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

What is OptionFlow

OptionFlow is an adware application that targets Mac platform. Adware is a form of malicious software that can cause many issues such as unwanted ads and pop-ups on the web browser, redirect search requests to scam sites, browser crashes and slow loading web-pages. Actually developers of adware are associated with some third-party ad networks and by displaying advertising to users they generate profit for yourself.

The worst is, the OptionFlow adware is able to gather lots of your confidential info that can be later sold to third parties. You do not know if your home address, account names and passwords are safe. So, if you happen to encounter the adware, then be quick and take effort to remove it as soon as possible. Follow the tutorial below to remove OptionFlow. Let us know how you managed by sending us your comments please.

How does OptionFlow get on your MAC OS

Adware usually spreads bundled with freeware. So, when you installing free applications, carefully read the disclaimers, choose the Custom or Advanced setup type to watch for third-party applications that are being installed, because certain of the apps are potentially unwanted software and adware.

Threat Summary

Name	OptionFlow
Type	adware software, potentially unwanted program (PUP), Mac virus, Mac malware
Detection Names	Adware/Adload!OSX, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, Adware.MAC.Generic, OSX.Trojan.Gen, MacOS.Agent-MT, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, ApplicUnwnt and Program:MacOS/Vigram.A
Distribution	Freeware installers, fake software updaters, torrent downloads and dubious popup ads
Symptoms	Your browser is redirected to websites you did not want, you experience a lot of of unexpected advertisements, your computer starts automatically installing unexpected apps, new icons on your desktop, your internet browser startpage has modified and you cannot modify it back, low ping but slow Internet.
Removal	OptionFlow removal guide

How to remove OptionFlow from Mac device

Fortunately, it is not hard to delete OptionFlow . In the following tutorial, we will provide two methods to clean your Apple Mac of this adware software. 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 instructions below to delete OptionFlow adware right now!

To remove OptionFlow, execute the following steps:

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

Remove profiles created by OptionFlow

OptionFlow 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 associated with OptionFlow.

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 OptionFlow associated software by using the Finder

In the next step, you need to check the list of installed applications on your Mac device and delete all unused, unknown and suspicious programs.

Make sure you have closed all browsers and other programs. Next, uninstall any unknown and suspicious applications from MAC OS using the Finder.

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

Look around the entire list of software installed on your MAC. Most likely, one of them is the OptionFlow adware software. Select the dubious program or the program that name is not familiar to you and uninstall it.

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

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

Remove OptionFlow related files and folders

Now you need to try to find OptionFlow 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

If you carefully followed the previous steps, then you should be able to delete OptionFlow. Of course, very often adware, browser hijackers and potentially unwanted programs hides on a Mac, disguising itself as legitimate apps and files. Therefore, in some cases, it is difficult for an inexperienced user to decide whether a particular file is part of potentially unwanted programs, browser hijackers and adware. Therefore, we recommend you to use MalwareBytes to scan the Mac.

1. Click the following link to download MalwareBytes Free.
   
   

   Malwarebytes Anti-malware (Mac)
   20851 downloads
   Author: Malwarebytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: September 10, 2020
   
2. After the download is finished, close all programs and windows on your computer. Open a file location. Run the downloaded file and follow the prompts.
3. Press the “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the OptionFlow adware. A system scan may take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your Apple Mac.
4. Once the scan is done, MalwareBytes Free will show you the results. Make sure all items have ‘checkmark’ and click “Quarantine”.

Remove OptionFlow from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

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

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
In the top right hand corner, click on ‘three vertical dots’, and this will open up the main menu on Chrome. 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 OptionFlow 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 OptionFlow adware 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

If you want to remove intrusive advertisements, browser redirects and popups, then install an ad-blocker program such as AdGuard. It can block unwanted advertisements and pop-ups, stop web-pages from tracking your online activities when using the Safari, Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. So, if you like surf the World Wide Web, but you do not like intrusive ads and want to protect your Apple Mac from harmful webpages, then the AdGuard is your best choice.

Installing the AdGuard is simple. First you’ll need to download AdGuard on your machine by clicking on the following link.

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

Each time, when you launch your MAC, AdGuard will start automatically and stop unwanted pop ups, block malicious and misleading web pages.

Finish words

We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted popup advertisements and annoying malicious web sites) and MalwareBytes (to periodically scan your MAC for new adware softwares and other malware).

If you are still having problems while trying to remove OptionFlow adware from the Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Safari, then ask for help here here.