What is ProductUpgrade
ProductUpgrade is supposed to be a program that will improve the browsing experience, but according to security specialists, this program is adware. Adware is a type of malicious software that presents unwanted advertisements to the user of a MAC. The advertisements caused by adware are sometimes in the form of a advertising link, popup or sometimes in an unclosable window.
Unwanted ads
Even worse, adware has the ability to collect lots of marketing-type data about you which may be later transferred to third parties. You do not know if your home address, account names and passwords are safe.
How does ProductUpgrade get on your MAC system
The majority of adware software come bundled with free programs or even paid software which World Wide Web users can easily download online. The installers of such programs, in many cases, clearly display that they will install bundled software. The option is given to users to block the installation of any third-party programs. So, in order to avoid the install of any adware: read all disclaimers and install screens very carefully, select only Custom or Advanced install mode and disable all bundled apps in which you are unsure.
Threat Summary
| Name | ProductUpgrade, ProductUpgrade 1.0 app |
| Type | adware, potentially unwanted application (PUA), popup advertisements, pop-ups, pop up virus |
| Symptoms |
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| Removal | ProductUpgrade removal guide |
How to Remove ProductUpgrade (removal steps)
As with deleting adware, malware or PUPs, there are few steps you may do. We recommend trying them all. If you do only one part of the guide, then it should be use malware removal tool, because it should remove adware and block any further infection. But to completely remove ProductUpgrade adware you’ll have to at least reset your internet browser settings such as search provider by default, new tab page and startpage to default state, uninstall all unwanted and suspicious programs, and delete adware software with malicious software removal utilities. Certain of the steps below will require you to shut down this web site. So, please read the guidance carefully, after that bookmark it or open it on your smartphone for later reference.
To remove ProductUpgrade, complete the following steps:
- Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device
- Check the list of installed software
- Remove ProductUpgrade related files and folders
- Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
- Remove ProductUpgrade from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
- How to stay safe online
- Finish words
Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device
ProductUpgrade can make changes to the Mac system such as malicious changes to browser settings, and the addition of malicious system profiles. You need to check the system preferences, find and remove malicious profiles and ensure your settings are as you expect.
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 device. If there is Profiles in the list, then click on it, then select a profile related to ProductUpgrade.
To delete a malicious profile, click on the minus button ( – ) located at the bottom-left of the Profiles screen.
Check the list of installed software
In the next step, you need to check the list of installed apps on your Mac computer and uninstall all unused, unknown and suspicious applications.
Open Finder and click “Applications”.
It will show a list of all programs installed on your MAC. Scroll through the all list, and uninstall any dubious and unknown apps. Right click to suspicious program and select “Move to Trash”. Another solution is drag the program from the Applications folder to the Trash.
Most important, scroll through the all list, and move to trash any unknown applications. Don’t forget, select Finder -> Empty Trash.
Remove ProductUpgrade related files and folders
Now you need to try to find ProductUpgrade 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.
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 ProductUpgrade 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.machelper.plist, installapp.plist, search.plist, macsearch.plist and ProductUpgrade.plist. Most often, potentially unwanted programs, adware and browser hijackers create several files with similar names.
Check for ProductUpgrade 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 folder. Move all suspicious folders to the Trash.
Check for ProductUpgrade 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 ProductUpgrade 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.search.plist, com.installapp.plist, com.ProductUpgrade.plist, com.machelper.plist and com.macsearch.plist. In most cases, PUPs, adware and browser hijackers create several files with similar names.
Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
If you carefully followed the previous steps, then you should be able to delete ProductUpgrade. Of course, very often browser hijackers, adware and potentially unwanted programs hides on a Mac device, disguising itself as legitimate apps and files. Therefore, in some cases, it is difficult for an inexperienced user to decide whether a particular file is part of adware, potentially unwanted programs and browser hijackers. Therefore, we recommend you to run MalwareBytes Anti Malware to scan the Mac device.
- Installing the MalwareBytes is simple. First you will need to download MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) from the link below.
Malwarebytes Anti-malware (Mac)
20841 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: September 10, 2020
- After downloading is done, close all applications and windows on your Apple Mac. Open a file location. Run the downloaded file and follow the prompts.
- Click the “Scan” button . MalwareBytes tool will begin scanning the whole MAC system to find out ProductUpgrade adware. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your machine. When a threat is found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly.
- As the scanning ends, MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) will display a list of found threats. Make sure to check mark the threats that are unsafe and then click “Quarantine”.
Remove ProductUpgrade from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
Annoying ProductUpgrade adware or other symptoms of adware in your browser is a good reason to find and get rid of harmful addons. This is an easy method to recover web-browsers settings and not lose any important information.
 Google Chrome |
 Mozilla Firefox |
|---|---|
You can also try to remove ProductUpgrade adware software by reset Google Chrome settings. |
If you are still experiencing issues with ProductUpgrade adware software removal, you need to reset Mozilla Firefox browser. |
 Safari |
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How to stay safe online
The AdGuard is a very good adblocker application for the Google Chrome, Safari and Mozilla Firefox, with active user support. It does a great job by removing certain types of annoying advertisements, popunders, pop ups, intrusive newtab pages, and even full page advertisements and web site overlay layers. Of course, the AdGuard can stop harmful web pages automatically or by using a custom filter rule.
- Installing the AdGuard is simple. First you will need to download AdGuard from the following link.
AdGuard for Mac download
3677 downloads
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: January 17, 2018
- After downloading is done, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
- Once the setup is finished, press “Skip” to close the install program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will allow you get to know AdGuard better.
- In most cases, the default settings are enough and you don’t need to change anything. Each time, when you launch your Apple Mac, AdGuard will start automatically and stop intrusive advertisements, block malicious and misleading websites.
Finish words
Once you’ve complete the step-by-step instructions shown above, your MAC should be clean from the ProductUpgrade adware and other malicious software. The Chrome, Safari and Mozilla Firefox will no longer display any unwanted ads. Unfortunately, if the few simple steps does not help you, then you have caught a new adware software, and then the best way – ask for help here.
