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I would like to remove Malwarebytes from a friend's macbook. There is nothing in

  1. Applications Folder
  2. /Library/LaunchAgents (or in /System/Library/LaunchAgents)
  3. /Library/LaunchDaemons
  4. /Library/StartUpItems (or in /System/Library/StartUpItems)
  5. System Preferences > Users & Groups

and yet, it is still in the top bar:

enter image description here

Also, please somebody tell me, whether it is a normal program or a virus, because my friend didn't ever want to install the program and it should not be so hard to uninstall a program ever.

Some websites suggested installing CleanMyMac3, but I don't want to install any more software unless I am sure that it is okay, because I also read some bad reviews about CleanMyMac.

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  • 2
    Did you follow the uninstall directions here? https://support.malwarebytes.com/docs/DOC-1928
    – Scot
    Commented Dec 20, 2017 at 21:17
  • 3
    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it's a Basic Customer Support question. Please see the meta post linked above for details on how to proceed if you can edit the post and, if put on Hold, have the Hold reviewed. You can also contact the software developer for assistance with their product.
    – fsb
    Commented Dec 20, 2017 at 21:42
  • Hey @fsb, thanks for your feedback. My intention was 1. to learn whether there is some other way that a software can start on startup and 2. to know if I can trust this software from a 3rd party (I did not want to contact the company). Would you say that both of these fall under Basic Customer Support? Thank you for your time!
    – PavolGanzarcik
    Commented Dec 21, 2017 at 6:55
  • @Scot, thanks for your comment, I found those. However, I was not sure whether I wanted to install the software again to remove it.
    – PavolGanzarcik
    Commented Dec 21, 2017 at 6:57
  • BTW, it is actually a highly-regarded anti-virus/anti-malware app. It is perfectly safe - & due to what it actually does, safer to have it than not have it.
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Dec 21, 2017 at 7:43

5 Answers 5

Reset to default
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I recently accidentally installed this app. Then, I carelessly deleted the app without thinking about its associated Library files and menu bar icon.

It is likely your friend did the same thing and is now stuck with this useless menu bar quick access icon. In that situation, the uninstall directions won't work because the app is deleted.

The easiest way (and only way I know of) to remove this is to re-install MalwareBytes, open the app, and then go to Help > Uninstall MalwareBytes.

This will remove the app and all its associated files ... and that menu bar icon.

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I think the simple answer is to reboot. It sounds like you manually deleted it from the Applications directory and the other locations you checked instead of using the uninstaller. I did the same thing in the past. To run the uninstaller, you would have to install it again. However, if you just reboot it is almost certainly not going to start the toolbar thing again because you already checked a bunch of startup locations.

Then there would be no need to purge the remaining files but if you really wanted to you could just search for them

$ sudo find / -name '*malwarebytes*'
/usr/local/Homebrew/Library/Taps/.../malwarebytes.rb
/Library/Application Support/Malwarebytes/.../com.malwarebytes.mbam.telemetry 
...
/private/var/folders/8m/.../C/com.malwarebytes.mbam.frontend.agent

and/or directly delete them

$ sudo find / -name '*malwarebytes*' -delete
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    thank you for the find command, I searched in many folders, but obviously not all
    – PavolGanzarcik
    Commented Jan 3, 2018 at 21:08
  • sudo find / -name "*malwarebytes*" -depth -exec rm {} \; will delete all these files..
    – Rayon
    Commented Mar 20, 2018 at 5:34
  • Just reboot your machine after this operation and you are done.
    – Rayon
    Commented Mar 20, 2018 at 5:40
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MalwareBytes is a fully legit malware removal tool. In fact I would avoid CleanMyMac entirely! MalwareBytes is really good. And it doesn't have any sneaky installers like MacKeeper does. What I'm saying is someone definitely installed it on your friends computer.

When fully installed, it has an 'uninstall' option to completely remove it. You can also have it installed but hide the MenuBar item if you so choose. I regularly install and run MacKeeper on my client's computers. People install all sorts of junk on their computers these days.

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here it is!

Simply open Malwarebytes and select "Help" on the Menu bar, you'll see it there :) Uninstalling Option

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  • The original question is 3 years old at this point. It looks like the version in your screensot is more recent. It would help if you can edit your answer to add details about the OS version as well as the Malwarebytes version.
    – fsb
    Commented Nov 17, 2020 at 17:11
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I have Malwarebytes and there is an app for it in my applications folder. Maybe you missed it when looking. To remove it I would get an app like AppCleaner. When you move app to trash, AppCleaner will pop up to delete other files related to app. If you don't have an app, how did Malwarebytes get installed? Malwarebytes has been recommended by many sources and has a good reputation and is not a virus. Many apps store files in various locations on your drive. Appcleaner finds these and deletes them.

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  • thanks, good to know that malwarebytes and appcleaner can be trusted
    – PavolGanzarcik
    Commented Jan 3, 2018 at 21:08

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