JohnTheRipper Removal

George Herman
George Herman
IT Security Expert

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Some infections like this JohnTheRipper virus can regenerate themselves. There is no better way to detect, remediate and prevent malware infection, than to use a professional anti-malware software like SpyHunter. One Application that is capable of solving all MAC problems.

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What is JohnTheRipper

JohnTheRipper is a malicious software that belongs to the PUA (Potentially Unwanted Application) category. This parasite is the reason you are being bombarded with intrusive advertisements every time you open your web browsers. What’s more, due to the large amount of sponsored content, lagging and slow internet speed will become a daily thing. Not only does this pest turn your browsing experience into complete hell, but it also poses a threat to your online privacy.

How it is distributed

There are three main ways that you can get your Mac infected with the JohnTheRipper PUA – via software bundles, fake update messages and fake virus alerts. The first one happens when you do not pay close attention to the installation process and incidentally give additional software permission to get installed along with the program you actually want. To avoid this, simply opt for a custom installation and uncheck boxes next to any optional programs. The second and third distribution method we’ve mentioned are pretty similar. In both cases, you’ll be prompted to download and install some kind of software – be it for update purposes, or to supposedly remove a threat found in the system. You should not trust an in-browser pop-up or message that states your Mac has been infected by a virus. No website or ad can determine this. Only your AV software. As for the software updates, we highly recommend you to go straight to developers’ official pages to make the necessary updates, because you never know where such pop-ups and other links that use scare tactics might redirect you to.

How it operates

As a consequence of JohnTheRipper‘s successful installation, you will experience some typical PUA symptoms like app unresponsiveness, installation of other shady software (i.e. browser extensions, add-ons, toolbars), lagging, slow internet, aggressive advertisements, as well as link redirects to dubious pages. It’s important to note that PUA may steal personal information such as passwords, Login credentials, bank accounts, credit card numbers, IP addresses, etc., and share them with other third-parties. The only way to return to a normal browsing experience, and overall protect your Mac and privacy, is to immediately remove this threat!

Staying safe from JohnTheRipper PUA

Apart from having a reliable AV software installed on your Mac, there are other things you can do to ensure your device’s safety. We highly recommend you to:

  • Pay close attention when you install third-party software, especially torrent files, so you don’t install shady additional applications that you don’t want. In most cases, that’s how malicious parasites are able to infect your computer;
  • Read any Terms and Conditions you see, so you know exactly what you agree to. The last thing you want is to unknowingly give permission to a nasty virus to infiltrate your Mac;
  • Follow links that lead to trustworthy sites only;
  • It is best to visit only reliable and official websites. You never know what dangers might lurk behind an unfamiliar site;
  • No matter how attractive an ad is, if you are not familiar with the website it redirects to, it might be best to steer clear of it and not click;
  • Always check the sender’s email address before opening a message. If it states that it’s from an official company, compare the email with the one given in their official page. If there is no match, delete the message, since it most likely is fake and has malicious aims;
  • Don’t open email attachments from unknown senders. More often than not, such files carry infections that can seriously damage your computer.

How to manually remove JohnTheRipper PUA from Mac

If you’ve had the misfortune of getting your Mac infected with the JohnTheRipper PUA, the instructions below can help you to remove it manually. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Go to Utilities. You can do that by using the ⇧+⌘+U key combination, or by going to Finder and choosing Utilities from the Go main menu at the top.

2. Find Activity Monitor and double-click it.

3. A list will be displayed. Find any processes that seem suspicious to you and use the ‘Force Quit‘ option to quit them completely.

4. Open Finder. Click on the Go button from the main menu at the top, and choose Applications. An alternative way is to use the ⇧+⌘+A key combination.

5. Look for any suspicious applications, especially ones with a name similar to JohnTheRipper. If any are found, right-click on them and select the ‘Move to Trash‘ option.

6. Remove any related left-over files by going to Finder‘s search bar and typing the name of the app you want to remove. Make sure to modify the two drop down menus above to ‘System Files‘ and ‘Are Included‘, so that any hidden files are visible for you to remove. Once you find the files you want to remove, simply drag them to Trash.

7. All that’s left for you to do is remove any related extensions to JohnTheRipper from your Mac browsers.

For Mozilla Firefox extensions:

  • Open the Firefox browser and from the ‘burger’ menu in the top right corner of the window select ‘Add-ons’.
  • Select any suspicious extensions that may be related to the virus and click ‘Remove’.

For Google Chrome extensions:

  • Open the Chrome browser and select Tools > Extensions from the menu (the three dots in the top right corner of the browser window).
  • Locate any suspicious extensions that may be related to the virus and remove them.

For Safari extensions:

  • Open the Safari browser. From the Safari menu choose Preferences. Select Extensions from the options at the top.
  • Find any extensions you think are related to the virus, select them and click ‘Uninstall’. A new window will show up asking for confirmation. Click Uninstall again, for the extension to get deleted permanently from your browser.

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