PureAdvantage mac virus - Free Guide

What is PureAdvantage mac virus?

PureAdvantage infiltrates mac machines through “cracks,” freeware, and deceptive ads

PureAdvantage infiltrates macs without the users' knowledge

PureAdvantage is a mac virus that has adware^[1] and hijacking capabilities. When it enters the system it starts changing the browser settings like the homepage, new tab address, and search engine. It can start generating commercial content like pop-ups, banners, and redirects.

However, this virus is much more sinister than you might think. It can automatically open malicious links and automatically install PUPs (potentially unwanted programs), and malware^[2] without the users' knowledge. This adware is much more aggressive than adware targeting Windows machines and it belongs to the Adload malware family.

It can bypass Apple's security system XProtect,^[3] so users usually do not know about its existence until it starts to lay its roots. People can see the malicious program in their system by going to the Applications folder. All the viruses from the Adload family look almost the same. You might see a magnifying glass logo inside a green, teal, or grey circle.

We have previously discussed numerous apps from the same family, including CleanSearch, OperativeEngine, ExecutiveProduct, and many more. The developers are constantly evolving these viruses to evade security systems. Many Mac users think that it is impossible to get infected but that is not true for quite some time now.

All the Adload developers had to do was remove a single strand from their code and it became undetectable by XProtect. They also use other evasion techniques like spreading the files related to the program all across the system so they would be more difficult to locate for the average user.

Users cannot simply drag the program to the trash can and get rid of it that way because it quickly returns to its place. It also implements several components, like Login Items and Daemons, which would prevent users from removing the extension and the application installed on the system level.

How to avoid Adload

Because the malicious program is so difficult to remove from the system, you should avoid it at all costs in the first place. Because many mac users think they are untouchable, they ignore the most simple and basic security experts' advice. Many people browse through unsafe pages and click on random links without thinking.

You should shy away from pages that engage in illegal activities. That includes illegal streaming sites, torrent pages,^[4] and peer-to-peer file-sharing platforms. Pages like these are unregulated, so they are full of deceptive ads and sneaky redirects that can lead to websites that use social engineering techniques to spread malicious apps.

Very often, Adload is spread through fake Flash Player updates. People encounter pages that say their Flash Player is outdated and they need to install the newest version to be able to view media, like videos, or play web-based games. However, Flash Player was discontinued in 2020 and replaced by HTML5.

PureAdvantage is spread using social engineering techniques

Since then, people do not need any additional applications to support media content online. The function is embedded in all of the websites already, so if you see a similar message prompting you to update Flash Player, it is definitely fake.

Another very common method to spread adware is software bundling. The PureAdvantage mac virus could have gotten into your system when you were installing another program. This usually happens on freeware distribution sites. They include additional programs in the installers without clearly disclosing it on their page.

That is why we always recommend using only official web stores and developer websites to install software. Even though it might get costly, you may save in the long run by not having your operating system damaged. Besides web stores have a selection of thousands of apps for free so you will definitely find something useful.

Remove the PureAdvantage mac virus

Manual removal may be a race against time. With launch agents, daemons, cronjobs, it can sometimes take several attempts to beat all of these before one of them manages to re-write deleted components back. You should not do this yourself unless you know what you are doing and what kind of files you need to delete. Some of the files can have a .plist extension, a standard settings' file, also known as a “properties file,” used by macOS applications. It contains properties and configuration settings for various programs. The app also uses different persistence techniques and drops many files across the system, complicating browser extension and application removal.

To keep your mind at peace, we recommend using professional anti-malware tools SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes, which can detect unwanted programs and eradicate them. You also do not know if the virus installed any additional malicious programs, so this is the safest way to ensure the system is clean.

If you still want to try and delete it manually, proceed with these steps:

• Open Applications folder
• Select Utilities
• Double-click Activity Monitor
• Here, look for suspicious processes related to adware and use Force Quit command to shut them down
• Go back to the Applications folder
• Find PureAdvantage in the list and move it to Trash

If you are unable to shut down the related processes or can't move the app to Trash, you should look for malicious profiles and login items:

• Go to Preferences and select Accounts
• Click Login items and delete everything suspicious
• Next, pick System Preferences > Users & Groups
• Find Profiles and remove unwanted profiles from the list

There are likely to be more .plist files hiding in the following locations – delete them all:

• Select Go > Go to Folder.
• Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
• In the Application Support folder, look for any suspicious entries and then delete them.
• Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the related .plist files.

The manual elimination process might not always result in total virus removal. Therefore, we still strongly suggest you perform a scan with security software.

Remove the browser extension

An extension to your browser is also added by PureAdvantage that starts performing all sorts of unwanted tasks. It possibly collects sensitive data and sends it to tracking servers. Some of the data that could be exposed is – IP address, user name, macOS version, browser versions, computer ID, items in the “Applications” folder, a list of agents, daemons, and system configuration profiles.

It would help if you removed the add-on as soon as possible after the dangerous files are eliminated from your system. You can delete cookies and cache automatically with the help of FortectIntego. It will also fix any damaged files and system errors, so you should notice an improvement in the machine's performance.

If you prefer doing this yourself without additional help, here are the instructions. You will find guides for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox at the bottom of this article:

1. Click Safari > Preferences…
2. In the new window, pick Extensions.
3. Select the unwanted extension and select Uninstall.

Cookies and website data:

1. Click Safari > Clear History…
2. From the drop-down menu under Clear, pick all history.
3. Confirm with Clear History.

The simplest and quickest solution to this is completely resetting Safari:

• Click Safari > Preferences…
• Go to Advanced tab.
• Tick the Show Develop menu in the menu bar.
• From the menu bar, click Develop, and then select Empty Caches.