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

What is ModeService

According to security professionals, ModeService is an adware application that targets Mac computers. Adware is type of malware that can cause issues for your MAC. It can generate numerous additional pop up, banner, pop-under and in-text link ads flooding on your web-browser; gather your personal information such as login details, online searches, etc; run in the background and drag down your computer running speed; give more chances for browser hijackers, spyware and even malware to get on your MAC.

Another reason why you need to get rid of the ModeService app is its online data-tracking activity. It is able to gather and transmit privacy data without your permission. ModeService be able to track information about websites visited, web-browser and system information, and your Apple Mac IP address.

How does ModeService get on your MAC OS

Adware usually comes on MAC computers with free applications. In many cases, it comes without the user’s knowledge. Therefore, many users aren’t even aware that their MAC has been affected by PUAs and adware. Please follow the easy rules in order to protect your computer from adware and PUAs: don’t install any suspicious applications, read the user agreement and choose only the Custom, Manual or Advanced setup method, don’t rush to click the Next button. Also, always try to find a review of the application on the World Wide Web. Be careful and attentive!

Threat Summary

Name	ModeService, ModeService 1.0 app
Type	adware software, potentially unwanted program (PUP), Mac virus, Mac malware
Detection Names	Adware.MAC.Generic, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, OSX.Trojan.Gen, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A, MacOS.Agent-MT, ApplicUnwnt, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload and Adware/Adload!OSX
Distribution	Free software installers, torrent downloads, fake update tools and misleading pop-up advertisements
Symptoms	When you go to a webpage, you are automatically redirected to another web-page that you do not intend to visit, internet browser pop-ups appear and recommend fake security software, unwanted program installed without your knowledge, new extensions suddenly added on your browser, your web browser startpage has changed and you are unable to modify it back, speed test good but internet slow.
Removal	ModeService removal guide

How to remove ModeService from Mac

We can assist you delete ModeService ads from your web browsers, without the need to take your computer to a professional. Simply follow the removal guidance below if you currently have the intrusive adware on your computer and want to get rid of it. If you have any difficulty while trying to delete the ModeService adware, feel free to ask for our help in the comment section below. Read it once, after doing so, please bookmark this page (or open it on your smartphone) as you may need to close your web-browser or reboot your MAC system.

To remove ModeService, complete the following steps:

1. Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device
2. Check the list of installed applications
3. Remove ModeService related files and folders
4. Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
5. Remove ModeService from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
6. How to stay safe online

Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device

ModeService 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 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 ModeService.

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

Check the list of installed applications

Check the list of installed applications on your Mac computer and delete all unknown and recently installed applications. If you see an unknown program with incorrect spelling or varying capital letters, it have most likely been installed by malicious software and you should clean it off first with malicious software removal tool such as MalwareBytes.

Make sure you have closed all browsers and other apps. Next, delete any unrequested and suspicious programs from computer using the Finder.

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

Look around the entire list of apps installed on your MAC. Most probably, one of them is the ModeService adware software. Choose the suspicious application or the application 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, choose Finder -> Empty Trash.

Remove ModeService related files and folders

Now you need to try to find ModeService 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.

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

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

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

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

Check for ModeService 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 ModeService 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.search.system.plist, com.installapp.system.plist, com.ModeService.system.plist and com.macsearch.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 delete ModeService. Of course, very often adware, PUPs 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 Free to scan the Mac device.

1. Click the link below to download the latest version of MalwareBytes for Mac OS.
   
   

   Malwarebytes Anti-malware (Mac)
   20180 downloads
   Author: Malwarebytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: September 10, 2020
   
2. When the download is finished, please close all apps and open windows on your MAC. Run the downloaded file. Follow the prompts.
3. The MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) will run and display the main window.
4. Further, click the “Scan” button for scanning your MAC for the ModeService adware software. While the tool is scanning, you can see count of objects and files has already scanned.
5. When MalwareBytes Anti Malware completes the scan, MalwareBytes Free will show a screen which contains a list of malware that has been detected.
6. All detected threats will be marked. You can remove them all by simply click the “Remove Selected Items” button.
7. Close the AntiMalware and continue with the next step.

Remove ModeService from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

If you’re still seeing ModeService that won’t go away, you might have harmful extensions installed on your browser. Check your internet browser for unwanted plugins using the steps below.

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

By installing an adblocker application such as AdGuard, you’re able to block malicious web sites, stop autoplaying video ads and get rid of lots of distracting and intrusive ads on web-pages.

Download AdGuard by clicking on the following link.

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

Each time, when you launch your MAC system, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop unwanted pop-up ads, block malicious and misleading web sites.

Finish words

Now your Apple Mac should be free of the ModeService adware. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted pop-up ads and unwanted malicious web pages) and MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) (to periodically scan your MAC OS for new adwares and other malicious software).

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