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

What is FreshSkill

According to security specialists, FreshSkill is a an adware application that targets Mac computers. Adware is a type of malicious software designed to display unwanted ads. FreshSkill can show unwanted ads, modify internet browser settings, download and install malicious browser extensions. All the time, while th adware app is running, your web-browser will be fill with annoying advertisements. The worst is, the adware can have spyware and keyloggers built into itself leading to greater damage to your MAC and possible invasion of your privacy information.

Another reason why you need to remove FreshSkill is its online data-tracking activity. It has the ability to collect confidential info about you to get profit. The adware can analyze your browsing, and gain access to your personal info and, subsequently, can transfer it third party companies. Thus, there are more than enough reasons to uninstall the adware from your Mac.

How does FreshSkill get on your MAC system

Adware can be spread through the use of trojan horses and other forms of malicious software, but in most cases, adware comes bundled with some free software. Many makers of free software include bundled apps in their setup file. Sometimes it’s possible to avoid the install of any adware: carefully read the Terms of Use and the Software license, choose only Manual, Custom or Advanced setup type, disable all checkboxes before clicking Install or Next button while installing new free software.

Threat Summary

Name	FreshSkill, “FreshSkill 1.0 extension”
Type	adware software, PUP (potentially unwanted program), Mac malware, Mac virus
Detection Names	MacOS.Agent-MT, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, Adware.MAC.Generic, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A, Adware/Adload!OSX, ApplicUnwnt and OSX.Trojan.Gen
Distribution	Freeware installers, torrent downloads, suspicious pop up advertisements and fake software updaters
Symptoms	The webpage links redirect to a web pages different from what you expected, you experience a huge count of of unwanted popup ads, your machine starts automatically installing unexpected programs, unexpected web-browser add-ons or toolbars keep coming back, your browser homepage has changed and you are unable to modify it back, slow Internet browsing speeds.
Removal	FreshSkill removal guide

How to Remove FreshSkill adware software (removal tutorial)

Not all malicious software such as the FreshSkill adware is easily uninstallable. You might see pop ups, deals, text links, in-text ads, banners and other type of advertisements in the Safari, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox and might not be able to figure out the program responsible for this activity. The reason for this is that many unwanted programs neither appear in the Finder. Therefore in order to completely remove FreshSkill adware, you need to perform the following steps. Certain of the steps below will require you to exit this web-site. So, please read the steps carefully, after that bookmark it or open it on your smartphone for later reference.

To remove FreshSkill, perform the steps below:

1. Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device
2. Remove FreshSkill related software through the Finder
3. Remove FreshSkill related files and folders
4. Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
5. Remove FreshSkill from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
6. How to stay safe online

Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device

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

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

Remove FreshSkill related software through the Finder

In order to delete adware software, browser hijackers and PUPs, open the Finder and click on “Applications”. Check the list of installed software. For the ones you do not know, run an Internet search to see if they are browser hijackers, potentially unwanted programs and adware software. If yes, delete them off. Even if they are just a software that you do not use, then uninstalling them off will increase your MAC system start up time and speed dramatically.

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

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

Look around the entire list of programs installed on your MAC OS. Most probably, one of them is the FreshSkill adware. Choose the dubious program or the program that name is not familiar to you and remove it.

Drag the questionable application from the Applications folder to the Trash.

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

Remove FreshSkill related files and folders

Now you need to try to find FreshSkill 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

If you’re still having problems with the FreshSkill removal or just wish to check your Apple computer occasionally for adware and other malicious software, then download MalwareBytes. It is free for home use, and identifies and removes various unwanted software that attacks your machine or degrades MAC OS performance. MalwareBytes can remove adware, toolbars, potentially unwanted programs and browser hijackers as well as malware, including ransomware and trojans.

Please go to the following link to download MalwareBytes Anti-Malware.

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

The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware will automatically start and you can see its main screen as displayed in the following example.

Now click the “Scan” button to scan for FreshSkill . This task can take quite a while, so please be patient. When a threat is detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly.

Once the system scan is done, MalwareBytes will create a list of unwanted software and adware. When you are ready, click the “Quarantine” button. The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware will remove FreshSkill adware.

Remove FreshSkill from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

Annoying FreshSkill adware software or other symptoms of adware in your web-browser is a good reason to locate and remove malicious extensions. This is an easy method to restore 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. 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 get rid of FreshSkill 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 FreshSkill adware software 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

By installing an ad-blocking application such as AdGuard, you are able to block malicious websites, stop autoplaying video ads and remove a ton of distracting and intrusive ads on web-sites.

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 guide. Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will allow you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you start your MAC, AdGuard will run automatically and stop annoying popup advertisements, block harmful and misleading web-sites.

To sum up

Once you have removed the FreshSkill adware software using the instructions, Chrome, Safari and Mozilla Firefox will no longer display any intrusive ads when you surf the World Wide Web. Unfortunately, if the step-by-step guidance does not help you, then you have caught a new adware, and then the best way – ask for help.

Please create a new question by using the “Ask Question” button in the Questions and Answers. Try to give us some details about your problems, so we can try to help you more accurately. Wait for one of our trained “Security Team” or Site Administrator to provide you with knowledgeable assistance tailored to your problem with the FreshSkill adware software.