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

What is ProductArchive

ProductArchive is a malicious application that belongs to the Adware category. Adware serves unwanted ads on the web-browser. Some of these ads are scams or fake ads designed to trick users. Even the harmless ads can become really irritating. Adware software can be installed unintentionally, when users open email attachments, install free software.

The worst is, the ProductArchive adware has the ability to collect lots of your user information which can be later transferred third party companies. You do not know if your home address, account names and passwords are safe.

By following guide below it is easy to detect and delete adware software from your MAC. Learn how to remove ProductArchive and get rid of unwanted ads, as well as how to run a full MAC virus scan.

How does ProductArchive get on your MAC

Adware usually come along with certain freeware that users download off of the Internet. So, think back, have you ever download and run any freeware. In order to avoid adware infection, in the Setup wizard, you should be be proactive and carefully read the ‘Terms of use’, the ‘license agreement’ and other install screens, as well as to always choose the ‘Manual’ or ‘Advanced’ install option, when installing anything downloaded from the Web.

Threat Summary

Name	ProductArchive, ProductArchive 1.0 app
Type	adware software, potentially unwanted application (PUA), Mac virus, Mac malware
Detection Names	Adware/Adload!OSX, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, OSX.Trojan.Gen, MacOS.Agent-MT, Adware.MAC.Generic, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A and ApplicUnwnt
Distribution	Freeware installers, misleading pop up advertisements, torrent downloads and fake software updaters
Symptoms	Every time you perform an Internet search, your browser is redirected to another web-site, pop ups and new tab pages are loaded without your request, your computer starts automatically installing unwanted programs, new toolbars suddenly installed on your web-browser, your browser start page has modified and you cannot modify it back, slow Internet browsing speeds.
Removal	ProductArchive removal guide

How to Remove ProductArchive (removal steps)

Fortunately, it is not hard to delete the ProductArchive adware. In the following guide, we will provide two solutions to uninstall this adware from your MAC computer. One is the manual removal way and the other is automatic removal way. You can select the method that best fits you. Please follow the removal tutorial below to remove ProductArchive right now!

To remove ProductArchive, execute the following steps:

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

Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device

ProductArchive 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 ProductArchive.

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 ProductArchive associated software by using the Finder

One of the first things to attempt for removal of adware is to check your Mac installed programs screen and look for undesired and dubious software. If there are any software you do not recognize or are no longer using, you should remove them. If that doesn’t work, then you may need to use malicious software removal utility like MalwareBytes AntiMalware.

Open Finder and click “Applications” such as the one below.

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

When the application which you need to remove is found, simply right click on its name, and select “Move to Trash”.

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

Remove ProductArchive related files and folders

Now you need to try to find ProductArchive 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

We suggest using MalwareBytes Free to scan the Mac device for browser hijackers, PUPs and adware. This free tool is an advanced malware removal program created by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This program uses the world’s most popular antimalware technology. It’s able to help you remove malware and other security threats from your Mac computer for free.

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 finished, close all software and windows on your computer. Open a directory in which you saved it. Run the downloaded file and follow the prompts.
3. Click the “Scan” button to start scanning your MAC system for the ProductArchive adware. While the MalwareBytes Anti Malware program is checking, you can see how many objects it has identified as threat.
4. When that process is finished, MalwareBytes will create a list of unwanted software and adware. All found threats will be marked. You can delete them all by simply click “Quarantine”.

Remove ProductArchive from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

If you have ‘ProductArchive adware’ removal problem, then remove unwanted extensions can help you. In the steps below we will show you the way to remove harmful extensions without reinstall. This will also help to get rid of ProductArchive adware from your web-browser.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
In the top right corner, click on Chrome’s main menu button, represented by three vertical dots. Select ‘More tools’, then ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to remove ProductArchive 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 issues with ProductArchive adware software 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

Using an adblocker application such as AdGuard is an effective way to alleviate the risks. Additionally, ad blocker programs will also protect you from harmful advertisements and web-sites, and, of course, stop redirection chain to misleading, scam and similar web-pages.

Click the following link to download the latest version of AdGuard for Mac.

Once downloading is complete, 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 guidance. Press “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick guidance that will help you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you launch your MAC, AdGuard will start automatically and stop annoying pop-ups, block harmful and misleading websites.

Finish words

We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted pop-up advertisements and annoying malicious web sites) and MalwareBytes Free (to periodically scan your MAC system for new adware softwares and other malicious software).

If you are still having problems while trying to remove ProductArchive from Firefox, Chrome and Safari, then ask for help here here.