Mac Auto Fixer. How to remove? (Uninstall guide)
Mac Auto Fixer is a potentially unwanted application which claims to fix Mac-related issues
Mac Auto Fixer is a potentially unwanted program which requires to purchase a license key to fix cyber threats.
Questions about Mac Auto Fixer
Mac Auto Fixer is an unreliable system optimization tool which was developed by an infamous developer called PCVARK. The main sign showing that your PC is infected is the Maftask task that can be found running in computer's Activity Monitor. This potentially unwanted program (PUP)[1] is similar to Advanced Mac Cleaner, Mac Tonic, Mac Mechanic, Mac Shiny, and similar suspicious applications that all promise to help users improve their PCs' functionality. However, if you have been wondering is Mac Auto Fixer a virus, we definitely recommend you to get rid of it. Despite its attractive description, GUI and seemingly effective functionality, this program seems to imitate its activity on the system and seeks the only aim – your money. Don't buy its useless licensed version offered as the only way to improve computer's work! There are plenty of free programs available on the market these days.
| Name | Mac Auto Fixer |
|---|---|
| Type | System tool; PUP; adware |
| Danger level | Medium. Does not perform system changes |
| related task | Maftask |
| Symptoms | Performs questionable system scans and reports about invented malware. Offers its paid license key as the only way to fix the system |
| main dangers | Spending your money on useless software; revealing your credit card information to strangers |
| Distribution | Third-party apps; bundling distribution technique |
| Elimination | You can uninstall Mac Auto Fixer and other potentially unwanted programs with Reimage |
Nevertheless, the term Mac Auto Fixer virus does not accurately describe this application. Unreliable system optimization tools are not malicious apps that pose serious harm to PC systems. However, they rely on misleading distribution techniques, cause fake warning messages and then start pushing their victims into buying their license. In other terms, users are not advised to keep this program on their computers as it employs misleading techniques to sell its 118 € worth license. Besides, it is not capable of fixing Mac-related problems.
Another issue related to Mac Auto Fixer is its distribution techniques. Note that this app can be installed on the computers together with third-party tools or via fake ads offering to check the system for free. Likewise, many people do not even notice this potentially unwanted program until it starts delivering intrusive and less than reliable Mac Auto Fixer ads and scanners that include the list of invented errors.
Once inside the system, Mac Auto Fixer performs system scans that report about numerous cyber threats and errors. The list of scan results includes the following:
- Infected files;
- Junk items;
- Privacy exposing data.
According to the experts, it is not hard to check the reliability of the unwanted items found by Mac Auto Fixer. You should install an alternative optimization tool, which is known to be reliable, and run a full system scan. You can also use your own anti-virus software. Once it finishes its scan, compare its results with the ones displayed by the PUP. We can guarantee that there will be no errors similar to the ones included in the first scan.
The scan results and cyber threats detected by this program are non-existent and merely shown just to trick gullible people into purchasing the full version of the program. Likewise, Mac Auto Fixer virus term is a popular description used by people online.
Click 'Start -> Control Panel -> Programs and Features' (if you are 'Windows XP' user, click on 'Add/Remove Programs').
If you are 'Windows 10 / Windows 8' user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once 'Quick Access Menu' shows up, select 'Control Panel' and 'Uninstall a Program'.
Right click on each of suspicious entries and select 'Uninstall'
Cick 'Go' and select 'Applications'
Click on every malicious entry and select 'Move to Trash'
Click on menu icon and select 'Manage add-ons'
Right click on each of malicious entries and select 'Disable'
Delete malicious URL, enter your desired domain name and click 'Apply' to save changes
Go to 'Advanced' tab and click on 'Reset' button. Now select 'Delete personal settings' and click on 'Reset' button again
Go to Settings and select 'Choose what to clear'
Select 'Clear' button
Open the start menu and select 'Task Manager'
Right-click 'Microsoft Edge' and select 'Go to details'
Select 'More details' if 'Go to details' option fails to show up
Find Microsoft Edge entries and select 'End Task'
Go to Microsoft Edge folder on your computer, right-click every entry and click 'Delete'
Find Windows PowerShell, right-click it and select 'Run as administrator'
Copy and paste a required command and press 'Enter'
Click on menu icon and select 'Add-ons'
Select 'Extensions' and look for malicious entries. Click 'Remove' to get rid of each of them
Click on menu icon and then on '?'. Select 'Troubleshooting Information'
Click on 'Reset Firefox' button for a couple of times
Click on menu icon. Select 'Tools' and 'Extensions'
Look for malicious entries and delete each of them by clicking on the Trash bin icon
When in 'Settings', select 'Manage search engines...'
Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs
When in 'Settings', scroll down to 'Reset browser settings' button and click on it
Click on 'Reset' button to complete your removal
Click on 'Safari' and select 'Preferences'
Go to 'Extensions' and uninstall malicious add-ons
Click on 'Safari' and select 'Reset Safari...'
Select all options and click on 'Reset' button
Furthermore, users who have Mac Auto Fixer are disappointed as it causes unwanted redirects to other questionable sites. Be aware that the developers of this software are not responsible for the content of those websites. Thus, users might end up on malware[2] distribution pages and infect their Mac computers with threats similar to the potentially unwanted application.
It is evident that this fraudulent system optimization tool is not worth your trust. Likewise, the best decision would be to switch to a professional security tool and remove Mac Auto Fixer without dealing with the useless software. If you want to speed up your computer's functionality, get Reimage or another reliable software which is capable of doing that.
For Mac Auto Fixer removal, you can use our manual removal guide presented below. In case your computer is also infected with Mac Mechanic or MacShiny, you will need to uninstall them as well. Before that, launch Activity monitor to force quit the PUP. Thus, a full system scan is recommended after uninstalling these apps as it helps you make sure that all unwanted components are gone. To prevent the reappearance of this PUP, make sure you delete Mac Auto Fixer together with its leftover files.
Bundling: PUPs infiltrate the system without user's consent
There are several distribution techniques used to spread potentially unwanted programs (PUPs). Although, the most prominent and widely used one remains bundling as it does not require the user's consent to infiltrate the system. This method allows the developers to offer their questionable tools as one program with another third-party app.
However, there is a way how users can detect and reject potentially unwanted programs during the installation of freeware. The first step is to never agree with Quick or Recommended settings. Instead, you MUST pick Advanced or Custom ones as this is the only way to reveal hidden PUPs.
Keep in mind that they come as optional components. Likewise, you should attentively check each installation step and search for pre-selected items. PUPs may be marked as “I agree to install XXX,” or “Get XXX now” check-marks. De-select them and double check your system with an antivirus.
How to remove Mac Auto Fixer from the affected PC system
If you have been wondering how to get rid of Mac Auto Fixer from your operating system, note that you are dealing with the potentially unwanted program which can run numerous tasks in system's background to stay active. According to PC security researchers,[3] you should check the Activity monitor on your computer to disable the virus. For that:
- Open Utilities folder and locate the Activity Monitor;
- Here, find Mac Auto Fixer, click the mouse on it and click Quit Process;
- Select the Force Quit when a pop up asking if you would like to quit the executable shows up;
Once you perform these steps, you should proceed with the traditional method to uninstall the PUP. Note that potentially unwanted programs are sneaky cyber threats which can leave related elements after inappropriate elimination. Therefore, it is essential to remove Mac Auto Fixer with all its components from the system. Otherwise, the application might reappear after a while.
The best option to do after you take care of Mac Auto Fixer removal is to check the system with the help of a professional security tool. The antivirus will not only uninstall the leftover files PUP but will also get rid of other potentially unwanted programs which might be present on your system. For that, check the list of our recommendations below.
You can remove virus damage automatically with a help of one of these programs: Reimage, SpyHunterCombo Cleaner, Malwarebytes Malwarebytes. We recommend these applications because they detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
To remove Mac Auto Fixer, follow these steps:
Delete Mac Auto Fixer from Mac OS X system
Mac Auto Fixer removal guidelines:
-
If you are using OS X, click Go button at the top left of the screen and select Applications.
-
Wait until you see Applications folder and look for Mac Auto Fixer or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Erase Mac Auto Fixer from Safari
Reset Safari web browser if you have been suffering from suspicious promoting this questionable web optimization tool:
-
Remove dangerous extensions
Open Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu at the top left of the screen. Once you do this, select Preferences. -
Here, select Extensions and look for Mac Auto Fixer or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them.
-
Reset Safari
Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari.... -
Now you will see a detailed dialog window filled with reset options. All of those options are usually checked, but you can specify which of them you want to reset. Click the Reset button to complete Mac Auto Fixer removal process.
Eliminate Mac Auto Fixer from Google Chrome
Refresh Google Chrome to get rid of continuous ads promoting Mac Auto Fixer and similar PUPs:
-
Delete malicious plugins
Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions. -
Here, select Mac Auto Fixer and other malicious plugins and select trash icon to delete these entries.
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Click on menu icon again and choose Settings → Manage Search engines under the Search section.
-
When in Search Engines..., remove malicious search sites. You should leave only Google or your preferred domain name.
-
Reset Google Chrome
Click on menu icon on the top right of your Google Chrome and select Settings. -
Scroll down to the end of the page and click on Reset browser settings.
-
Click Reset to confirm this action and complete Mac Auto Fixer removal.
Uninstall Mac Auto Fixer from Internet Explorer (IE)
-
Remove dangerous add-ons
Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top right corner of the browser and choose Manage Add-ons. -
You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for Mac Auto Fixer and other suspicious plugins. Disable these entries by clicking Disable:
-
Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the gear icon (menu) on the top right corner of the browser and select Internet Options. Stay in General tab. -
Here, remove malicious URL and enter preferable domain name. Click Apply to save changes.
-
Reset Internet Explorer
Click on the gear icon (menu) again and select Internet options. Go to Advanced tab. - Here, select Reset.
-
When in the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset again to complete Mac Auto Fixer removal.
Get rid of Mac Auto Fixer from Microsoft Edge
Remove all suspicious add-ons and similar components from Microsoft Edge:
Reset Microsoft Edge settings (Method 1):
- Launch Microsoft Edge app and click More (three dots at the top right corner of the screen).
- Click Settings to open more options.
-
Once Settings window shows up, click Choose what to clear button under Clear browsing data option.
-
Here, select all what you want to remove and click Clear.
-
Now you should right-click on the Start button (Windows logo). Here, select Task Manager.
- When in Processes tab, search for Microsoft Edge.
-
Right-click on it and choose Go to details option. If can’t see Go to details option, click More details and repeat previous steps.
-
When Details tab shows up, find every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right click on each of them and select End Task to end these entries.
Resetting Microsoft Edge browser (Method 2):
If Method 1 failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method.
- Note: you need to backup your data before using this method.
- Find this folder on your computer:
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe. -
Select every entry which is saved on it and right click with your mouse. Then Delete option.
- Click the Start button (Windows logo) and type in window power in Search my stuff line.
-
Right-click the Windows PowerShell entry and choose Run as administrator.
- Once Administrator: Windows PowerShell window shows up, paste this command line after PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> and press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml -Verbose}
Once these steps are finished, Mac Auto Fixer should be removed from your Microsoft Edge browser.
Mac OS XSafariGoogle ChromeInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxRemove Mac Auto Fixer from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
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Remove dangerous extensions
Open Mozilla Firefox, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Add-ons → Extensions. -
Here, select Mac Auto Fixer and other questionable plugins. Click Remove to delete these entries.
-
Reset Mozilla Firefox
Click on the Firefox menu on the top left and click on the question mark. Here, choose Troubleshooting Information. -
Now you will see Reset Firefox to its default state message with Reset Firefox button. Click this button for several times and complete Mac Auto Fixer removal.
About the author
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References
- ^ Chris Hoffman. PUPs Explained: What is a “Potentially Unwanted Program”?. How-To Geek. We Explain Technology.
- ^ What is malware?. Palo Alto Networks. Cybersecurity.
- ^ Virukset. Virukset. Security and Spyware News.
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