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

What is SyncApp

SyncApp is a malicious application that belongs to the Adware category. By definition, adware is a piece of software that displays advertisements on a computer. However, people basically use the word ‘adware’ to describe a form of malicious software which displays unwanted ads to the user. The SyncApp adware can alter browser settings, redirect browser to scam webpages, display advertisements from various third-party ad networks and these unwanted advertisements are difficult to close.

Even worse, the SyncApp adware is able to collect your surfing history and personal data, including passwords and credit card numbers. In the future, marketing-type data about you can be used for marketing purposes. We recommend to remove SyncApp adware, as soon as you found this problem, as it can redirect your browser to web-resources which may load other unwanted software on your MAC.

How does SyncApp get on your MAC

Most of unwanted ads and popups come from web browser toolbars and/or extensions, BHOs (browser helper objects) and bundled apps. In most cases, these items claim itself as apps which improve your experience on the Net by providing a fast and interactive start page or a search engine that does not track you. Remember, how to avoid the unwanted software. Be cautious, launch only reputable applications which download from reputable sources. NEVER install any unknown and questionable apps.

Threat Summary

Name	SyncApp
Type	adware, potentially unwanted application (PUA), Mac virus, Mac malware
Detection Names	Osx.Adware.Cimpli, ApplicUnwnt, MacOS.Agent-MT, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A, Adware.MAC.Generic, OSX.Trojan.Gen and Adware/Adload!OSX
Distribution	Freeware installers, malicious pop up advertisements, fake update tools and torrent downloads
Symptoms	The web page links redirect to a websites different from what you expected, advertising banners appear in places they shouldn’t be, your MAC starts automatically installing unexpected apps, unwanted icons on your desktop, unwanted changes in your internet browser like using a new default search engine, slow Internet or slow browsing.
Removal	SyncApp removal guide

How to Remove SyncApp (removal instructions)

If you have consistent pop ups or undesired advertisements, slow MAC system, freezing MAC problems, you are in need of adware removal assistance. The step-by-step tutorial below will guide you forward to get SyncApp adware removed and will assist you get your machine operating at peak capacity again.

To remove SyncApp, complete the following steps:

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

Remove profiles created by SyncApp

SyncApp 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 related to SyncApp.

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 computer, which is normal.

Remove SyncApp related applications through the Finder

In the next step, you need to check the list of installed applications on your Mac and remove all unused, unknown and dubious applications.

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

Very carefully look around the entire list of software installed on your Apple Mac. Most likely, one of them is the SyncApp . Once you have found a questionable, unwanted or unused program, right click to it and choose “Move to Trash”. Another solution is drag the program from the Applications folder to the Trash.

Don’t forget, choose Finder -> “Empty Trash”.

Remove SyncApp related files and folders

Now you need to try to find SyncApp 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

We recommend using MalwareBytes Anti Malware to scan the Mac for PUPs, browser hijackers and adware software. This free utility is an advanced malicious software removal application created by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This program uses the world’s most popular anti-malware technology. It is able to help you remove malware and other security threats from your Mac computer for free.

Please go to the following link to download the latest version of MalwareBytes Free for Mac OS.

After the downloading process is complete, 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 installation is done, you will see window such as the one below.

Now click the “Scan” button to detect SyncApp . When a threat is detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly.

Once finished, it will display the Scan Results. Make sure to check mark the threats that are unsafe and then click “Quarantine” button.

The Malwarebytes will now get rid of SyncApp adware and move the selected items to the program’s quarantine.

Remove SyncApp from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

Annoying SyncApp adware or other symptoms of adware software in your web browser is a good reason to locate and delete malicious extensions. This is an easy way to recover browsers settings and not lose any important information.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
Click on ‘three dots menu’ button at the top right corner of the Chrome window. When the drop-down menu appears, choose ‘More tools’ and click on ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to delete SyncApp adware software 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 SyncApp adware 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

If you want to remove unwanted ads, web browser redirects and popups, then install an ad-blocking application like AdGuard. It can block unwanted ads and pop ups, stop web-sites from tracking your online activities when using the Safari, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. So, if you like surf the Web, but you do not like annoying advertisements and want to protect your computer from malicious web pages, then the AdGuard is your best choice.

AdGuard can be downloaded from the following link.

When the downloading process is done, 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 guide. Press “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will assist you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you start your MAC system, AdGuard will start automatically and stop intrusive pop up advertisements, block harmful and misleading web sites.

To sum up

Now your MAC OS should be clean of the SyncApp adware. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted popup ads and annoying malicious web-pages) and MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) (to periodically scan your computer for new malicious software, browser hijackers and adware). 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 programs and adware software are released.

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