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

What is FlexibleFormat

According to security professionals, FlexibleFormat is an adware application that targets Apple computers. Adware is a form of malicious software that delivers unwanted advertisements on your computer. Some of these ads are scams or fake ads designed to trick you. Even the harmless advertisements can become really irritating. Adware can be installed accidentally and without you knowing about it, when you open email attachments, install freeware.

Does adware steal your confidential data? The FlexibleFormat adware can collect your Internet surfing activity by recording URLs visited, IP addresses, browser version and type, cookie information, Internet Service Provider (ISP) and web pages visited. Such kind of behavior can lead to serious security problems or personal data theft. This is another reason why the adware software should be uninstalled ASAP.

Below we are discussing the methods which are very useful in removing adware software. The guide will also assist you to delete FlexibleFormat from your Apple Mac and get rid of unwanted ads.

How does FlexibleFormat get on your MAC

Usually, adware gets into MAC computers as part of a bundle with free programs, sharing files and other unsafe software that you downloaded from the Net. The makers of adware pays software authors for distributing adware within their applications. So, additional apps is often included as part of the installer. In order to avoid the install of any adware: select only Manual, Custom or Advanced setup mode and reject all additional software in which you are unsure.

Threat Summary

Name	FlexibleFormat
Type	adware, potentially unwanted application (PUA), Mac malware, Mac virus
Detection Names	Adware.MAC.Generic, OSX.Trojan.Gen, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, MacOS.Agent-MT, Adware/Adload!OSX, ApplicUnwnt and Program:MacOS/Vigram.A
Distribution	Freeware installers, fake update tools, malicious pop up advertisements and torrent downloads
Symptoms	When you go to a web-page, you’re frequently redirected to another web-page that you do not intend to visit, you experience a ton of of unexpected popup advertisements, unexpected program installed without your knowledge, new toolbars suddenly installed on your web browser, your Mac settings are being modified without your request, slow Internet browsing speeds.
Removal	FlexibleFormat removal guide

How to Remove FlexibleFormat adware (removal guide)

The answer is right here on this web-page. We have put together simplicity and efficiency. It will help you easily to free your MAC of FlexibleFormat adware. Moreover, you can select manual or automatic removal solution. If you are familiar with the machine then use manual removal, otherwise use the free antimalware tool designed specifically to remove adware. Of course, you can combine both methods. Some of the steps will require you to restart your MAC or close this web-site. So, read this guide carefully, then bookmark this page or open it on your smartphone for later reference.

To remove FlexibleFormat, complete the following steps:

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

Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device

FlexibleFormat 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 FlexibleFormat.

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.

Check the list of installed programs

It’s of primary importance to identify and remove browser hijackers, potentially unwanted programs and adware through ‘Applications’ section of your Finder.

Open Finder and click “Applications” as shown below.

You will see a list of applications installed on your computer. We recommend to pay maximum attention to the application you installed last. Most probably, it’s the FlexibleFormat 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 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 FlexibleFormat related files and folders

Now you need to try to find FlexibleFormat 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

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

Visit the page linked below to download the latest version of MalwareBytes Anti-Malware for Apple Mac.

Once the downloading process is done, close all windows on your MAC system. Further, start the saved file. Follow the prompts.

The MalwareBytes will automatically launch and you can see its main window as displayed in the following example.

Next, click the “Scan Now” button to search for FlexibleFormat . A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your computer. While the MalwareBytes application is scanning, you may see number of objects it has identified as threat.

Once the checking is complete, MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) will open a list of detected threats. Make sure to check mark the threats that are unsafe and then press the “Quarantine” button.

The MalwareBytes Free will delete FlexibleFormat and move the selected items to the program’s quarantine.

Remove FlexibleFormat from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

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

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

One of the worst things is the fact that you cannot stop all harmful websites using only built-in Microsoft Windows capabilities. However, there is a program out that you can use to stop annoying internet browser redirects, advertisements and popups in any modern web browsers including Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Safari. It’s called Adguard and it works very well.

AdGuard can be downloaded from the following link.

After the download is finished, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen. Follow the prompts.

Each time, when you start your machine, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop annoying pop ups, block harmful and misleading web pages.

To sum up

We suggest that you keep MalwareBytes (to periodically scan your computer for new adwares and other malware) and AdGuard (to help you block unwanted popup ads and malicious web sites). Moreover, to prevent any adware, please stay clear of unknown and third party apps.

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