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

What is OperativeToolView

OperativeToolView is a malicious app that falls under the category of Adware. Adware is a tpe of software that displays unwanted ads. Some of these ads are scams or fake advertisements created to trick users. Even the harmless advertisements can become really irritating. Adware can be installed accidentally and without users knowing about it, when users open email attachments, install freeware.

Another reason why you need to remove OperativeToolView is its online data-tracking activity. The adware has the ability to gather your surfing history and confidential information, including passwords and credit card numbers. In the future, privacy info about you can be transferred third party companies.

If you would like to delete OperativeToolView and get rid of annoying advertisements from your web-browser and are unable to do so, you can use the guidance below to scan for and get rid of adware software and any other malicious software for free.

How does OperativeToolView get on your MAC OS

Adware software usually spreads along with free software and installs itself, with or without your knowledge, on your MAC. This happens especially when you are installing free software. The program install package tricks you into accepting the installation of bundled applications. Moreover, certain paid software can also install third-party programs. Therefore, always download free applications and paid software from reputable download web pages. Use ONLY custom or manual setup option and never blindly click Next button.

Threat Summary

Name	OperativeToolView, OperativeToolView 1.0 app
Type	adware, potentially unwanted application (PUA), Mac malware, Mac virus
Detection Names	Program:MacOS/Vigram.A, Adware.MAC.Generic, Adware/Adload!OSX, MacOS.Agent-MT, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, ApplicUnwnt and OSX.Trojan.Gen
Distribution	Freeware installers, torrent downloads, fake software updaters and malicious pop-up advertisements
Symptoms	Every time you perform an Internet search, your browser is redirected to another website, unexpected advertisements appear on web-sites that you are visiting, there is an unwanted application in the ‘Applications’ section of the Finder, unwanted toolbars on your desktop, your browser start page has modified without your permission, fast Internet but slow browsing speeds.
Removal	OperativeToolView removal guide

How to Remove OperativeToolView adware (removal guide)

There are a few methods that can be used to remove OperativeToolView adware. But, not all PUPs like this adware can be completely uninstalled using only manual solutions. In many cases you are not able to delete any adware software utilizing standard Mac options. In order to remove OperativeToolView you need complete a few manual steps and use reliable removal tools. Most IT security researchers states that MalwareBytes utility is a right choice. The free application is able to search for and delete the adware from your Mac and return your web-browser settings to defaults.

To remove OperativeToolView, perform the following steps:

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

Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device

OperativeToolView 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 software.

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 OperativeToolView.

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 device, which is normal.

Delete OperativeToolView related applications through the Finder

The next step to remove browser hijackers, PUPs and adware is to uninstall unknown and dubious applications. Using the Finder you can do this quickly and easily. We advise you not to skip this step, as it often helps to get rid of browser redirects and intrusive advertisements.

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

Carefully browse through the list of installed programs and get rid of all suspicious and unknown programs.

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

Remove OperativeToolView related files and folders

Now you need to try to find OperativeToolView 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

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

1. Download MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) from the following link.
   
   

   Malwarebytes Anti-malware (Mac)
   21008 downloads
   Author: Malwarebytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: September 10, 2020
   
2. After downloading is complete, close all programs and windows on your machine. Open a file location. Run the downloaded file and follow the prompts.
3. Press the “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the OperativeToolView adware software. A scan may take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your MAC system and the speed of your MAC. When a threat is detected, the count of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the checking is complete.
4. As the scanning ends, a list of all items found is created. Make sure to check mark the threats that are unsafe and then press “Quarantine”.

Remove OperativeToolView from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

If you’re still getting OperativeToolView adware, then you can try to remove it by removing harmful addons.

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. Select ‘More tools’, then ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to remove OperativeToolView 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 OperativeToolView removal, you need to reset 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

Use ad-blocker program like AdGuard in order to stop ads, malvertisements, pop-ups and online trackers, avoid having to install malicious and adware browser plug-ins and add-ons that affect your MAC performance and impact your Apple Mac security. Surf the Internet anonymously and stay safe online!

1. Installing the AdGuard is simple. First you will need to download AdGuard from the link below.
   
   

   AdGuard for Mac download
   3779 downloads
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: January 17, 2018
   
2. After the downloading process is complete, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. Once the setup is complete, click “Skip” to close the install program and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial which 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 run your MAC system, AdGuard will run automatically and stop annoying advertisements, block malicious and misleading web-pages.

To sum up

Now your MAC should be free of the OperativeToolView adware. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted ads and unwanted malicious web pages) and MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) (to periodically scan your machine for new adware softwares and other malware).

If you are still having problems while trying to get rid of OperativeToolView from the Safari, Firefox and Chrome, then ask for help here here.