How to uninstall ActiveFormat app/extension from Mac (Virus removal guide)

What is ActiveFormat

According to security specialists, ActiveFormat is a malicious application that belongs to the Adware category. Adware is type of malicious software that can cause issues for your computer. It can generate numerous additional pop-up, banner, pop-under and in-text link advertisements flooding on your web browser; gather your data like login details, online searches, etc; run in the background and drag down your computer running speed; give more chances for other adware, potentially unwanted apps even malware to get on your Mac.

The worst is, the ActiveFormat adware can gather and transmit personal information without your knowledge. It can track information about web-sites visited, browser and system information, and your computer IP address.

How does ActiveFormat get on your machine

The majority of adware spreads bundled with free programs or even paid programs which users can easily download online. The installers of such programs, in many cases, clearly indicate that they will install optional software. The option is given to users to stop the installation of any optional apps. So, in order to avoid the installation of any adware software: read all disclaimers and install screens very carefully, select only Custom or Advanced installation mode and uncheck all additional apps in which you are unsure.

Threat Summary

Name	ActiveFormat, ActiveFormat 1.0 app
Type	adware software, PUP (potentially unwanted program), Mac malware, Mac virus
Detection Names	Adware.MAC.Generic, MacOS.Agent-MT, OSX.Trojan.Gen, ApplicUnwnt, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A and Adware/Adload!OSX
Distribution	Free software installers, torrent downloads, suspicious popup ads and fake updaters
Symptoms	Your web-browser is redirected to web-pages you did not want, advertising banners appear on websites that you are visiting, there is an unexpected application in the ‘Applications’ section of the Finder, an unwanted toolbar appears in your web-browser, your web browser startpage has changed without your permission, slow browsing Internet.
Removal	ActiveFormat removal guide

How to remove ActiveFormat from Mac

In the step-by-step guidance below, we’ll try to cover Safari, Chrome and Firefox and provide general advice to delete ActiveFormat adware. You may find some minor differences in your Mac OS installation. No matter, you should be okay if you follow the steps outlined below: remove all suspicious and unknown programs, reset web-browsers settings, use free malware removal tools. Read this manual carefully, bookmark it or open this page on your smartphone, because you may need to exit your web browser or restart your MAC computer.

To remove ActiveFormat, use the steps below:

1. Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device
2. Remove ActiveFormat related software through the Finder
3. Remove ActiveFormat related files and folders
4. Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
5. Remove ActiveFormat from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
6. How to stay safe online

Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device

ActiveFormat 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. If there is Profiles in the list, then click on it, then select a profile related to ActiveFormat.

To delete a malicious profile, click on the minus button ( – ) located at the bottom-left of the Profiles screen.

Remove ActiveFormat related software through the Finder

It is of primary importance to identify and remove PUPs, browser hijackers and adware software through ‘Applications’ section of your Finder.

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

It will show a list of all applications installed on your computer. Scroll through the all list, and uninstall any dubious and unknown apps. Right click to questionable program and select “Move to Trash”. Another method 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, choose Finder -> Empty Trash.

Remove ActiveFormat related files and folders

Now you need to try to find ActiveFormat 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.

ActiveFormat creates several files, these files must be found and removed. Below is a list of files associated with this unwanted program.

• /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.ActiveFormat.system.plist
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.ActiveFormat.service.plist
• /Library/Application Support/.(RANDOM)/System/com.ActiveFormat.system
• ~/Library/Application Support/.(RANDOM)/Services/com.ActiveFormat.service.app

Some files created by ActiveFormat are hidden from the user. To find and delete them, you need to enable “show hidden files”. To do this, use the shortcut CMD + SHIFT + . Press once to show hidden files and again to hide them. There is another way. Click Finder -> Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal. In Terminal, paste the following text: defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES

Press Enter. Hold the ‘Option/alt’ key, then right click on the Finder icon in the dock and click Relaunch.

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 ActiveFormat 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: search.plist, installapp.plist, com.google.defaultsearch.plist, , com.machelper.plist, com.ActiveFormat.service.plist, macsearch.plist and com.net-preferences.plist. Most often, adware, PUPs and browser hijackers create several files with similar names.

Check for ActiveFormat 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 folders and files. Check the contents of suspicious folders, if there is a file with a name similar to com.ActiveFormat.system, then this folder must be deleted. Move all suspicious folders and files to the Trash.

Check for ActiveFormat 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 ActiveFormat 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.system.plist, com.macsearch.system.plist, com.installapp.system.plist, com.ActiveFormat.system.plist and com.machelper.system.plist. In most cases, adware, potentially unwanted programs and browser hijackers create several files with similar names.

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

We recommend using MalwareBytes. You may download and install MalwareBytes AntiMalware to search for and remove ActiveFormat associated programs from your Mac. When installed and updated, the malicious software remover automatically finds and removes all security threats present on the computer.

Download MalwareBytes Free from the following link.

After the download is complete, run it and follow the prompts. Press the “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the ActiveFormat adware software. When a malware, adware or PUPs are found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the checking is done. Next, you need to click the “Quarantine” button.

The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) is a free program that you can use to remove all detected folders, files, malicious services and so on.

Remove ActiveFormat from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

Annoying ActiveFormat adware or other symptoms of adware in your browser is a good reason to locate and remove malicious extensions. This is an easy method to recover web browsers settings and not lose any important information.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
In the top-right corner, expand the Google Chrome menu. Select ‘More tools’, then ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to get rid of ActiveFormat adware software by reset Chrome settings.	Click on ‘menu’ button and select ‘Add-ons’. Go to ‘Extensions’ tab. To uninstall an add-on, click on ‘Remove’ button next to it. If you are still experiencing problems with ActiveFormat adware software removal, you need to reset Mozilla Firefox browser.
Safari
On the top menu select ‘Safari’, then ‘Preferences’. Select ‘Extensions’ tab. Select an extension you want to delete and click ‘Uninstall’ button next to it.

How to stay safe online

We suggest to install an adblocker program. The ad blocking utility like AdGuard is a program which basically removes advertising from the Internet and stops access to malicious web pages. Moreover, security experts says that using ad blocker programs is necessary to stay safe when surfing the Internet.

1. Installing the AdGuard is simple. First you will need to download AdGuard by clicking on the following link. Save it directly to your Windows Desktop.
   
   

   AdGuard for Mac download
   3678 downloads
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: January 17, 2018
   
2. After the downloading process is done, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. Once the setup is finished, click “Skip” to close the installation application and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will assist you get to know AdGuard better.
4. In most cases, the default settings are enough and you don’t need to change anything. Each time, when you launch your machine, AdGuard will start automatically and stop intrusive ads, block malicious and misleading websites.

Finish words

Now your MAC should be clean of the ActiveFormat adware. We suggest that you keep MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) (to periodically scan your computer for new adwares and other malware) and AdGuard (to help you block unwanted advertisements and harmful web sites). Moreover, to prevent any adware, please stay clear of unknown and third party applications.

If you need more help with ActiveFormat related issues, go to here.