Removing programs from a Macintosh can be very easy. In many cases, all you have to do is drag the application's icon to the Trash. Sometimes, though, applications store the files they need to run in other locations on your computer's hard drive, and finding them can take some detective work. If you are used to the uninstall option in Windows, you have a little culture shock — macOS does not have this feature built in.
Apple unveils a new MacBook Air during an Apple launch event at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Oct. 30, 2018 in New York City. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images
Why would you want to uninstall a program? For the same reason you occasionally tidy your office or clean your garage. Clutter breeds inefficiency. Applications take up space on your hard disk and can slow your computer. Also, a new version of a program may not work correctly unless you get rid of the old one [source: Ritchie].
How to remove Docker using App Cleaner & Uninstaller. App Cleaner & Uninstaller is a software tool to completely remove programs from Mac. It automatically finds absolutely all apps’ leftovers and helps to uninstall apps with just two clicks. To remove Easy Mac Care, perform the following steps: How to manually remove Easy Mac Care. Delete Easy Mac Care related programs through the Finder; Delete Easy Mac Care from Safari; Remove Easy Mac Care from Mozilla Firefox by resetting web browser settings; Remove Easy Mac Care PUP from Google Chrome. Open Launchpad (by clicking its Dock icon, using the trackpad gesture, or searching for it in Spotlight), then click and hold any app icon until the icons start shaking. Click the “X” button next.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Most of the time, uninstalling is this simple:
When files for the application you want to delete are all stored in one location, dragging the icon to the Trash will take care of most of the work. In Mac talk, apps like this are 'bundled.' To see the files in an application's bundle, click on its icon while holding down the Control key. You should see an option that says, 'show package contents.' Uninstalling applications downloaded from the Mac App Store is even easier — just delete the application from the Applications Folder and its accompanying folder in UserLibraryContainers [source: Tanous].
For some other programs, removal is more complicated. When installed, these programs create files in several locations, often in the System Folder. The first step in removing them is to check the program's documentation to see if there is an uninstall utility. If your program has an uninstall utility associated with it, it may have been installed with the program or included on the disk that came with it. If you downloaded a disk image to install the software, sometimes you'll find an uninstaller there. Running an uninstall utility can make removing a program much easier.
You should be aware that removing an unbundled program by moving it into the Trash can leave behind orphan files on your computer. Preferencefiles are usually small and you might want to ignore them if you're just trying to free up disk space. Background files or support files can be larger, especially for multimedia programs like GarageBand [source: MacRumors]. These files are likely to reside in Library folders in your hard drive or Home folder. They will usually be labeled with the name of the program, like Office or Acrobat, or the developer, such as Microsoft or Adobe. You can search for the relevant names using Spotlight, which is included with the Mac OS. Drag the files you find to the trash to get rid of them [source: Tanous]. .
Check out the next page for tips to make your uninstallation go even more smoothly.
Advertisement
If searching through obscure corners of your computer for what could be hundreds of files sounds like something a machine could do better than you, you're right. There are plenty of software programs that do just that. They're usually your best bet for really cleaning an app off your Mac, and some of them are free. Popular examples include AppTrap, Appcleaner, and AppZapper.
Some of the files that a program might create on your hard disk are invisible. It may be tempting, especially for neat freaks, to find and delete these files. But some files are deliberately hidden because they are essential to the computer's operating system. Deleting the wrong file could land you in deep trouble [source: Landau]. The best advice is not to go where even experienced techies fear to tread. Uninstall utilities can search out and destroy these files, but doing so on your own invites trouble.
Advertisement
Advertisement
How to create macos apps. Another important thing to do is empty your Trash when you're finished uninstalling. Moving a program's icon to the Trash doesn't actually remove the files from your hard disk or clear up any space. Only when you empty the Trash is the application really gone.
Here are some other important tips:
Removing software from your Mac is a lot less of a hassle than cleaning your office or garage. But clearing away computer clutter and making space on your hard disk can be just as satisfying.
Originally Published: Aug 8, 2011
Advertisement
How to transfer apps from ipad to mac. Related Articles
Sources
What is OperativeSync
According to security specialists, OperativeSync is a potentially unwanted program (PUP) that belongs to the Adware category . Adware software’s basic purpose is to display advertisements. These ads are often shown as advertising banners, unclosable windows or various offers and deals. Clicks on the ads produce a monetary payoff for the software producers. Adware can work like Spyware, since it sends privacy info such as searches and trends to advertisers.
How To Delete Apps On Mac Air Book
Even worse, adware can gather your Net surfing activity by saving URLs visited, IP addresses, browser version and type, cookie information, Internet Service Provider (ISP) and web-sites visited. Such kind of behavior can lead to serious security problems or confidential info theft. This is another reason why the OperativeSync adware should be removed ASAP.
The guide below explaining steps to remove OperativeSync. Feel free to use it for removal of the adware that may attack Chrome, Safari and Mozilla Firefox and other popular web browsers. The steps will help you delete OperativeSync ads and thus clean your browser from all annoying ads.
How does OperativeSync get on your MAC![]()
Adware usually gets on your MAC system as a part of free applications that downloaded from the Internet. Which means that you need to be proactive and carefully read the Terms of use and the License agreement properly. For the most part, adware software and potentially unwanted programs will be clearly described, so take the time to carefully read all the information about the software that you downloaded and want to install on your machine.
Threat Summary
How to remove OperativeSync from Mac
As with removing adware software, malicious software or potentially unwanted programs, there are few steps you can do. We recommend trying them all. If you do only one part of the tutorial, then it should be use malware removal tool, because it should delete adware and block any further infection. But to completely remove OperativeSync you’ll have to at least reset your internet browser settings like startpage, newtab page and search engine to default state, uninstall all unwanted and suspicious programs, and get rid of adware by malware removal utilities. Read it once, after doing so, please bookmark this page (or open it on your smartphone) as you may need to exit your internet browser or reboot your Apple Mac.
To remove OperativeSync, use the steps below:Remove profiles created by OperativeSync
OperativeSync can make changes to the Mac system such as malicious changes to browser settings, and the addition of malicious system profiles. You need to check the system preferences, find and remove malicious profiles and ensure your settings are as you expect.
Click the System Preferences icon ( ) in the Dock, or choose Apple menu ( ) > System Preferences.
In System Preferences, click Profiles, then select a profile related to OperativeSync.
Click the minus button ( – ) located at the bottom-left of the Profiles screen to remove the profile.
Note: if you do not see Profiles in the System Preferences, that means there are no profiles installed on your Mac computer, which is normal. Delete OperativeSync related apps through the Finder
Check the list of installed apps on your Mac computer and delete all unknown and recently installed applications. If you see an unknown application with incorrect spelling or varying capital letters, it have most likely been installed by malicious software and you should clean it off first with malicious software removal utility such as MalwareBytes Free.
Open Finder and click “Applications” as displayed below. https://cleverreport.weebly.com/blog/how-to-move-apps-in-new-mac-book-pro.
You will see a list of programs installed on your Apple Mac. We recommend to pay maximum attention to the program you installed last. Most likely, it’s the OperativeSync adware. If you’re in doubt, you can always check the program by doing a search for her name in Google, Yahoo or Bing.
Once the program which you need to remove is found, simply right click on its name, and choose “Move to Trash”.
Don’t forget, select Finder, then “Empty Trash”.
How To Delete Apps On MacbookRemove OperativeSync related files and folders
Now you need to try to find OperativeSync related files and folders, and then delete them manually. You need to look for these files in certain directories. To quickly open them, we recommend using the “Go to Folder…” command.
Click on the Finder icon. From the menu bar, select Go and click “Go to Folder…”. As a result, a small window opens that allows you to quickly open a specific directory.
Check for OperativeSync generated files in the /Library/LaunchAgents folder
In the “Go to Folder…” window, type the following text and press Go:
/Library/LaunchAgents
This will open the contents of the “/Library/LaunchAgents” folder. Look carefully at it and pay special attention to recently created files, as well as files that have a suspicious name. Move all suspicious files to the Trash. A few examples of files: search.plist, macsearch.plist, com.machelper.plist, OperativeSync.plist and installapp.plist. Most often, browser hijackers, adware and potentially unwanted programs create several files with similar names.
Check for OperativeSync generated files in the /Library/Application Support folder
In the “Go to Folder…” window, type the following text and press Go:
/Library/Application Support
This will open the contents of the “Application Support” folder. Look carefully at its contents, pay special attention to recently added/changed folder. Move all suspicious folders to the Trash.
How To Delete Apps On Mac OsCheck for OperativeSync generated files in the “~/Library/LaunchAgents” folder
In the “Go to Folder…” window, type the following text and press Go:
~/Library/LaunchAgents
Proceed in the same way as with the “/Library/LaunchAgents” and “/Library/Application Support” folders. Look for suspicious and recently added files. Move all suspicious files to the Trash.
Check for OperativeSync generated files in the /Library/LaunchDaemons folder
In the “Go to Folder…” window, type the following text and press Go:
/Library/LaunchDaemons
Carefully browse the entire list of files and pay special attention to recently created files, as well as files that have a suspicious name. Move all suspicious files to the Trash. A few examples of files to be deleted: com.installapp.plist, com.machelper.plist, com.search.plist, com.OperativeSync.plist and com.macsearch.plist. In most cases, adware software, browser hijackers and potentially unwanted programs create several files with similar names.
Scan your Mac with MalwareBytes
Manual OperativeSync removal requires some computer skills. Some files and system entries that created by the adware software may be not completely removed. We recommend that use MalwareBytes to scan the Mac computer. Moreover, this program will allow you to delete toolbars, adware software, PUPs and browser hijackers that your Apple Mac may be affected too.
Visit the page linked below to download MalwareBytes.
Malwarebytes Anti-malware (Mac)
15869 downloads Author: Malwarebytes Category: Security tools Update: September 10, 2020
Once the download is complete, close all windows on your computer. Further, start the saved file. Follow the prompts.
The MalwareBytes Free will automatically launch and you may see its main window similar to the one below.
Next, click the “Scan Now” button to detect the OperativeSync adware software. When a threat is found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the scanning is finished.
Once finished, you’ll be shown the list of all found items on your computer. Review the scan results and then press the “Quarantine” button.
The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware will get rid of OperativeSync adware software.
Remove OperativeSync from Safari, Chrome, Firefox
If you have ‘OperativeSync ‘ removal problem, then remove unwanted extensions can help you. In the steps below we will show you the way to get rid of harmful extensions without reinstall. This will also help to get rid of OperativeSync adware from your web browser.
How to stay safe online
It’s important to run ad blocking programs like AdGuard to protect your machine from malicious web-pages. Most security experts says that it’s okay to stop advertisements. You should do so just to stay safe! And, of course, the AdGuard can to stop misleading and other unwanted web sites.
To sum up
Once you have complete the few simple steps outlined above, your MAC system should be clean from this adware and other malware. The Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Safari will no longer show the OperativeSync ads when you surf the Net. Unfortunately, if the instructions does not help you, then you have caught a new adware, and then the best way – ask for help.
Please create a new question by using the “Ask Question” button in the Questions and Answers. Try to give us some details about your problems, so we can try to help you more accurately. Wait for one of our trained “Security Team” or Site Administrator to provide you with knowledgeable assistance tailored to your problem with the OperativeSync adware.
How To Delete Apps On Mac That Won't Delete(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)How To Delete Apps On Mac LaptopLoading..Comments are closed.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |