Who doesn’t remember the thrill and pleasure of using a brand new Mac? When you have a Mac that doesn’t cause frustration due to regular hangs every task seems like a breeze. The deterioration of Mac’s performance happens partly due to the failure to perform essential maintenance routines on the part of a user and partly because of malware infiltration. There are known cases of students who had to pay for essay to be written by someone else after their Mac had been struck out of service because of the above-mentioned circumstance couple days before the paper’s turn-in deadline.
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Fortunately, the latter problem can be solved with the help of free and commercial antiviruses that function as the first line of defense against harmful software. There are plenty of security solutions that differ greatly in their ability to keep a Mac safe. In addition, antivirus utilities also vary in speed, functionality, price, license options, and effectiveness among others. Those users who want to protect their system from malware, adware and spyware purchase and install antivirus solutions of their choice, thereby reducing the vulnerability of a Mac.
However, just like with any other product, antivirus software can fail to live up to expectations of its customers. Therefore, sometimes there is a need to reconsider the choice of antivirus in favor of a better utility. A case in point is the uninstallation of Avast from a Mac.
After answering the question of why one might need to remove Avast from a Mac, it is necessary to consider how it can be done. Basically, all approaches to uninstalling the antivirus can be lumped into two categories: software and manual. From a functional viewpoint, the use of each uninstallation route can meet the criteria of success.
However, there is a surprisingly small number of Mac owners who know how to properly uninstall Avast or any other app for that matter by following the manual route. It has to do with the fact that the method necessitates the methodical deletion of remnant files and folders that are scattered all over a drive. This, in turn, requires a good knowledge of the macOS directory structure and some patience.
To the extent that the difference between the manual and software method is simply a matter of technical wherewithal, the choice between the two methods is up to each user. Those who are confident in their ability to navigate through the labyrinth of Mac folders and subfolders in search of Avast leftovers can opt for the manual method, which is completely free. Others might find attractive the software route, which is associated with the nominal cost of purchasing a cleaning utility.
Prior to embarking on the discussion of effective and reasonable methods of the antivirus removal, it is necessary to consider why people install Avast in the first place and why they might want to uninstall it. Avast Mac Security is a venerable antivirus that is appreciated by many Mac owners. Given that the utility is distributed free of charge and is fairly efficient in removing the majority of digital threats, numerous Internet surfers use it for the protection of their system. However, experienced members of the Apple family realize that it is not reasonable to scrimp on security. Therefore, they opt for commercial antiviruses that are characterized by better performance in several key areas and reinforce the protection of their Mac by masking their web activities with the help of Avast SecureLine VPN. Specifically, many users are frustrated by the extremely slow scanning speed of Avast, exorbitant resource consumption, and distracting pop-ups. Therefore, they seek proper ways to uninstall the antivirus.
How to Uninstall Avast Antivirus on Mac: Manual Route
If you find that Avast antivirus fails to live up to your expectations of security, here’s how to delete it without any trace left. Is avast security necessary for mac.
Start by quitting the antivirus if it is running. After the app is closed, it is necessary to stop the execution of its processes in the Activity Monitor. To this end:
- Launch the Activity Monitor from the Utilities folder;
- Choose processes associated with the antivirus (they have Avast in their name);
- Click X or the Quit button;
After you’ve quit the app and stopped the execution of its processes, do the following:
- From the Finder, navigate to the Applications folder;
- From the list of installed application, select Avast;
- Drag and drop the antivirus to the Trash (alternatively, right-click on the icon and select the Move to Trash option in the drop-down menu);
- Empty the Trash.
Once the core of the app is gone, a user has to remove its vestiges from the system. To do so:
- Launch the Finder and click on the Go tab in the menu;
- Select the Go to Folder option from the list;
- In a search bar, enter /Library/
- Once in the library, use the search box to find all files that bear the Avast name;
- Select the proper matches and right click on them to move them to the Trash;
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Upon finishing the fifth step, it is necessary to repeat it for the following locations that might also contain digital scraps of the app:
- ~/Applications/
- ~/Library/Application
- ~/Library/Caches
- ~/Library/Preferences/
- ~/Library/Application Support/CrashReprter/
- ~/Library/Saved Application State/
Afterwards, empty the Trash to retrieve the hard drive space occupied by deleted files. If you have been using Avast for long, the reclaimed space can be quite impressive.
The software approach to uninstalling the utility presupposes the use of the built-in uninstaller and third-party utilities.
The former is less reliable since it can leave some traces behind. If you are not worried about the possibility of leaving digital bits of Avast in your system, do the following:
- Launch the antivirus;
- In the menu bar of the antivirus, click on the Avast Mac Security tab;
- From the drop-down menu, select the Uninstall Avast option;
- Click on the Uninstall button;
- Check boxes next to security products installed on your Mac and click on the Continue button;
- Enter the administrator’s name and password and click the OK button;
- Click on the Quit button to finish the process.
The most reliable way of removing Avast from your Mac is to download either free or paid cleaning utilities from the Web. Such tools have been specifically designed to make the uninstallation process easy and reliable.
A phishing scam has targeted Mac users by redirecting them from legitimate websites to fake websites which tell them that their computer is infected with a virus. The user is then offered Mac Defender 'anti-virus' software to solve the issue.
This “anti-virus” software is malware (i.e. malicious software). Its ultimate goal is to get the user's credit card information which may be used for fraudulent purposes.
The most common names for this malware are MacDefender, MacProtector and MacSecurity.
Apple released a free software update (Security Update 2011-003) that will automatically find and remove Mac Defender malware and its known variants.
The Resolution section below also provides step-by-step instructions on how to avoid or manually remove this malware.
Resolution
How to avoid installing this malware
If any notifications about viruses or security software appear, quit Safari or any other browser that you are using. If a normal attempt at quitting the browser doesn’t work, then Force Quit the browser.
In some cases, your browser may automatically download and launch the installer for this malicious software. If this happens, cancel the installation process; do not enter your administrator password. Delete the installer immediately using the steps below.
- Go into the Downloads folder, or your preferred download location.
- Drag the installer to the Trash.
- Empty the Trash.
How to remove this malware
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If the malware has been installed, we recommend the following actions:
- Do not provide your credit card information under any circumstances.
- Use the Removal Steps below.
Removal steps
- Move or close the Scan Window.
- Go to the Utilities folder in the Applications folder and launch Activity Monitor.
- Choose All Processes from the pop up menu in the upper right corner of the window.
- Under the Process Name column, look for the name of the app and click to select it; common app names include: MacDefender, MacSecurity or MacProtector.
- Click the Quit Process button in the upper left corner of the window and select Quit.
- Quit Activity Monitor application.
- Open the Applications folder.
- Locate the app ex. MacDefender, MacSecurity, MacProtector or other name.
- Drag to Trash, and empty Trash.
Malware also installs a login item in your account in System Preferences. Removal of the login item is not necessary, but you can remove it by following the steps below.
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- Open System Preferences, select Accounts, then Login Items
- Select the name of the app you removed in the steps above ex. MacDefender, MacSecurity, MacProtector
- Click the minus button
Use the steps in the “How to avoid installing this malware” section above to remove the installer from the download location.
Avast Free Malware Removal
Note: Apple provides security updates for the Mac exclusively through Software Update and the Apple Support Downloads site. User should exercise caution any time they are asked to enter sensitive personal information online.