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

What is DesktopActivity

DesktopActivity is a malicious application that falls under the category of Adware. Adware is type of malware that can cause issues for your MAC OS. It can generate numerous additional popup, banner, pop-under and in-text link ads flooding on your internet browser; gather your privacy data such as login details, online searches, etc; run in the background and drag down your computer running speed; give more chances for other adware, PUAs even malware to get on your computer.

Does adware software steal your data? Adware can also be spyware. Spyware can seek out your privacy data stored on the MAC, gather this information and use it to steal your identity.

How does DesktopActivity get on your computer

The adware software was probably installed on your machine when you installed certain free software such as Email checker, PDF creator, video codec, etc. Because more often than not, adware can be bundled with the installation files of Softonic, Cnet, Soft32, Brothersoft or other similar software download websites. Thus, you must be very careful when running any files downloaded from the World Wide Web! Always read the User Agreement, Software License and Terms of Use carefully. In the installation wizard, you should select the Advanced, Custom or Manual installation option to specify which components and additional programs to install, otherwise you risk infecting your MAC OS with adware or a potentially unwanted application (PUA).

Threat Summary

Name	DesktopActivity, DesktopActivity 1.0 app
Type	adware, PUP (potentially unwanted program), Mac virus, Mac malware
Detection Names	MacOS.Agent-MT, ApplicUnwnt, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, Adware.MAC.Generic, Program:MacOS/Vigram.A, Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload, Adware/Adload!OSX and OSX.Trojan.Gen
Distribution	Free software installers, malicious pop up ads, fake updaters and torrent downloads
Symptoms	You keep getting redirected to unfamiliar web sites, unclosable window appear and recommend fake Jave updates, new entries appear in your Applications folder, unexpected web-browser add-ons or toolbars keep coming back, your web browser homepage has modified and you are unable to modify it back, your web browser slows to a crawl.
Removal	DesktopActivity removal guide

How to remove DesktopActivity pop up ads

We can help you remove DesktopActivity from your web browsers, without the need to take your MAC system to a professional. Simply follow the removal tutorial below if you currently have the intrusive adware on your MAC OS and want to delete it. If you’ve any difficulty while trying to delete the adware, feel free to ask for our assist in the comment section below. Read this manual carefully, bookmark it or open this page on your smartphone, because you may need to close your browser or restart your machine.

To remove DesktopActivity, execute the steps below:

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

Remove unwanted profiles on Mac device

DesktopActivity 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 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 associated with DesktopActivity.

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

Uninstall DesktopActivity related apps through the Finder

Some PUPs, adware and browser hijackers may be deleted by uninstalling the free software they came with. If this way does not succeed, then looking them up in the list of installed applications in the Finder. Use the “Move to Trash” command in order to remove them.

Open Finder and click “Applications” as shown on the screen below.

You will see a list of programs installed on your Apple Mac. We recommend to pay maximum attention to the program you installed last. Most probably, it’s the adware responsible for the DesktopActivity pop-ups. If you’re in doubt, you can always check the program by doing a search for her name in Google, Yahoo or Bing.

Once the program which you need to uninstall is found, simply right click on its name, and choose “Move to Trash”.

Don’t forget, choose Finder, then “Empty Trash”.

Remove DesktopActivity related files and folders

Now you need to try to find DesktopActivity 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

If you are still having issues with the DesktopActivity removal or just wish to check your Mac occasionally for adware software and other malicious software, then download MalwareBytes Free. It’s free for home use, and detects and removes various unwanted applications that attacks your computer or degrades MAC performance. MalwareBytes Free can remove browser hijackers, adware software, PUPs and toolbars as well as malicious software, including ransomware and trojans.

Download MalwareBytes Free on your MAC system from the following link.

When the download is finished, run it and follow the prompts. Click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the adware which causes pop-ups. This procedure may take some time, so please be patient. During the scan MalwareBytes Free will detect threats exist on your MAC. Next, you need to press the “Quarantine” button.

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

Remove DesktopActivity from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

This step will show you how to get rid of malicious extensions. This can remove DesktopActivity ads and fix some browsing problems, especially after adware infection.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
In the top right corner, click on Chrome’s main menu button, represented by three vertical dots. Select ‘More tools’, then ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to delete DesktopActivity pop up ads 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 DesktopActivity pop up advertisements removal, you need to reset 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

If you want to remove intrusive advertisements, web browser redirects and pop-ups, then install an ad-blocking program like AdGuard. It can block unwanted advertisements and pop-ups, stop webpages from tracking your online activities when using the Chrome, Safari and Firefox. So, if you like browse the World Wide Web, but you don’t like annoying advertisements and want to protect your computer from malicious web-sites, then the AdGuard is your best choice.

AdGuard can be downloaded from the following link.

After 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 guide. Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will help you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you run your MAC system, AdGuard will start automatically and stop annoying pop up ads, block harmful and misleading web-sites.

Finish words

After completing the few simple steps shown above, your machine should be clean from adware and other malicious software. The Firefox, Google Chrome and Safari will no longer display any unwanted ads when you surf the Net. 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 DesktopActivity popup advertisements.