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

What is OperativeEngine

According to security experts, OperativeEngine is a malicious application that falls under the category of Adware . Adware is type of malware which displays unwanted advertisements, redirects search results to scam web-sites and collects sensitive info for marketing purposes. Adware can display banner advertisements, full-screen ads, popups, videos, or other varieties of online advertising. Adware can attack your MAC’s web-browsers such as Firefox, Safari and Google Chrome. Maybe you approve the idea that the advertisements or pop ups is just a small problem. But these unwanted ads eat machine resources and slow down your MAC performance.

Another reason why you need to get rid of OperativeEngine is its online data-tracking activity. It is able to gather your browsing history and personal information, including passwords and credit card numbers. In the future, marketing-type data about you can be transferred third party companies.

How does OperativeEngine get on your computer

Most commonly, adware spreads bundled with the setup packages from file sharing and torrents websites. So, install free programs is a a good chance that you will find a bundled adware. If you don’t know how to avoid it, then use a simple trick. During the installation, choose the Custom or Advanced installation method. Next, press ‘Decline’ button and clear all checkboxes on offers that ask you to install third-party software. Moreover, please carefully read Term of use and User agreement before installing any programs.

Threat Summary

Name	OperativeEngine, OperativeEngine 1.0 app
Type	adware, potentially unwanted program (PUP), Mac virus, Mac malware
Detection Names	Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, ApplicUnwnt, Adware/Adload!OSX, OSX.Trojan.Gen, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A, Adware.MAC.Generic and MacOS.Agent-MT
Distribution	Freeware installers, fake software updaters, dubious pop-up advertisements and torrent downloads
Symptoms	You keep getting redirected to suspicious web pages, advertising links appear in places they shouldn’t be, unwanted application installed without your consent, unwanted internet browser toolbars, your web-browser home page has changed and you cannot change it back, slow browsing Internet.
Removal	OperativeEngine removal guide

How to remove OperativeEngine adware software

We can help you remove OperativeEngine from your Mac without the need to take your machine to a professional. Simply follow the removal steps below if you currently have the adware on your computer and want to delete it. If you have any difficulty while trying to delete the OperativeEngine adware, feel free to ask for our help in the comment section below. Certain of the steps below will require you to close this web site. So, please read the step-by-step tutorial carefully, after that bookmark it or open it on your smartphone for later reference.

To remove OperativeEngine, use the steps below:

1. Remove profiles created by OperativeEngine
2. Delete OperativeEngine associated software by using the Finder
3. Remove OperativeEngine related files and folders
4. Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
5. Remove OperativeEngine from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
6. How to stay safe online

Remove profiles created by OperativeEngine

OperativeEngine can install a configuration profile on the Mac system to block changes made to the browser settings. Therefore, you need to open system preferences, find and delete the profile installed by the adware software.

Click the System Preferences icon ( ) in the Dock, or choose Apple menu ( ) > System Preferences.

In System Preferences, click Profiles, then select a profile associated with OperativeEngine.

Click the minus button ( – ) located at the bottom-left of the Profiles screen to remove the profile.
Note: if you do not see Profiles in the System Preferences, that means there are no profiles installed on your Mac device, which is normal.

Delete OperativeEngine associated software by using the Finder

The next step to remove browser hijackers, PUPs and adware is to delete unknown and dubious apps. Using the Finder you can do this quickly and easily. We recommend you not to skip this step, as it often helps to get rid of intrusive advertisements and web browser redirects.

Make sure you have closed all browsers and other apps. Next, uninstall any unrequested and suspicious applications from MAC OS using the Finder.

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

Look around the entire list of apps installed on your MAC system. Most likely, one of them is the OperativeEngine . Select the dubious program or the application that name is not familiar to you and remove it.

Drag the questionable program from the Applications folder to the Trash.

Most important, don’t forget, choose Finder -> Empty Trash.

Remove OperativeEngine related files and folders

Now you need to try to find OperativeEngine 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.

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

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

Some files created by OperativeEngine 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 OperativeEngine 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, com.OperativeEngine.service.plist, com.net-preferences.plist, com.google.defaultsearch.plist, , macsearch.plist, search.plist and installapp.plist. Most often, adware software, PUPs and browser hijackers create several files with similar names.

Check for OperativeEngine 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.OperativeEngine.system, then this folder must be deleted. Move all suspicious folders and files to the Trash.

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

Manual OperativeEngine removal requires some computer skills. Some files and system entries that created by the adware software may be not completely removed. We advise that use MalwareBytes AntiMalware to scan the Mac device. Moreover, this application will allow you to get rid of potentially unwanted programs, toolbars, browser hijackers and adware that your MAC can be affected too.

1. Visit the following page to download the latest version of MalwareBytes AntiMalware for Mac.
   
   

   Malwarebytes Anti-malware (Mac)
   20841 downloads
   Author: Malwarebytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: September 10, 2020
   
2. When downloading is done, please close all applications and open windows on your Apple Mac. Run the downloaded file. Follow the prompts.
3. The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) will run and display the main window.
4. Further, click the “Scan” button for checking your machine for the OperativeEngine adware. A system scan may take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your MAC system. While the MalwareBytes Free program is scanning, you can see how many objects it has identified as threat.
5. Once MalwareBytes completes the scan, the results are displayed in the scan report.
6. Next, you need to click the “Remove Selected Items” button.
7. Close the Anti-Malware and continue with the next step.

Remove OperativeEngine from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

If you have ‘OperativeEngine adware’ removal problem, then remove unwanted extensions can help you. In the steps below we’ll show you the way to get rid of malicious plugins without reinstall. This will also help to remove OperativeEngine from your web-browser.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
Click on ‘three dots menu’ button at the top right corner of the Chrome window. Select ‘More tools’, then ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to delete OperativeEngine adware 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 issues with OperativeEngine 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

One of the worst things is the fact that you cannot block all harmful web sites using only built-in Microsoft Windows capabilities. However, there is a application out that you can use to stop annoying internet browser redirects, ads and popups in any modern browsers including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Safari. It’s called Adguard and it works very well.

Click the following link to download AdGuard.

When downloading is done, run the downloaded file. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen.

Follow the prompts. AdGuard will then be installed. A window will show up asking you to confirm that you want to see a quick tutorial. Press “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick instructions that will assist you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you start your MAC system, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop unwanted pop up advertisements, block harmful and misleading websites.

To sum up

After completing the tutorial shown above, your MAC should be clean from this adware and other malware. The Google Chrome, Safari and Firefox will no longer display the OperativeEngine ads when you surf the Internet. Unfortunately, if the steps does not help you, then you have caught a new adware, and then the best way – ask for help.

Please create a new question by using the “Ask Question” button in the Questions and Answers. Try to give us some details about your problems, so we can try to help you more accurately. Wait for one of our trained “Security Team” or Site Administrator to provide you with knowledgeable assistance tailored to your problem with the intrusive OperativeEngine adware software.