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

What is SmartCheck

SmartCheck is an adware application that targets Mac platform. Adware can make big problem to your Mac computer. Adware sometimes named ‘ad software’ is a form of malicious software that displays unwanted advertisements on the infected computer. SmartCheck can display a large number of unwanted advertisements in form of pop up windows, discounting deals, promos, push notifications or even fake alerts on the Mac. It can seriously affect your privacy, your computer’s performance and security.

Another reason why you need to get rid of SmartCheck is its online data-tracking activity. It can have spyware and keyloggers built into itself leading to greater damage to your computer and possible invasion of your privacy information.

Below we are discussing the methods which are very useful in removing adware. The tutorial will also allow you to get rid of SmartCheck from your Mac for free.

How does SmartCheck get on your computer

In most cases, adware software spreads bundled with the setup files from file sharing and torrents web pages. So, install free applications is a a good chance that you will find a bundled adware. If you don’t know how to avoid it, then use a simple trick. During the installation, choose the Custom or Advanced setup option. Next, press ‘Decline’ button and clear all checkboxes on offers that ask you to install additional applications. Moreover, please carefully read Term of use and User agreement before installing any applications or otherwise you may end up with another unwanted program on your MAC such as this adware.

Threat Summary

Name	SmartCheck
Type	adware software, potentially unwanted application (PUA), Mac virus, Mac malware
Detection Names	Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, ApplicUnwnt, MacOS.Agent-MT, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, Adware.MAC.Generic, OSX.Trojan.Gen, Adware/Adload!OSX and Program:MacOS/Vigram.A
Distribution	Free software installers, suspicious popup ads, torrent downloads and fake updaters
Symptoms	The web site links redirect to a web-sites different from what you expected, unwanted advertising links appear on web pages that you are visiting, there is an unexpected application in the ‘Applications’ section of the Finder, unwanted web browser addons or toolbars keep coming back, your browser startpage has replaced and you are unable to change it back, speed test good but internet slow.
Removal	SmartCheck removal guide

How to remove SmartCheck adware software

There present several free adware software removal tools. Also it is possible to remove SmartCheck manually. But we recommend to combine all these solutions below into the one removal algorithm. Follow the steps of the guidance. Read this manual carefully, bookmark it or open this page on your smartphone, because you may need to exit your internet browser or restart your Apple Mac.

To remove SmartCheck, follow the steps below:

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

Remove profiles created by SmartCheck

SmartCheck 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 SmartCheck.

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 software and uninstall all unknown or dubious apps. This is an important step, it so often happens that adware, PUPs and browser hijackers are built into free programs, so by removing these programs you can get rid of intrusive advertisements and web browser redirects.

Open Finder and click “Applications” as shown on the screen below.

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

After the application which you need to delete is found, simply right click on its name, and choose “Move to Trash”.

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

Remove SmartCheck related files and folders

Now you need to try to find SmartCheck 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

You can get rid of SmartCheck associated files automatically with a help of MalwareBytes Anti-Malware. We suggest this free malicious software removal utility because it may easily delete adware, browser hijackers, toolbars and potentially unwanted programs with all their components such as files, folders and system entries.

MalwareBytes can be downloaded from the following link.

When the download is finished, close all apps and windows on your computer. Run the saved file. Follow the prompts.

The MalwareBytes Free will automatically start and you can see its main screen as shown below.

Now press the “Scan” button for checking your machine for the SmartCheck adware. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your computer and the speed of your machine. While the tool is checking, you can see number of objects and files has already scanned.

After the scan get completed, the results are displayed in the scan report. In order to delete all items, simply press the “Quarantine” button. The MalwareBytes Free will remove SmartCheck adware and move the selected items to the Quarantine.

Remove SmartCheck from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

Annoying SmartCheck adware or other symptoms of adware in your web browser is a good reason to locate and remove 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 Google 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 remove SmartCheck 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 SmartCheck 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

Use ad blocker program such as AdGuard in order to block ads, malvertisements, pop-ups and online trackers, avoid having to install harmful and adware browser plug-ins and add-ons that affect your MAC OS performance and impact your machine security. Surf the Net anonymously and stay safe online!

AdGuard can be downloaded from the following link.

After the download 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 guidance. Press “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick guide which will assist you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you start your MAC, AdGuard will start automatically and stop unwanted pop-up advertisements, block malicious and misleading webpages.

To sum up

Once you have removed the adware using this few simple steps, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Safari will no longer display any unwanted ads. Unfortunately, if the few simple steps does not help you, then you have caught a new adware, and then the best way – ask for help here.