RarGenie adware attacks Mac users and tries to avoid detection
RarGenie is a shady ad-supported application designed for Mac OS X[1]. If your Mac suddenly started acting suspiciously, display ads and cause redirects during your browsing sessions, you should remove RarGenie right away. This program might also change your browsers’ settings and set Bing search page as your default search engine provider and home page.
In addition, this adware can hijack your Mac together with other potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) such as:
- InstallMac;
- Genieo;
- SearchBenny;
- ZipCloud.
It is important to uninstall these programs at the same time you decide to remove RarGenie virus. They are highly untrustworthy programs that are meant to serve you sponsored content in various forms. Most of the time, they generate pop-up ads, although you can also run into banners or sponsored search results delivered through the new search engine that RarGenie forces you to use.
During its stay on your Mac OS, RarGenie can deliver coupons, discount codes, special offers, and present similar time and money saving offers that might look tempting to you. Sadly, these ads can be used as bait to lure you into vague websites.
Ads delivered by this adware program can also suggest installing some free programs, for example, system optimizers, search tools or software updates, but you have to be careful and stay away from them.
Staying away from unknown files and programs is a key rule that can help you avoid spyware or malware[2]. So it goes without saying that RarGenie removal is essential if you do not want to accidentally click on deceptive or simply untrustworthy ads.
For a precise adware elimination, we highly suggest using anti-malware software compatible with Mac operating system because manual removal typical requires much more time and patience. You might want to try MalwarebytesMalwarebytes software.
Distribution of adware that aims at Mac users
There are several ways to get infected with the described Mac adware. You can download it directly from its official website, get it on shady file sharing sites, or install it accidentally. Remember that Windows users aren’t the only ones who can get tricked by software bundling technique – Mac users are targets, too. DieViren.de[3] confirms that this technique deceives many German-speaking computer users, although it can trick any computer user worldwide.
Therefore, we strongly recommend that you check every statement provided in software setup before allowing the installer to make changes to the system. If you notice some suspicious statements about additional programs that will be added to your computer, try to drop the additions via Custom/Advanced installation settings.
If the installer doesn’t provide you with an option to configure the components of your download, better do not install such program at all. Try to find a better alternative for it. Besides, it is highly recommended that you check program’s reputation in online forums before you decide to add it to your system.
Remove RarGenie from Mac and reset your browsers
To make your Mac work normally again, you will need to remove RarGenie virus along with some other suspicious applications. We have provided a list of suspicious applications that might be related to the adware in the tutorial that you can find below.
However, if the virus keeps coming back and it seems that it is simply too hard to eliminate it manually, trust MalwarebytesMalwarebytes or another anti-malware software compatible with Macs. It will complete RarGenie removal quickly and delete all of its components together with ones that belong to other spyware or malware type applications.
Delete from macOS
Remove the unwanted application:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).
Delete leftover files and folders:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
- Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.
- Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.
Reset Internet Explorer
Remove dangerous add-ons:
- Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
- Pick Manage Add-ons.
- You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.
Change your homepage if it was altered:
- Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
- Select Internet Options.
- In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
- Click Apply and then select OK.
Delete temporary files:
- Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
- Under Browsing history, click Delete...
- Select relevant fields and press Delete.
Reset Internet Explorer:
- Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
- Select Reset.
- In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.
Remove from Microsoft Edge
Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:
- Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
- From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
- Click Remove.
Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files. (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear.
Restore new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.
Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:
- Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
- Select Details tab.
- Now scroll down and locate every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right-click on each of them and select End Task to stop MS Edge from running.
Instructions for Chromium-based Edge
Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):
- Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.
Clear cache and site data:
- Click on Menu and go to Settings.
- Select Privacy, search and services.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Under Time range, pick All time.
- Select Clear now.
Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- On the left side, pick Reset settings.
- Select Restore settings to their default values.
- Confirm with Reset.
- This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.
Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
- Select Add-ons.
- In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.
Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Settings.
- Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Settings.
- Go to Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data...
- Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.
Reset Mozilla Firefox
If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
- Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.
- Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
- Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.
Remove from Google Chrome
Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:
- Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
- In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.
Clear cache and web data from Chrome:
- Click on Menu and pick Settings.
- Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
- Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
- Click Clear data.
Change your homepage:
- Click menu and choose Settings.
- Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
- Click on Open a specific or set of pages and click on three dots to find the Remove option.
Reset Google Chrome:
If the previous methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the unwanted components:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
- Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
- Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
- Confirm with Reset settings.
Delete from Safari
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
- Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.
Clear history and website data:
- Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
- Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.
Reset Safari:
- Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
- Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.
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