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

What is LauncherRecord

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

The worst is, the LauncherRecord adware has the ability to collect your browsing history and personal information, including passwords and credit card numbers. In the future, user information about you can be transferred to third parties. So, if you happen to encounter the adware, then be quick and take effort to remove it without a wait. Follow the few simple steps below to uninstall LauncherRecord. Let us know how you managed by sending us your comments please.

How does LauncherRecord get on your computer

Adware usually is bundled with freeware that downloaded from the Internet. Which means that you need to be proactive and carefully read the Terms of use and the License agreement properly. For the most part, adware and potentially unwanted applications will be clearly described, so take the time to carefully read all the information about the software that you downloaded and want to install on your Apple computer.

Threat Summary

Name	LauncherRecord
Type	adware, potentially unwanted program (PUP), Mac malware, Mac virus
Detection Names	MacOS.Agent-MT, Adware/Adload!OSX, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, Adware.MAC.Generic, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A, ApplicUnwnt, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload and OSX.Trojan.Gen
Distribution	Freeware installers, fake software updaters, torrent downloads and dubious pop up advertisements
Symptoms	Your internet browser is redirected to web sites you did not want, advertising banners appear on web-pages that you are visiting, new entries appear in your Applications folder, an unexpected addon appears in your browser, your web browser startpage has modified and you cannot modify it back, slow browsing Internet.
Removal	LauncherRecord removal guide

How to remove LauncherRecord adware

To delete LauncherRecord from your Apple computer, you must uninstall all suspicious apps and every file that could be related to the adware software. Besides, to fix your internet browser new tab, search engine by default and home page, you should reset the affected browsers. As soon as you are done with LauncherRecord removal procedure, we suggest you scan your MAC OS with malicious software removal utilities listed below. It’ll complete the removal process on your Apple Mac.

To remove LauncherRecord, complete the following steps:

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

Remove profiles created by LauncherRecord

LauncherRecord 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 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. If there is Profiles in the list, then click on it, then select a profile related to LauncherRecord.

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

Check the list of installed apps

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

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

Very carefully look around the entire list of software installed on your computer. Most likely, one of them is the LauncherRecord adware. Once you’ve found a questionable, unwanted or unused program, right click to it and select “Move to Trash”. Another way is drag the program from the Applications folder to the Trash.

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

Remove LauncherRecord related files and folders

Now you need to try to find LauncherRecord 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.

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

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

Some files created by LauncherRecord 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 LauncherRecord 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.machelper.plist, com.google.defaultsearch.plist, , com.LauncherRecord.service.plist, macsearch.plist and search.plist. Most often, PUPs, browser hijackers and adware software create several files with similar names.

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

We suggest using MalwareBytes Free. You may download and install MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) to locate and remove LauncherRecord associated apps from your Mac device. When installed and updated, the malware remover automatically scans for and removes all security threats exist on the machine.

Please go to the following link to download the latest version of MalwareBytes for Mac OS.

After downloading is done, run it and follow the prompts. Click the “Scan” button to begin scanning your MAC OS for the LauncherRecord adware. When a malicious software, adware or PUPs are detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Review the results once the tool has complete the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply click the “Quarantine” button.

The MalwareBytes AntiMalware is a free program that you can use to remove all detected folders, files, malicious services and so on.

Remove LauncherRecord from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

If you’re still getting LauncherRecord , then you can try to remove it by deleting malicious extensions.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
In the top-right corner, expand the Chrome menu. 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 get rid of LauncherRecord adware 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 LauncherRecord adware 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

If you want to delete unwanted advertisements, browser redirects and pop ups, then install an adblocker program like AdGuard. It can block unwanted advertisements and popups, stop web sites from tracking your online activities when using the Chrome, Safari and Mozilla Firefox. So, if you like browse the Internet, but you don’t like annoying advertisements and want to protect your machine from malicious webpages, then the AdGuard is your best choice.

Installing the AdGuard is simple. First you will need to download AdGuard by clicking on the link below.

When the downloading process 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 guide. Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick guidance which will assist you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you launch your MAC, AdGuard will start automatically and stop intrusive pop up advertisements, block harmful and misleading web-sites.

To sum up

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