Remove “Ads by MacDeals” virus from Apple Mac OS X

MacDeals is an adware program for Apple Mac OS X, that displays pop-up ads and advertisements on web pages that you visit. These advertisements will be shown as boxes containing various coupons that are available, as underlined keywords, pop-up ads or advertising banners.

What is MacDeals?

MacDeals is advertised as a program that displays coupons for sites you are visiting and competitive prices when you are viewing product pages at sites like Amazon. Though this may sound like a useful service, the MacDeals application can be intrusive and will display ads whether you want them to or not.
When installed, the MacDeals application will display advertising banners, pop-up advertisements and in-text ads, stating that they are brought to you by “MacDeals”.
These ads are aimed to promote the installation of additional questionable content including web browser toolbars, optimization utilities and other products, all so the MacDeals publisher can generate pay-per-click revenue.
When infected with MacDeals the common symptoms include:

• Advertising banners are injected with the web pages that you are visiting.
• Random web page text is turned into hyperlinks.
• Browser popups appear which recommend fake updates or other software.
• Other unwanted adware programs might get installed without the user’s knowledge.

How did got MacDeals on my computer?

MacDeals is an adware program that is commonly bundled with other free programs that you download off of the Internet.
Unfortunately, some free downloads do not adequately disclose that other software will also be installed and you may find that you have installed MacDeals without your knowledge. MacDeals is typically added when you install another free software that had bundled into their installation this adware program. Most commonly MacDeals is bundled within the installers from Cnet, Softonic or other similar custom third-party installers.

You should always pay attention when installing software because often, a software installer includes optional installs, such as this MacDeals adware. Be very careful what you agree to install.
Always opt for the custom installation and deselect anything that is not familiar, especially optional software that you never wanted to download and install in the first place.
It goes without saying that you should not install software that you don’t trust.

How to remove “Ads by MacDeals” from Mac OS X (Removal Guide)

This page is a comprehensive guide, which will remove “MacDeals” virus from your computer, and any other adware program that may have been installed during the setup process.
Please perform all the steps in the correct order. If you have any questions or doubt at any point, STOP and ask for our assistance.
STEP 1: Uninstall MacDeals application from your MAC OS X
STEP 2: Remove “Ads by MacDeals” from Safari, Google Chrome and Firefox
STEP 3: Remove “Ads by MacDeals” adware with avast! Free Antivirus for Mac

STEP 1: Uninstall MacDeals application from your MAC OS X

In this first step, we will search and remove all the MacDeals files from your machine.

1. Click on the “Go” button, then select “Applications”.
   
2. When the Application folder will open, search for the MacDeals application. Either drag the application icon to the Trash, or right-click and select “Move to Trash”.
   

STEP 2: Remove “Ads by MacDeals” from Safari, Google Chrome and Firefox

If you are still experiencing issues with “Ads by MacDeals” virus within Safari, Firefox or Chrome, we will need to remove the MacDeals browser extension. This step needs to be performed only if your issues have not been solved by the previous steps.

Remove “Ads by MacDeals” from Safari

1. From the Safari menu, select “Preferences”.
   
2. In the Safari Preferences window, click the “Extensions” tab. Find the “MacDeals” plugin, then click on the “Uninstall” button.
   

Remove “Ads by MacDeals” from Google Chrome

1. In Chrome adress bar, type chrome://extensions
   
2. On the Extensions window, remove the MacDeals and any other unknown extensions by clicking the trash can icon.
   

Remove “Ads by MacDeals” from Firefox

1. In the upper-right corner of the Firefox window, click the Firefox menu button (), then click “Add-ons“.
2. Select the Extensions tab, then remove MacDeals and any other unknown extensions from Mozilla Firefox.
   

STEP 3: Remove “Ads by MacDeals” adware with avast! Free Antivirus for Mac

Avast Antivirus is a a powerful antivirus for Mac which will detect and remove the MacDeals adware from your Apple Mac OS X.

1. You can download avast! Free Antivirus for Mac utility from the below link.
   Download Avast Free Antivirus for MacOpens the download page in a new tab.
2. After downloading avast Antivirus for Mac, double-click the downloaded file ‘avast_free_antivirus_mac_setup.dmg‘.
3. In the new window double-click on ‘avast!.pkg’ file and follow the instructions on the displayed window ( read AVAST End User License Agreement, click ‘Agree‘, and then click ‘Install’ to complete the installation then press ‘Close’.
4. When the Avast Antivirus will start, perform a “Full System Scan” to remove MacDeals adware from your Mac OS X.
   
5. Avast will remove MacDeals virus from Apple Mac OS X, and furthermore Avast Antivirus will protect your Mac OS X from future infection.