When the Mac user has seen some changes on the browser and its usual feature, it is advisable to immediately look over the browser extension or add-on. It could be that an adware interferes with the configuration and it may have already surpassed the preferences set by the web user. An adware which is skilled at running this unwanted browser modification is named MacRunner Daemon.
More about MacRunner Daemon
Online ads and entities state that MacRunner Daemon is a valuable browser extension that helps improve online browsing and searching for Mac user. With this, it is expected that it targets known Internet software that runs on Mac OS computer including Safari, Google Chrome, and Firefox.
Though good things are said about MacRunner Daemon, the Mac user should know that this is just a promotional trick to trick them. Technically, MacRunner Daemon is an adware that arises from a group of notorious adware for Mac. We can clarify that this threat is just a remake of TotalConsoleSearch, SearchForWords, and many more variants. In this case, MacRunner Daemon follows the same principle as its predecessors and this threat is able to perform illegal actions once installed on the browser app.
Legitimate advertisements and marketing strategies to promote MacRunner Daemon are all useless because Mac user generally does not get this unknown program. In fact, the authors of this junk software rely on different tactics to distribute MacRunner Daemon to random Mac users. Among the different deployment techniques, it was observed that most Mac users were victimized by a malware installer that carries the MacRunner Daemon application.
In addition to software bundling scams, malicious pop-up advertisements depicting as a system warning also contribute to the global distribution of MacRunner Daemon. It is in fact an advertising pop-up designed to appear as an alert that identifies outdated programs that requires an immediate update. As such, it prompts the user to update only to mislead them in acquiring the MacRunner Daemon application. One example is fake Adobe Update as shown in the image below.
Risks of having MacRunner Daemon on Mac
The infiltration technique of MacRunner Daemon is already worrying because it occupies the computer and Internet browser program with no authority. Added to this, the presence of this adware may cause inconvenience because of excessive display of ads. In this respect, MacRunner Daemon’s advertisements are unusual and often contain malicious links that aim to direct browser pages to sites that host adware or malware.
It is evident at this stage that deleting the MacRunner Daemon application is the solution to restore the Internet program to its previous normal operating state. To assist the Mac user with these complex tasks, we made simple instructions on this page together with effective anti-virus and anti-malware tools.
Procedures to Remove MacRunner Daemon from Mac
This area contains comprehensive procedures to help you remove adware and potentially unwanted program from the computer.
Guide on this page are written in a manner that can be easily understand and execute by Mac users.
Quick Fix - Scan the Mac Computer with Combo Cleaner
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 adware like MacRunner Daemon. You may need to purchase full version if you require to maximize its premium features.
1. Download the tool from the following page:
2. Double-click the downloaded file and proceed with the installation.
3. In the opened window, drag and drop the Combo Cleaner icon onto your Applications folder icon.
4. Open your Launchpad and click on the Combo Cleaner icon.
5. Wait until antivirus downloads its latest virus definition updates and click on "Start Combo Scan" to start removing MacRunner Daemon.
6. Free features of Combo Cleaner include Disk Cleaner, Big Files finder, Duplicate files finder, and Uninstaller. To use antivirus and privacy scanner, users have to upgrade to a premium version.
Proceed with the rest of the removal steps if you are comfortable in manually removing malicious objects associated with the threat.
Step 1 : Delete MacRunner Daemon from Mac Applications
1. Go to Finder.
2. On the menu, click Go and then, select Applications from the list to open Applications Folder.
3. Find MacRunner Daemon or any unwanted program or suspicious item. It could be in disguise as a different file.
4. Drag MacRunner Daemon to Trash Bin to delete the application from Mac.
5. Right-click on Trash icon and click on Empty Trash.
Step 2 : Remove Browser Extensions that belongs to MacRunner Daemon
1. Locate the add-on or extension that is relevant to the adware. To do this, please follow the following depending on affected browser.
Safari - Choose Preferences from the Safari menu, then click the Extensions icon. This will open a window showing all installed extensions.
Chrome - Select Preferences from the Chrome menu, and then click the Extensions link found on the left pane.
Firefox - Choose Add-ons from the Menu. Look at both the Extensions and Plug-ins lists when it opens a new window.
2. Once you have located MacRunner Daemon, click on Remove or Uninstall, to get rid of it.
3. Close the browser and proceed to the next steps.
Step 3 : Delete Malicious Files that have installed MacRunner Daemon
1. Select and copy the string below to your Clipboard by pressing Command + C on your keyboard.
~/Library/LaunchAgents
2. Go to your Finder. From the menu bar please select Go > Go to Folder...
3. Press Command + V on your keyboard to paste the copied string. Press Return to go to the said folder.
4. You will now see a folder named LaunchAgents. Take note of the following files inside the folder:
- com.MacRunner Daemon
- unknown.download.plist
- unknown.ltvbit.plist
- unknown.update.plist
The term unknown is just a representation of the actual malware name. Attackers may masks the actual name with following:
- MacRunnerDaemon
If you cannot find the specified file, please look for any unfamiliar or suspicious entries. It may be the one causing MacRunner Daemon to be present on your Mac. Arranging all items to see the most latest ones may also help you identify recently installed unfamiliar files. Please press Option + Command + 4 on your keyboard to arrange the application list in chronological order.
Important: Take note of all the suspicious files as you may also delete the same item on another folder as we go on.
5. Drag all suspicious files that you may find to Trash.
6. Please restart the computer.
7. Open another folder using the same method as above. Copy and Paste the following string to easily locate the folder.
~/Library/Application Support
8. Look for any suspicious items that are similar to the ones in Step 4. Drag them to the Trash.
9. Repeat the process on the following non-hidden folders (without ~):
/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
/Library/Application Support
10. Lastly, go to your Finder and open the Applications Folder. Look for subfolders with the following names and drag them to Trash.
- MacRunnerDaemon
Optional : For locked files that cannot be removed, do the following:
1. Go to Launchpad, Utilities folder, open Activity Monitor.
2. Select the process you want to quit.
3. Click on Force Quit button.
4. You may now delete or remove locked files that belongs to MacRunner Daemon adware.
Step 4 : Double-check with MBAM Tool for Mac
1. Download Malwarebytes Anti-malware for Mac from this link:
2. Run Malwarebytes Anti-malware for Mac. It will check for updates and download if most recent version is available. This is necessary in finding recent malware threats including MacRunner Daemon.
3. If it prompts to close all running web browser, please do so. Thus, we advise you to PRINT this guide for your reference before going offline.
4. Once it opens the user interface, please click on Scan button to start scanning your Mac computer.
5. After the scan, Malwarebytes Anti-malware for Mac will display a list of identified threats, MacRunner Daemon is surely part of it. Be sure to select all items in the list. Then, click Remove button to clean the computer.
Step 5 : Remove MacRunner Daemon from Homepage and Search
Safari
- Open your Safari browser.
- Go to Safari Menu located on upper left hand corner, and then select Preferences.
- Under General tab, navigate to Default Search Engine section and select Google or any valid search engine.
- Next, be sure that "New Windows Open With" field is set to Homepage.
- Lastly, remove MacRunner Daemon from the Homepage field. Replace it with your preferred URL to be set as your default homepage.
Google Chrome
- Open Chrome browser.
- Type the following on the address bar and press Enter on keyboard : chrome://settings/
- Look for 'On Startup' area.
- Select 'Open a specific page or set of pages'.
- Click on More Actions and select Edit.
- Enter the desired web address as your home page, replacing MacRunner Daemon. Click Save.
- To set default search engine, go to Search Engine area.
- Click on 'Manage search engines...' button.
- Go to questionable Search Engine. Click on More Actions and Click 'Remove from list'.
- Go back to Search Engine area and choose valid entry from Search engine used in the address bar.
Mozilla Firefox
- Run Mozilla Firefox browser.
- Type the following on the address bar and hit Enter on keyboard : about:preferences
- On Startup area, select 'Show your home page' under 'When Firefox starts' field.
- Under Home Page field, type the desired URL to replace MacRunner Daemon settings.
- To configure default search engine, select Search on left sidebar to display settings.
- Under Default Search Engine list, please select one.
- On the same page, you have an option to Remove unwanted search engine.
Optional : If unable to change browser settings, execute these steps:
Some user complains that there is no way to change browser settings because it is grayed out by MacRunner Daemon. In such situation, it is important to check if there is unwanted profile. Please do the following:
1. Quit any running applications and launch System Preferences from your Dock.
2. Under System Preferences, click Profiles.
3. Select MacRunner Daemon or any relevant profile from the left pane. See image below.
4. At the bottom of this window, click minus [-] button to delete the account. Please refer to image above.
5. Close the Profiles window and open the affected browser to change all settings associated with MacRunner Daemon.
