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

What is LatestExtended

According to security professionals, LatestExtended is a malicious application that falls under the category of Adware. Adware is a type of malicious software that’s designed with a single purpose: to open dozens of unwanted ads, and thus to promote the goods and services in an open browser window. Adware can substitute the legitimate advertising links on misleading or even banners that can offer to visit harmful and scam sites.

Another reason why you need to remove the LatestExtended adware is its online data-tracking activity. It can monetize its functionality by gathering user info from your surfing sessions. This privacy information, later, can be easily sold to third parties. This puts your privacy information at a security risk. So, if you happen to encounter the adware, then be quick and take effort to remove it sooner. Follow the few simple steps below to remove LatestExtended.

How does LatestExtended get on your computer

Adware software commonly comes on MAC computers with freeware. In most cases, it comes without the user’s knowledge. Therefore, many users aren’t even aware that their MAC has been hijacked by potentially unwanted software or adware. Please follow the easy rules in order to protect your machine from adware and PUAs: do not install any suspicious software, read the user agreement and choose only the Custom, Manual or Advanced setup mode. Also, always try to find a review of freeware on the Internet. Be careful and attentive!

Threat Summary

Name	LatestExtended
Type	adware software, PUP (potentially unwanted program), Mac virus, Mac malware
Detection Names	OSX.Trojan.Gen, Adware.MAC.Generic, MacOS.Agent-MT, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, Adware/Adload!OSX, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A and ApplicUnwnt
Distribution	Freeware installers, torrent downloads, dubious popup advertisements and fake update tools
Symptoms	You keep getting redirected to unfamiliar web-pages, you experience a large count of of unwanted advertising popups, unwanted application installed without your knowledge, unwanted browser toolbars, your Mac settings are being modified without your request, your web-browser slows to a crawl.
Removal	LatestExtended removal guide

How to remove LatestExtended

In most cases adware software requires more than a simple uninstall with the help of the Finder in order to be fully uninstalled. For that reason, our team created several removal solutions which we’ve summarized in a detailed tutorial. Therefore, if you have the LatestExtended adware on your MAC and are currently trying to have it uninstalled then feel free to follow the instructions below in order to resolve your problem. Read this manual carefully, bookmark it or open this page on your smartphone, because you may need to close your internet browser or reboot your machine.

To remove LatestExtended, use the following steps:

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

Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device

LatestExtended 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 Apple menu ( ) > System Preferences.

In System Preferences, select Profiles. if there is no Profiles in the list of preferences, that means there are no profiles installed on the Mac computer. If there is Profiles in the list, then click on it, then select a profile associated with LatestExtended.

To delete a malicious profile, click on the minus button ( – ) located at the bottom-left of the Profiles screen.

Remove LatestExtended associated software by using the Finder

In order to remove LatestExtended you need to do is to delete unknown and dubious applications from your MAC OS using the Finder. When uninstalling potentially unwanted programs, browser hijackers and adware, check the list of installed applications and try to find dubious programs and delete them all. Pay special attention to recently installed software, as it’s most probably that LatestExtended сame along with it.

1. Open the Finder.
2. Click “Applications”.
3. It will display a list of all applications installed on the computer.
4. Scroll through the all list, and delete dubious and unknown applications. Pay maximum attention to the application you installed last.
5. Drag the suspicious program from the Applications folder to the Trash.
6. Empty Trash.

Remove LatestExtended related files and folders

Now you need to try to find LatestExtended 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

If you are still having issues with the LatestExtended removal or just wish to check your Mac occasionally for adware and other malicious software, then download MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM). It’s free for home use, and identifies and removes various unwanted software that attacks your MAC or degrades machine performance. MalwareBytes Free can remove toolbars, potentially unwanted programs, adware and browser hijackers as well as malware, including ransomware and trojans.

1. MalwareBytes Free can be downloaded from the following link.
   
   

   Malwarebytes Anti-malware (Mac)
   20986 downloads
   Author: Malwarebytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: September 10, 2020
   
2. When the download is complete, please close all apps and open windows on your Apple Mac. Run the downloaded file. Follow the prompts.
3. The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) will open and display the main window.
4. Further, click the “Scan” button . MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) program will scan through the whole Apple Mac for the LatestExtended adware software. Depending on your MAC OS, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. While the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) program is scanning, you can see how many objects it has identified as threat.
5. As the scanning ends, it will display the Scan Results.
6. Next, you need to click the “Remove Selected Items” button.
7. Close the Anti-Malware and continue with the next step.

Remove LatestExtended from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

If you are still seeing LatestExtended that won’t go away, you might have harmful extensions installed on your web-browser. Check your browser for unwanted add-ons using the steps below.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
In the top-right corner, expand the Google Chrome menu. When the drop-down menu appears, select ‘More tools’ and click on ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to remove LatestExtended adware 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 LatestExtended 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 important to use ad blocker apps like AdGuard to protect your MAC system from malicious web sites. Most security experts says that it’s okay to stop ads. You should do so just to stay safe! And, of course, the AdGuard can to stop misleading and other unwanted webpages.

AdGuard can be downloaded from the following link.

When the downloading process is finished, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen. Follow the prompts.

Each time, when you start your MAC system, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop annoying advertisements, block malicious and misleading web sites.

To sum up

Now your machine should be free of the adware software. We suggest that you keep MalwareBytes Free (to periodically scan your machine for new adware softwares and other malicious software) and AdGuard (to help you block unwanted pop ups and malicious websites). Moreover, to prevent any adware software, please stay clear of unknown and third party software.

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