Smart Mac Care states that it ensures complete protection against infections like malware, spyware, adware, and so on. However, during diagnostics, we noticed that all threats detected by this program are just part of scare tactics. Smart Mac Care belongs to a group of rogue application that spreads over the internet by bundling itself to freeware and malicious third-party applications. There are also instances that Smart Mac Care gets inside the computer via misleading pop-ups alerts originating from a number of questionable websites. These sites normally issue fake warning that deceives web users to download and install Smart Mac Care.
Once successfully installed, this program instantly scans the computer for possible infections. In just a couple of minutes, Smart Mac Care can identify thousands of threat, which is not normal. Legitimate security applications allow more time to thoroughly scan the system. This doubtful diagnosis by Smart Mac Care leads us to run the program to another machine and we can confirm that it produces identical results. This only denotes that it does not actually checking the system but rather running an exhibition to mislead users and make them believe that computer is infected with various threats.
With these findings, we can confirm that Smart Mac Care is just a rogue program made solely to steal money from Macintosh users. Therefore, we highly suggest removing it from the computer as soon as possible. To totally get rid of Smart Mac Care, please execute the guide on this page in exact order. Also, scan the computer with recommended tools to locate and delete malicious objects linked to Smart Mac Care.
Procedures to Remove Smart Mac Care
This section contains complete instructions to assist you in removing potentially unwanted program from Mac computer.
A summary of the step-by-step manual removal process:
Instant Removal : Scan the Mac computer with antivirus program
Combo Cleaner is a trusted Mac utility application with complete antivirus and optimization features. It is useful in dealing with adware, malware, and PUP's. Moreover, it can get rid of malicious unwanted application like Smart Mac Care.
1. Download the tool from the following page:
2. Double-click the downloaded file, combocleaner.dmg and proceed with the installation.
3. The installation window will open. Please double-click or drag the Combo Cleaner icon to the Applications folder.
4. Proceed with the installation. When it displays the Software License Agreement, please click Continue, and then click on Agree in the confirmation window. Continue with the default installation.
5. The program should run automatically after installation. If not, open your Launchpad and click on the Combo Cleaner icon.
6. Wait until antivirus downloads its latest virus definition updates and click on "Start Combo Scan" to start removing Smart Mac Care and other issues on the Mac computer.
7. After the virus and disk scan processes, the tool will display the results. Click on Remove Selected to start cleaning the computer.
To fully optimize the features of antivirus and privacy scanners, users may have to upgrade to the premium version.
If you are comfortable enough to manually delete the unwanted application and any other potentially harmful objects associated to it, please move on to the next set of instructions.
Step 1 : Quit Smart Mac Care Process
Before proceeding with the steps below, please close the Smart Mac Care window if it is open.
1. Go to Launchpad > Other folder, open the Activity Monitor.
2. Select the process you want to quit.
3. In the upper part of the window, click the Stop button.
4. Click on the Force Quit button.
5. You may now delete or remove files that belong to Smart Mac Care. Proceed to the next steps.
Step 2 : Delete Smart Mac Care Login Items
Some malware also installs login items into compromised accounts under System Settings. This object automatically runs Smart Mac Care during user log in.
1. Go to your Dock and open System Settings.
2. Select and click General from the sidebar.
3. Next, click on Login Items on the right panel to see if there are malicious items.
4. In the "Open at Login" area, review the items and select Smart Mac Care or any suspicious entry.
5. Click on the minus [-] button and confirm your actions.
As stated, the creation of Login Items or Profiles is done on a case-to-case basis. Some malware may add their entries to this section, but others are not concern with making one. So, if the Smart Mac Care Login item is not present, please continue with the succeeding steps.
Step 3 : Delete Smart Mac Care Application
1. Go to Finder.
2. On the menu, click Go and then, select Applications from the list to open Applications Folder.
3. Find Smart Mac Care or any unwanted program.
4. Drag Smart Mac Care to Trash Bin to delete the application from Mac.
5. Next, go to the Dock, right-click on the Trash icon, and click on Empty Trash.
Step 4 : Delete Malicious Files that have installed Smart Mac Care
1. Go to your Finder. From the menu bar, please select Go > Go to Folder.
2. Input the following string and press Enter on the keyboard.
~/Library/LaunchAgents
3. You will now see a hidden folder named LaunchAgents. Take note of the following files inside the folder:
- com.Smart Mac Care.plist
- unknown.service.plist
- unknown.system.plist
- unknown.download.plist
- unknown.update.plist
4. The term unknown is just a representation of the actual malware name. Attackers may use the following file names:
- , (random characters).plist
If you cannot find the specified file, please look for any unfamiliar or suspicious entries. It may be the one causing Smart Mac Care to be present on your Mac. Arranging all items to see the latest ones may also help you identify recently installed unfamiliar files.
5. Please click on "Show items as..."
6. To arrange the items in chronological order, click Date Modified.
7. Drag all suspicious files that you may find to Trash.
Take note of all the suspicious files, as you may also delete the same item in another folder as we go on.8. Please restart the Mac computer.
9. Open another folder using the same method as above. Copy and paste the following string to easily locate the folder:
~/Library/Application Support
10. Select any suspicious items that you have noted previously. Drag them to the Trash.
11. Repeat the process in the following non-hidden folders (without ~):
/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
/Library/Application Support
12. Lastly, go to your Finder > Go and open the Applications folder. Look for subfolders with the following names and drag them to Trash.
- , (random characters)
Optional : For locked files that cannot be removed, do the following:
1. Go to Launchpad > Other folder, open the Activity Monitor.
2. Select the process you want to quit.
3. In the upper part of the window, click the Stop button.
4. Click on Force Quit button.
5. You may now delete or remove the locked file that belongs to Smart Mac Care homepage hijacker.
Step 5 : Run another Scan using Malwarebytes for Mac
Use Malwarebytes for Mac to do another scan to make sure the machine is already clear of viruses, malware, and adware. This efficient anti-malware application allows you to detect things that other security software was unable to recognize.
1. Download Malwarebytes for Mac from the link below.
2. Locate the downloaded Malwarebytes-Mac.pkg and install it with the default settings.
3. Run Malwarebytes for Mac. It will check for updates and download the most recent version if one is available. This is necessary for finding recent malware threats, including Smart Mac Care.
4. Once you are on the Malwarebytes dashboard, please click on the Scan button to start scanning your Mac computer.
5. After the scan, Malwarebytes for Mac will display a list of identified threats, and Smart Mac Care is surely part of it. Be sure to select all items in the list. Then, click the Remove button to clean the computer.
System Compatibility Notice
To provide you with easy and accurate methods, the commands used in the guide are common, useful, and tested. We ensured that our tutorial to get rid of Smart Mac Care is compatible with the majority of Mac operating systems. Please let us know via email or the comment section below if you run into any incompatibility when using this tutorial. We will be pleased to reply and make the required corrections.
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