Best Way To Remove Malware And Virus From Mac

For a long time, Mac users thought their machines were immune to viruses. But that was never the case. It was just that hackers weren’t paying attention to Mac. However, with Mac machines gaining popularity, that’s no longer the case. Lately, Macs are being targeted.

So, if your Mac is acting weirdly Or do you often see pop-ups redirecting you to web pages you don’t request? Furthermore, if the performance of Mac has declined, there is a possibility of being infected by malware and viruses.

We understand for some reading this and knowing your Mac can be infected might be stressful. But here’s the good news, Mac has a malware scanning tool called Xprotect that runs in the background. It scans everything that is downloaded. Yet the sneaky malware gets through, bypassing the built-in security.

This makes implementing an additional security layer essential.

In this post, we will explain how that can be done. So, just follow along and see how things can be sorted to free your Mac from malware and other nasty threats.

Writer’s tip:

The reliable and effective way to your Mac protected from viruses and malware is to use a trusted security app like Intego Antivirus for Mac. The application is one of the best security tools to find and eliminate potential infections and harmful viruses, spyware, adware, worms, rootkits, and other threats in no time.

Let us learn how to use Intego Antivirus and remove malware using both manual and automatic methods.

Also Read: How‌ ‌to‌ ‌Protect ‌Your‌ ‌Identity‌ ‌on‌ ‌Mac‌ ‌in‌ ‌2021‌

How to Remove Malware from A Mac

Here we discuss various methods to get rid of malware and viruses from Mac. To get the right solution we suggest you walk through the list.

Method 1: Detach from the internet

The minute you realize your system is infected, disconnect from the internet. This will stop more data from being compromised and being shared with threat actors and malware servers. So, stay offline. However, if you want to get a security tool, download the tool first and then disconnect the internet. Go online only when you are sure that there are no more threats on your Mac.

Also Read: Best Adware Removal Tools For Mac

Method 2: Enter safe mode

Like Windows Safe mode, Mac has a Safe mode. When you boot into it only the minimum required software and programs load. If your system is infected and malware is set to load automatically, booting in safe mode will stop the malware from loading, making things easy. To enter safe mode, follow these Methods:

1. Restart your Mac, and immediately press and hold the Shift key. This will bring up the Apple logo on your display.
2. Unhold the Shift key when the login window appears.
3. That’s it, this way you can log in into safe mode.

Tip: Avoid accessing financial or other accounts during the malware removal

While removing malware or scanning the system for malware, we suggest not use copy-paste function nor click a ‘show password’ box. Keyloggers are a common part of the malware that runs silently in the background to capture keystrokes. To avoid unknowingly sharing personal information, do not login into sensitive accounts when the device is infected or you suspect it has been attacked.

Method 3: Use an activity monitor to check for malicious applications

If you know the name of an application or process after running when your Mac started behaving weirdly, we suggest using an activity monitor and killing it.

Also note, Malware can take up resources on your system, so check the CPU tab to identify resources hungry apps. If you can find the suspicious application, close its activity monitor and then delete the application from the Finder menu.

To check your activity monitor:

In Finder, click → Applications → Utilities → Activity Monitor → Select Application → Quit

Method 4: Run a malware scanner

Luckily, we have some trusted malware scanners that help get rid of infections. In case you already have an antivirus program running, and the threat has bypassed it. We suggest using another tool to scan Mac for malware. If you are looking for your recommendation, we suggest using Intego Antivirus for Mac. It is a reliable and trusted app to remove an infection from Mac. Not only this, the application offers the ability to run scheduled scanning and switch on Safe Browsing mode to ensure top-notch protection while surfing the Internet.

To use it follow the steps mentioned below:

STEP 1 = Download Intego Antivirus by clicking the button provided below.

STEP 2 = Install Intego Antivirus and navigate to the VirusBarrier module.

STEP 3 = With it, you can easily scan your entire disk and locate potential malware threats in no time.

Once you’ve erased all the malware types such as viruses, adware, spyware, worms, rootkits, etc. restart your Mac and experience a significant difference!

Method 5: Check browser’s homepage

In case after removing the malware you still face a problem when using a browser, we suggest checking the homepage. Generally, the malware modifies the web browser’s homepage. Hence, it is essential to check the homepage and connection settings. To do so, follow these steps:

To perform these Methods you need to be online.

Verify homepage on Chrome:

1. Launch Chrome
2. Click the three dots at the top right corner > Settings.
   
3. Under the Appearance section, you will see the Show home button.
4. Here you can see the homepage address. If nothing is set, you can set it.
   
5. If it remains the same after re-launching Chrome, chances of malware being wiped off are there.

Verify homepage on Safari:

1. Launch Safari
2. Select Safari → Preferences
   
3. Hit the General tab, here next to the Homepage you will be able to see the URL of the homepage set.
   
4. If it is not what you want or has set up, change it or you can also use the Set to Current Page option. This way the current page will become the homepage.

Method 6: Clear cache

Once the homepage is being set up, it’s time to clear the browser’s cache (temporary storage location that helps in loading page faster)

Follow these Methods to clear cache for Chrome and Safari.

Chrome:

Press Command + Y to open the History tab.

Alternatively, you can enter chrome://history/ in the address bar

Click Clear browsing data from the left pane > select date range > Clear data.

To clear your cache on Safari:

Select Safari → Preferences → Privacy → Manage Website Data → Remove All.

Using these simple methods, you can remove malware from your Mac.

Conclusion:

Malware is evil, which is why dealing with it is essential. To keep your Mac malware, virus-free using a trusted security tool is recommended. You can give Intego Antivirus a try for this purpose. It is an amazing app and is also light on system resources.

Do share your thoughts about the application and post in the comments section. It helps us understand what our readers want us to cover.