may need to exit your browser or reboot your MAC OS.

To remove ValidManager, follow the steps below:

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

Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device

ValidManager 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 associated with ValidManager.

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.

Remove ValidManager related software through the Finder

It is of primary importance to identify and get rid of PUPs, adware software and browser hijackers through ‘Applications’ section of your Finder.

Make sure you have closed all web-browsers and other apps. Next, remove any unrequested and suspicious applications from MAC OS using the Finder.

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

Look around the entire list of software installed on your computer. Most likely, one of them is the ValidManager adware. Select the suspicious program or the program that name is not familiar to you and delete it.

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

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

Remove ValidManager related files and folders

Now you need to try to find ValidManager 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

You can delete ValidManager related files automatically through the use of MalwareBytes. We recommend this free malware removal tool because it can easily get rid of toolbars, browser hijackers, adware software and PUPs with all their components such as files, folders and system entries.

Installing the MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) is simple. First you’ll need to download MalwareBytes on your Windows Desktop from the link below.

Once the download is complete, close all software and windows on your machine. Open a directory in which you saved it. Run the saved file and follow the prompts.

Once installation is complete, you will see window as displayed on the screen below.

Now press the “Scan” button . MalwareBytes Free program will scan through the whole machine for the ValidManager . When a malicious software, adware or PUPs are detected, the count of the security threats will change accordingly.

Once MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) has finished scanning your MAC system, MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) will show a scan report. Review the results once the utility has complete the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply click “Quarantine” button.

The Malwarebytes will now delete ValidManager related files.

Remove ValidManager from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

Remove unwanted plugins is a easy way to get rid of ValidManager and revert back browser’s settings which have been modified by adware software.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
In the top-right corner, expand the Chrome menu. Select ‘More tools’, then ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to delete ValidManager adware software 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 ValidManager 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

One of the worst things is the fact that you cannot stop all harmful web-sites using only built-in Microsoft Windows capabilities. However, there is a program out that you can use to stop annoying web-browser redirects, advertisements and pop-ups in any modern web browsers including Google Chrome, Safari and Firefox. It’s named Adguard and it works very well.

1. Click the link below to download AdGuard.
   
   

   AdGuard for Mac download
   3686 downloads
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: January 17, 2018
   
2. Once the downloading process is done, launch the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. When the installation is done, click “Skip” to close the install application and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will assist you get to know AdGuard better.
4. In most cases, the default settings are enough and you don’t need to change anything. Each time, when you run your machine, AdGuard will run automatically and stop unwanted advertisements, block harmful and misleading web-pages.

Finish words

Now your MAC should be free of the ValidManager adware. We suggest that you keep MalwareBytes (to periodically scan your MAC for new adware and other malicious software) and AdGuard (to help you stop annoying popups and malicious web sites). Moreover, to prevent any adware, please stay clear of unknown and third party apps.

If you need more help with ValidManager related issues, go to here.