How to remove AccessFrequency from Mac (Virus removal guide)

What is AccessFrequency

AccessFrequency is an adware application that targets Mac computers. Adware displays unwanted advertisements on your web-browser. Some of these ads are scams or fake advertisements created to trick you. Even the harmless ads can become really irritating. Adware can be installed accidentally and without you knowing about it, when you open email attachments, install free programs.

Even worse, the AccessFrequency app can be used to collect lots of confidential info such as what web-sites you are opening, what you are looking for the Web and so on. This confidential data, subsequently, may be transferred third party companies.

In the few simple steps below, we will explain helpful steps on how to remove AccessFrequency adware from your Apple Mac and clean your browser of unwanted advertisements.

How does AccessFrequency get on your computer

Adware mostly comes on MAC computers with free software. In many cases, it comes without the user’s knowledge. Therefore, many users aren’t even aware that their computer has been affected with potentially unwanted apps and adware. Please follow the easy rules in order to protect your MAC from adware: do not install any suspicious apps, read the user agreement and select only the Custom, Manual or Advanced installation type, do not rush to click the Next button. Also, always try to find a review of the program on the Internet. Be careful and attentive!

Threat Summary

Name	AccessFrequency, AccessFrequency 1.0 app
Type	adware software, PUP (potentially unwanted program), Mac virus, Mac malware
Detection Names	Osx.Adware.Cimpli, OSX.Trojan.Gen, MacOS.Agent-MT, Adware.MAC.Generic, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A, ApplicUnwnt and Adware/Adload!OSX
Distribution	Free software installers, torrent downloads, misleading pop up ads and fake update tools
Symptoms	You keep getting redirected to dubious web sites, advertising popups won’t go away, new entries appear in your Applications folder, unwanted icons in your browser, your browser homepage has modified and you cannot modify it back, fast Internet but slow browsing speeds.
Removal	AccessFrequency removal guide

How to remove AccessFrequency from Mac device

There present several free adware removal tools. Also it is possible to remove AccessFrequency manually. But we suggest to combine all these methods below into the one removal algorithm. Follow the steps of the tutorial. Read this manual carefully, bookmark it or open this page on your smartphone, because you may need to exit your internet browser or reboot your MAC system.

To remove AccessFrequency, follow the steps below:

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

Remove profiles created by AccessFrequency

AccessFrequency 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 AccessFrequency.

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.

Check the list of installed software

The next step to remove PUPs, adware and browser hijackers is to delete unknown and dubious programs. Using the Finder you can do this quickly and easily. We recommend you not to skip this step, as it often helps to get rid of annoying advertisements and web-browser redirects.

Open Finder and click “Applications” as shown below.

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

After the program which you need to remove is found, simply right press on its name, and choose “Move to Trash”.

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

Remove AccessFrequency related files and folders

Now you need to try to find AccessFrequency 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

If you are still having problems with the AccessFrequency removal or just wish to check your Mac device occasionally for adware and other malicious software, then download MalwareBytes Anti-Malware. It is free for home use, and searches for and deletes various undesired software that attacks your Apple Mac or degrades MAC OS performance. MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) can get rid of toolbars, PUPs, adware and browser hijackers as well as malware, including ransomware and trojans.

Installing the MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) is simple. First you will need to download MalwareBytes Free from the link below.

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

Once install is done, you’ll see window as on the image below.

Now click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this utility for the AccessFrequency . Depending on your machine, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. While the MalwareBytes tool is checking, you may see count of objects it has identified as being infected by malware.

As the scanning ends, the results are displayed in the scan report. You may remove items (move to Quarantine) by simply press “Quarantine” button.

The Malwarebytes will now remove AccessFrequency adware and move the selected items to the program’s quarantine.

Remove AccessFrequency from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

Remove unwanted extensions is a simple method to get rid of AccessFrequency adware and restore internet browser’s settings which have been changed by adware software.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
Click on ‘three dots menu’ button at the top right corner of the Google Chrome window. Select ‘More tools’, then ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to get rid of AccessFrequency 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 problems with AccessFrequency adware 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

It is also critical to protect your internet browsers from harmful webpages and advertisements by using an ad-blocking program like AdGuard. Security experts says that it’ll greatly reduce the risk of malicious software, and potentially save lots of money. Additionally, the AdGuard can also protect your privacy by blocking almost all trackers.

1. Visit the following page to download the latest version of AdGuard for Apple Mac.
   
   

   AdGuard for Mac download
   3772 downloads
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: January 17, 2018
   
2. After the downloading process is finished, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. Once the installation is done, press “Skip” to close the setup 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 do not need to change anything. Each time, when you run your MAC system, AdGuard will run automatically and stop intrusive advertisements, block harmful and misleading web pages.

Finish words

Now your machine should be clean of the AccessFrequency adware. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted ads and intrusive malicious web-sites) and MalwareBytes AntiMalware (to periodically scan your MAC system for new malware, browser hijackers and adware software). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Mac operating system. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new browser hijackers, harmful applications and adware are released.

If you are still having problems while trying to remove AccessFrequency ads from your web-browser, then ask for help here.