Troubleshoot I've tried everything, but it's not working :(

[Danie]

Hi, I've been following your step by step guides for both Safari and Google Chrome, even to the point of deleting files, uninstalling Chrome then reinstalling it again. I've also downloaded the free version of Malwarebytes to scan for threats, yet I still can't seem to fix some things. These are..

1) "Managed by your organisation" on Google Chrome -- I followed a thread on here that gave tips on what to do, and I did that too (going to the go menu and deleting certain files, but there was nothing there)
2) Changing the homepage on Safari doesn't seem to work either

Really hoping to find permanent solutions to these problems thank you, and hope you're safe!

 

[Jack]

Hello @Danie ,

Let's see what's going on:

STEP 1: Let's check if there any malicious profiles installed on your Mac:

1. From the Apple menu, select System Preferences.
2. When the System Preferences window opens, search for the Profiles icon.
   If there isn’t a Profiles icon, you don’t have any profiles installed, which is normal and you can continue with the next steps.
3. If there’s a Profile icon, click on it and select any suspicious profile that you want to remove, and then press the – (minus) button. Click Remove to remove the profile.

STEP 2: Run a scan with Malwarebytes

1. Please download Malwarebytes for Mac Free Edition.
2. Double-click Malwarebytes-Mac-4.x.x.x.pkg and follow the prompts to install the program.
3. When your Malwarebytes installation completes, the program opens to the Welcome to Malwarebytes screen.
4. Click on the Get started button.
5. Click Scan to start a Threat Scan.
6. When the scan is finished click Quarantine to remove the found threats.
7. Reboot the computer if prompted to complete the removal process.

STEP 3: Reset Chrome policies

1. Open a new Terminal window: Finder > Go > Utilities > Terminal
2. Enter the following commands, pressing enter after each line:
   

   defaults write com.google.Chrome HomepageIsNewTabPage -bool false
   defaults write com.google.Chrome NewTabPageLocation -string "https://www.google.com/"
   defaults write com.google.Chrome HomepageLocation -string "https://www.google.com/"
   defaults delete com.google.Chrome DefaultSearchProviderSearchURL
   defaults delete com.google.Chrome DefaultSearchProviderNewTabURL
   defaults delete com.google.Chrome DefaultSearchProviderName
   defaults delete com.google.Chrome ExtensionInstallSources

3. Next, let's reset Chrome to its default settings
   1. On your computer, open Chrome.
   2. At the top right, click More (the 3 vertical dots) > Settings.
   3. At the bottom, click Advanced. Under "Reset Settings," click Restore settings to their original defaults > Reset Settings.

Let me know the results for each step.

 

[Danie]

Step 1: No profiles installed
Step 2: Ran a scan and there were no threats found
Step 3: Entered the commands on Terminal, although it kept saying "Domain (com.google.Chrome) not found"
Step 4: Reset Chrome to default settings

still no change when it comes to "Managed by your organisation"

 

[Jack]

Ok, can you please perform the below steps.

1. Quit Chrome
2. In the Finder, choose Go to Folder from the Go menu
3. Type or copy/paste the following path into the window that opens, then click Go:
   /Library/Managed Preferences/
4. Look for the following files, where [username] is your username. When you find them, move them to the Trash.
   • com.google.Chrome.plist
   • [username]/com.google.Chrome.plist
   • [username]/complete.plist

Check if this solved the issue and then report back.

 

[Danie]

Tried this as well, but there are no files when I typed up "/Library/Managed Preferences/"

 

[Jack]

Ok, let's completely remove Chrome and all data, then reinstall the browser. Before doing this be aware that this will delete all data for all Google apps you have installed, such as your bookmarks, so you will need to export them before doing this (chrome://bookmarks/

3 dots on the blue bar in the top-right corner

Export bookmarks).

1. At the bottom of your computer screen, in your Dock, right-click Chrome.
2. Select Quit.
3. Open Finder.
4. Go to the folder containing the Google Chrome application on your computer.
   • Tip: It may be in your Applications folder. If not, go to File
     
     Find, and search for "Google Chrome."
5. Drag Google Chrome to the Trash.
6. Delete all of the below folders:
   1. At the top of the screen, click Go
      
      Go to Folder then paste one of the below paths into the window that opens.

You will need to delete all of the below folders and files:

• /Applications/Chrome.app
• /Library/Application Support/Google/
• /Library/Google/
• ~/Library/Application Support/Google/
• ~/Library/Google/
• ~/Library/Preferences/com.google.Chrome.plist

Note: The “~” indicates that it’s the current user’s Library which is often invisible in recent versions of macOS. To get to it you must hold down the Option (sometimes labeled Alt) key down and select Library from the Finder’s Go menu.

After deleting all of the above files, restart your computer. You can now download and re-install Google Chrome on your device. You can now import any exported bookmarks or other data and may need to reinstall any other Google apps that you use.

 

[Danie]

did all that, still the same as before...

 

[Jack]

did all that, still the same as before...

Can you please check again if the ~/Library/Preferences/com.google.Chrome.plist file was removed. After you've reinstalled Chrome it's still saying that is managed?

 

[Danie]

When I searched it, nothing came up. And yes, after uninstalling and reinstalling chrome, it still says its managed

 

[Jack]

When I searched it, nothing came up. And yes, after uninstalling and reinstalling chrome, it still says its managed

You've used the Go to Folder feature and browsed to that folder, not just used the search function, right? Also can you please restart your computer.

Can you please type into the Google Chrome URL bar chrome://policy/ and let me know what you are seeing.

 

[Danie]

Yes, and already restarted.

Attached is what I see at Chrome://policy

 

[Danie]

Hi, still no progress and now even with double checking and trying to tinker with my settings, Chrome/Safari can't find my camera or microphone anymore. I've checked all the permissions on both my computer and browsers, the only reason I can think its not working is because my browser's "managed" which is already a problem.

 

[Andy Ful]

If you use the private computer (not configured by an administrator in your work), then the symptoms strongly suggest two cases:

1. Security application, for example, Antivirus.
2. A malware (probably PUA).

See the video:

Remove Chrome “Managed by your organization” virus from Mac

Get rid of the Chrome ‘Managed by your organization’ message on Mac that could be a symptom of adware interfering with browser preferences without permission.

macsecurity.net

There are many articles available on the Internet.

 

[Missvibe]

@Andy Ful thanks for your links. I'm totally aware that it is some kind of malware that I have, but I have difficulties getting totally rid of it. Right now a have been able to deactivate it, BUT when I restart my computer it's on again. So the malware is still on my computer somewhere........so irritating!!!

 

[Andy Ful]

@Andy Ful thanks for your links. I'm totally aware that it is some kind of malware that I have, but I have difficulties getting totally rid of it. Right now a have been able to deactivate it, BUT when I restart my computer it's on again. So the malware is still on my computer somewhere........so irritating!!!

Have you checked that it is not related to the security application or the web browser security extension?

 

[catjc]

Have you checked that it is not related to the security application or the web browser security extension?

Or password manager

 

[Vivek_Batra]

Hey Everyone,
I tried each and everything in this thread but my chrome stills says "Managed By Our Organization". This is so frustrating, Did anyone found some kinda solution to this issue?
Any help is much appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Andy Ful]

Hey Everyone,
I tried each and everything in this thread but my chrome stills says "Managed By Our Organization". This is so frustrating, Did anyone found some kinda solution to this issue?
Any help is much appreciated.
Thanks

Do you use Avast antivirus?

 

[Vivek_Batra]

Do you use Avast antivirus?

Yes, my friend I did. No luck there too.

 

[Andy Ful]

Yes, my friend I did. No luck there too.

Turn OFF the Avast "Web shield" temporarily, restart the computer and look if Chrome still says "Managed By Our Organization". Next, turn the Avast "Web shield" ON and post here about what happened.