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

What is VirtualGuest

VirtualGuest is an adware application that targets Mac platform. Adware is not as dangerous as such as a computer virus or Ransomware, but its presence can bring numerous popup windows and/or unwanted advertising. Actually creators of adware is associated with some merchants and by showing ads to users they make revenue for yourself. These adverts not only bother your browsing experience but also redirect you to unsafe and scam pages.

Even worse, adware software has the ability to collect your surfing history and user information, including passwords and credit card numbers. In the future, privacy information can be transferred third party companies.

Thus, the adware is quite dangerous. So, we advise you remove it from your machine without a wait. Follow the steps presented below to uninstall VirtualGuest from your machine and get rid of unwanted ads from Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Safari.

How does VirtualGuest get on your Apple Mac

Many of the freeware out there install unwanted browser toolbars, browser hijackers, adware and PUPs along with them without your knowledge. One has to be attentive while installing free software in order to avoid accidentally installing third-party software. It is important that you pay attention to the EULA (End User License Agreements) and choose the Custom, Manual or Advanced install option as it will typically disclose what optional apps will also be installed.

Threat Summary

Name	VirtualGuest
Type	adware software, potentially unwanted program (PUP), Mac virus, Mac malware
Detection Names	Adware.MAC.Generic, MacOS.Agent-MT, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, ApplicUnwnt, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, OSX.Trojan.Gen, Adware/Adload!OSX and Program:MacOS/Vigram.A
Distribution	Free software installers, torrent downloads, fake software updaters and malicious popup advertisements
Symptoms	The web page links redirect to a web sites different from what you expected, advertisements appear in places they shouldn’t be, there is an unwanted program in the ‘Applications’ section of the Finder, an unexpected toolbar appears in your internet browser, your web browser settings are being altered without your request, slow Internet or slow browsing.
Removal	VirtualGuest removal guide

How to remove VirtualGuest adware software

The following few simple steps will help you to remove VirtualGuest adware from the Google Chrome, Safari and Firefox. Moreover, the few simple steps below will allow you to remove malicious software, hijackers, potentially unwanted programs and toolbars that your MAC may be infected. Please do the tutorial step by step. If you need assist or have any questions, then ask for our assistance or type a comment below. Certain of the steps below will require you to exit this web-page. So, please read the instructions carefully, after that bookmark it or open it on your smartphone for later reference.

To remove VirtualGuest, execute the following steps:

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

Remove profiles created by VirtualGuest

VirtualGuest 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.

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 related to VirtualGuest.

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

Remove VirtualGuest associated software by using the Finder

Some of PUPs, adware and browser hijackers can be removed using the Move to Trash tool which can be found in the Finder. So, if you are using any version of Mac OS and you have noticed an unwanted program, then first try to remove it through the Finder.

Make sure you have closed all internet browsers and other software. Next, delete any unrequested and suspicious applications from machine using the Finder.

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

Look around the entire list of programs installed on your computer. Most likely, one of them is the VirtualGuest adware. Choose the questionable program or the application that name is not familiar to you and remove it.

Drag the suspicious program from the Applications folder to the Trash.

Most important, don’t forget, choose Finder -> Empty Trash.

Remove VirtualGuest related files and folders

Now you need to try to find VirtualGuest 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

Manual VirtualGuest removal requires some computer skills. Some files and system entries that created by the adware software may be not fully removed. We recommend that use MalwareBytes to scan the Mac. Moreover, this program will help you to remove toolbars, PUPs, browser hijackers and adware that your machine can be affected too.

Installing the MalwareBytes Anti Malware is simple. First you will need to download MalwareBytes Free on your MS Windows Desktop by clicking on the link below.

Once the download is finished, close all applications and windows on your MAC system. Run the saved file. Follow the prompts.

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

Now click the “Scan” button for checking your machine for the VirtualGuest adware software. This task can take some time, so please be patient. When a threat is found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the scanning is done.

As the scanning ends, you will be displayed the list of all found items on your computer. Next, you need to click the “Quarantine” button. The MalwareBytes Free will delete VirtualGuest adware and move the selected items to the program’s quarantine.

Remove VirtualGuest from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

If you have ‘VirtualGuest adware’ removal problem, then remove unwanted plugins can help you. In the steps below we will show you the way to remove malicious plugins without reinstall. This will also help to get rid of VirtualGuest adware software 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. 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 VirtualGuest 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 VirtualGuest 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 application such as AdGuard in order to stop advertisements, malvertisements, pop-ups and online trackers, avoid having to install harmful and adware browser plug-ins and add-ons which affect your Apple Mac performance and impact your MAC system security. Surf the World Wide Web anonymously and stay safe online!

AdGuard can be downloaded from the following link.

Once downloading is finished, 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 tutorial. Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial which will assist you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you run your MAC, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop intrusive popups, block harmful and misleading web-sites.

To sum up

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