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

What is OptimalOrigin

According to security experts, OptimalOrigin is an adware application that targets Mac computers. Adware is a part of malicious software. OptimalOrigin is designed to bombard you with endless ads and popup windows that could potentially be dangerous for your computer. If you get it on your Mac, it can alter internet browser settings and install harmful browser plugins.

Does adware steal your data? The OptimalOrigin adware can be used to collect marketing-type data about you (your ip address, what is a website you are viewing now, what you are looking for on the Web, which links you are clicking), which can later transfer to third parties.

How does OptimalOrigin get on your MAC

Usually, adware software gets into your MAC as part of a bundle with free programs, sharing files and other unsafe programs which you downloaded from the Internet. The creators of adware pays software developers for distributing adware software within their programs. So, additional software is often included as part of the setup file. In order to avoid the installation of any adware software: choose only Manual, Custom or Advanced installation method and uncheck all third-party programs in which you are unsure.

Threat Summary

Name	OptimalOrigin, OptimalOrigin 1.0 app
Type	adware software, potentially unwanted application (PUA), Mac malware, Mac virus
Detection Names	Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, Adware.MAC.Generic, Adware/Adload!OSX, OSX.Trojan.Gen, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A, ApplicUnwnt, MacOS.Agent-MT and Osx.Adware.Cimpli
Distribution	Free software installers, torrent downloads, fake update tools and misleading pop-up advertisements
Symptoms	The web page links redirect to a web pages different from what you expected, advertising banners appear on websites that you are visiting, your machine starts automatically installing unexpected programs, unwanted web-browser toolbars, your web-browser start page has modified and you are unable to modify it back, slow Internet browsing speeds.
Removal	OptimalOrigin removal guide

How to remove OptimalOrigin from Mac device

According to cyber security researchers, OptimalOrigin adware removal can be done manually and/or automatically. These utilities that are listed below will help you delete adware, harmful internet browser extensions, malicious software and PUPs . However, if you’re not willing to install other programs to get rid of OptimalOrigin adware software, then use following guidance to revert back your computer settings to their previous states.

To remove OptimalOrigin, perform the steps below:

1. Remove profiles created by OptimalOrigin
2. Check the list of installed software
3. Remove OptimalOrigin related files and folders
4. Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
5. Remove OptimalOrigin from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
6. How to stay safe online

Remove profiles created by OptimalOrigin

OptimalOrigin 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 related to OptimalOrigin.

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.

Check the list of installed software

The next step to remove PUPs, adware and browser hijackers is to uninstall unknown and questionable software. 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 web-browser redirects and unwanted advertisements.

Make sure you have closed all web browsers and other software. Next, remove any unknown and suspicious programs from machine 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 OptimalOrigin adware. Select the suspicious application or the program that name is not familiar to you and uninstall it.

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

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

Remove OptimalOrigin related files and folders

Now you need to try to find OptimalOrigin 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.

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

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

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

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

Check for OptimalOrigin 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 OptimalOrigin 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.search.system.plist, com.machelper.system.plist, com.macsearch.system.plist, com.installapp.system.plist and com.OptimalOrigin.system.plist. In most cases, potentially unwanted programs, adware software 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 get rid of OptimalOrigin. Of course, very often adware software, potentially unwanted programs and browser hijackers hides on a Mac, 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 browser hijackers, potentially unwanted programs and adware. Therefore, we suggest you to use MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) to scan the Mac computer.

1. Installing the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware is simple. First you will need to download MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) on your Microsoft Windows Desktop from the link below.
   
   

   Malwarebytes Anti-malware (Mac)
   20850 downloads
   Author: Malwarebytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: September 10, 2020
   
2. When downloading is done, close all software and windows on your MAC system. Open a folder in which you saved it. Run the downloaded file and follow the prompts.
3. Click the “Scan” button . MalwareBytes Anti-Malware program will scan through the whole machine for the OptimalOrigin . A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your MAC OS and the speed of your MAC OS. While the MalwareBytes AntiMalware program is checking, you can see how many objects it has identified as threat.
4. Once the scanning is finished, you may check all items detected on your MAC system. Make sure to check mark the threats that are unsafe and then click “Quarantine”.

Remove OptimalOrigin from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

If you’re still seeing OptimalOrigin adware software that won’t go away, you might have malicious add-ons installed on your web browser. Check your browser for unwanted plugins using the steps below.

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. 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 OptimalOrigin 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 OptimalOrigin 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

The AdGuard is a very good ad blocker application for the Mozilla Firefox, Chrome and Safari, with active user support. It does a great job by removing certain types of annoying ads, popunders, pop ups, annoying newtab pages, and even full page advertisements and web-page overlay layers. Of course, the AdGuard can stop malicious websites automatically or by using a custom filter rule.

Download AdGuard by clicking on the link below.

After the downloading process is finished, 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. Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick guidance that will allow you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you start your MAC, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop unwanted popup ads, block malicious and misleading web pages.

Finish words

After completing the step-by-step guidance shown above, your MAC OS should be clean from the OptimalOrigin adware and other malware. The Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Safari will no longer show any unwanted ads when you browse the Net. Unfortunately, if the steps does not help you, then you have caught a new adware software, 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 annoying OptimalOrigin adware.