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

What is CheckControl

According to security professionals, CheckControl is an adware application that targets Mac computers. Adware is a term that originates from ‘ad supported’ software. In most cases, ‘adware software’ is considered by many to be synonymous with ‘malware’. Its purpose is to make money for its owner by serving unwanted advertisements to a user while the user is surfing the Web. CheckControl can show unwanted advertisements, modify browser settings, download and install harmful browser extensions. All the time, while the adware is running, your internet browser will be fill with unwanted ads.

Does the CheckControl adware steal your confidential data? It can be used to gather lots of confidential info which can be later transferred to third parties. You do not know if your home address, account names and passwords are safe. So, we suggest you remove it without a wait. This will also prevent the adware from tracking your online activities. A full CheckControl removal can be easily carried out using manual or automatic method listed below.

How does CheckControl get on your computer

Adware usually is bundled within certain freeware that users download off of the Internet. So, think back, have you ever download and run any free apps. In order to avoid infection, in the Setup wizard, you should be be proactive and carefully read the ‘Terms of use’, the ‘license agreement’ and other setup screens, as well as to always choose the ‘Manual’ or ‘Advanced’ install option, when installing anything downloaded from the Net.

Threat Summary

Name	CheckControl
Type	adware, PUP (potentially unwanted program), Mac virus, Mac malware
Detection Names	Program:MacOS/Vigram.A, ApplicUnwnt, Adware/Adload!OSX, OSX.Trojan.Gen, MacOS.Agent-MT, Osx.Adware.Cimpli, Adware.MAC.Generic and Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Adload
Distribution	Freeware installers, misleading pop up ads, fake update tools and torrent downloads
Symptoms	You keep getting redirected to dubious websites, unclosable window appear and recommend fake Flash updates, unexpected application installed without your consent, new icons in your web browser, unwanted changes in your internet browser like using a new default search engine, your internet browser slows to a crawl.
Removal	CheckControl removal guide

How to remove CheckControl adware

Adware is a form of malware that you might have difficulty in uninstalling it from your MAC. Luckily, you’ve found the effective CheckControl adware removal guidance in this blog post. Both the manual removal solution and the automatic removal solution will be provided below and you can just choose the one that best for you. If you’ve any questions or need assist then type a comment below. Certain of the steps will require you to restart your machine or close this web-site. So, read this guidance carefully, then bookmark this page or open it on your smartphone for later reference.

To remove CheckControl, complete the steps below:

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

Remove profiles created by CheckControl

CheckControl 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.

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

In System Preferences, click Profiles, then select a profile related to CheckControl.

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 CheckControl associated software by using the Finder

In order to remove CheckControl you need to do is to uninstall unknown and questionable programs from your MAC OS using the Finder. When removing adware, browser hijackers and potentially unwanted programs, check the list of installed programs and try to find questionable applications and remove them all. Pay special attention to recently installed apps, as it is most likely that CheckControl сame along with it.

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

Very carefully look around the entire list of programs installed on your MAC system. Most probably, one of them is the CheckControl adware. Once you have found a questionable, unwanted or unused program, right click to it and choose “Move to Trash”. Another way is drag the program from the Applications folder to the Trash.

Don’t forget, select Finder -> “Empty Trash”.

Remove CheckControl related files and folders

Now you need to try to find CheckControl 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes

We recommend using MalwareBytes to scan the Mac device for adware software, browser hijackers and PUPs. This free tool is an advanced malware removal program designed by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This program uses the world’s most popular anti-malware technology. It’s able to help you delete web-browser toolbars and other security threats from your Mac device for free.

MalwareBytes can be downloaded from the following link.

After downloading is complete, close all apps and windows on your MAC OS. Run the saved file. Follow the prompts.

The MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) will automatically start and you can see its main screen as on the image below.

Now press the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this utility for the CheckControl . This task can take quite a while, so please be patient. While the MalwareBytes Anti Malware is scanning, you can see how many objects it has identified either as being malicious software.

When MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) completes the scan, MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) will show a list of all threats detected by the scan. Make sure to check mark the items which are unsafe and then click the “Quarantine” button. The MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) will delete CheckControl and move the selected threats to the Quarantine.

Remove CheckControl from Safari, Chrome, Firefox

If you have ‘CheckControl adware’ removal problem, then remove unwanted extensions can help you. In the steps below we will show you the solution to remove harmful add-ons without reinstall. This will also help to remove CheckControl adware software from your internet browser.

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 delete CheckControl 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 issues with CheckControl adware software 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

Use an ad-blocking tool like AdGuard will protect you from harmful ads and content. Moreover, you may find that the AdGuard have an option to protect your privacy and block phishing and spam websites. Additionally, ad-blocker applications will allow you to avoid annoying popups and unverified links that also a good way to stay safe online.

1. Visit the following page to download the latest version of AdGuard for Mac OS.
   
   

   AdGuard for Mac download
   3675 downloads
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: January 17, 2018
   
2. After the download is finished, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. When the installation is done, click “Skip” to close the setup application and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial which will allow 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 start your MAC, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop unwanted ads, block malicious and misleading webpages.

To sum up

Once you have removed the adware software using this step-by-step tutorial, Google 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, and then the best way – ask for help here.