The short answer: from an installer for some app you were tricked into downloading from an unsavory site. This is where AdwareMedic comes in – it detects the adware that anti-virus software doesn’t. As such, most anti-virus software doesn’t bother to detect most adware, and if it does, it doesn’t do a very comprehensive job of detecting it. Once installed, it does things like injecting advertisements into web pages, causing pop-up windows or tabs to open to advertising sites, and changing your home page and/or search engine.Īlthough adware sounds like malware, there is a crucial difference: adware on the Mac has never been documented to involve keylogging, back doors or any other such malicious activities… just unwanted advertising. This guide is kept in sync with everything AdwareMedic removes.Īdware is unwanted software that uses sneaky and dishonest methods to get installed on your computer, and then changes the behavior of your web browser. If you are leery of using unfamiliar software to remove a problem caused by downloading some other unfamiliar software – which is a perfectly reasonable thing, and is a precaution people should take more often – then you can follow the manual removal instructions in my Adware Removal Guide instead. For that matter, neither will using anti-virus software only a change in your online habits can keep you safe. Using AdwareMedic will not prevent you from being “infected” with adware again in the future. It is also important to understand that AdwareMedic does not protect you against adware. For more information, see The Safe Mac’s Mac Malware Guide and the article How to remove infected files. If you think you may be infected with actual malware, be aware that there is nothing that can reliably remove all malware. (Users of Mac OS X 10.6.8 or older should use my manual removal instructions.)Īlthough AdwareMedic functions somewhat like anti-virus software, it’s important to understand that it is not anti-virus software! It does not remove any real malware – only adware.

When it is opened, it will connect to to check for and/or download the latest adware “signatures” (a small text file that tells AdwareMedic how to identify adware components).ĪdwareMedic requires a Mac running Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) or later. This both helps you get rid of the adware and helps others by improving the app!ĪdwareMedic will not install anything on your system. If AdwareMedic doesn’t solve your problem, it includes the ability to take a system snapshot that can help find possible sources for the problem. Just open the app, click the Scan for Adware button, and remove anything that is detected.

It is very simple to use, and should clean up your system in less than a minute, from start to finish.

Download the anti malware for mac from here

Adware cleaner mac 10.6.8