Smart Mac Tuneup PUP Removal

George Herman
George Herman
IT Security Expert

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What is Smart Mac Tuneup

Smart Mac Tuneup is an application which you do not want to have on your Mac. Malware researches consider it to be a potentially unwanted program (PUP) since it can often be seen bundled with other software. This way, it is able to sneak on your computer without your knowledge or authorization. Malicious software such as this, uses scare tactics to make you do its bidding. It can also flood your Mac with a huge amount of intrusive advertisements that will make your online experience a living hell. Don’t underestimate this PUP – it can trick you into installing other unreliable software, which may be infected with dangerous viruses like Trojan horses, ransomware, etc.

How it is distributed

The Smart Mac Tuneup PUP is mostly distributed via freeware, software bundles, torrent files, fake update messages, shady ads, and even email attachments. After you’ve downloaded software from the internet, you should to its installation with great caution. Never rush into an installation, just to ‘be done with it‘. If you don’t pay close attention, hidden content can get automatically installed on your computer without your consent. Cyber criminals exploit this possibility by bundling optional installations along other programs, in hoping you will be too careless to notice. In most cases, such bonus programs turn out to be malware, or even more dangerous viruses. What you can do in order to prevent these nasty secret installations is to opt out of any additional software included in the setup. Then, proceed with the next steps of the installation.

How it operates

Unwanted programs such as Smart Mac Tuneup are known to trick its victim by showing a convincing OS X dialog message box, which will say that no suitable app is installed on your Mac. Then, it will advise you to install dubious software, which will be dangerous to your computer. Alternatively, if you previously didn’t have Smart Mac Tuneup on your device, you may be prompted to install it by the same message, which means that you have other unreliable software lurking on your Mac that needs to be removed. But that’s not the only message you may see on your screen. This program may lie to you that it has detected various threats and/or viruses on your Mac. And, in order to get rid of them, you need to install more junk that you don’t need. It’s a never ending cycle, which can have different outcome every time. Intrusive advertisement attacks will be just the beginning. Malicious software poses a great threat to your personal data, and Smart Mac Tuneup‘s actions may cause a serious privacy breach. Don’t let information like passwords, IP addresses, credit card and bank account credentials, etc to fall into the wrong hands! Return to a normal and secure state of your Mac, by removing this PUP as soon as possible!

Staying safe from Smart Mac Tuneup PUP

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 Smart Mac Tuneup PUP from Mac

If you’ve had the misfortune of getting your Mac infected with the Smart Mac Tuneup PUP, 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 Smart Mac Tuneup. 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 Smart Mac Tuneup 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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