How to remove Merlin Trojan from Mac

Easy tips to delete Merlin Trojan

Merlin Trojan is a dangerous computer infection targeting Mac Operating system. It is designed to create multiple files that stop AV tools and steal stored data on computer. It may download and install other malicious files to the system. Major operations by the Trojan are done in the background. The malware may actually be undetected on the system and stay persistent. Read this article for the complete guide to perform Merlin Trojan removal and secure the system from it.

Merlin Trojan-activities and purpose

The Merlin Trojan is designed to slither on the PC. It may infect infect macOs through apps that are corrupted, compromised and vulnerable. Sometimes, it may be found in fake or rogue apps or on hacked sites. These apps may get uploaded on various sites and third party software. They be pretended to be legit software like helpers, torrent clients and other useful apps.

Further, the malware may infect systems through different email-attachments that are presented as invoices of legit companies. Once loaded on a system, it starts conducting various harmful activities. It can disable the antivirus tool installed and firewall settings. It can make interference to the Windows system procedures. It can take screenshot, obtain saved passwords, read and write files, delete them, record audio and video, switch on camera and so on.

The Merlin Trojan can upload malicious malware like dangerous Ransomware, Cryptocurrency miners and keyloggers and etc. it can even escalate the privileges. What’s more, it bears the potential to automatically update on the network. Removing virus from the Mac is extremely important to avoid major possible damages that these actions may lead to the users’ system and the personal. Below the post, you will find complete guide on how to perform the Trojan removal from Mac.

How did Merlin Trojan infiltrate my system?

Commonly, crooks distribute malware through mal-spam, untrustworthy channels for downloading files, programs, unofficial software activation tools and fake software updaters. In the first case, the crooks deliver malware via email attachments or download links for malicious files. Most of the cases, they send emails that look like official letters and contain some important documents. Their main motive is to trick people into opening malicious Microsoft Office, executable file, archive file, JavaScript file, PDF and so on.

Downloads from questionable, untrustworthy sources can be used to distribute malware. These files look legitimate, regular files. In order to trick people into downloading them, the crooks use p2p networks, free file hosting sites and third party downloaders/ installers. Unoffical software activation or called cracking are supposedly to illegally activate software for users without having pay for it. However, crooks ofte bundle malware with them. Fake updating tools can infect systems either by direct downloading malware or by exploiting bugs/ flaws of outdated software.

How to prevent malware intrusion?

Installed software should always be activated and updated using official software developers’ tools/ functions. Avoid unofficial, third party tools as they are often designed to install malware. Another problem is that it is illegal to use them to activate licensed software. Further, website links and files in irrelevant emails should never be clicked. Files and programs should always be downloaded from official websites and direct links. For adequate protection, have a reputable antivirus tool installed and updated. Also, use this tool for regular system scans and to delete any detected threats.

Remove Files and Folders Related to Merlin Trojan

Open the “Menu” bar and click the “Finder” icon. Select “Go” and click on “Go to Folder…”

Step 1: Search the suspicious and doubtful malware generated files in /Library/LaunchAgents folder

Type /Library/LaunchAgents in the “Go to Folder” option

In the “Launch Agent” folder, search for all the files that you have recently downloaded and move them to “Trash”. Few of the examples of files created by browser-hijacker or adware are as follow, “myppes.download.plist”, “mykotlerino.Itvbit.plist”, installmac.AppRemoval.plist”, and “kuklorest.update.plist” and so on.

Step 2: Detect and remove the files generated by the adware in “/Library/Application” Support folder

In the “Go to Folder..bar”, type “/Library/Application Support”

Search for any suspicious newly added folders in “Application Support” folder. If you detect any one of these like “NicePlayer” or “MPlayerX” then send them to “Trash” folder.

Step 3: Look for the files generated by malware in /Library/LaunchAgent Folder:

Go to Folder bar and type /Library/LaunchAgents

You are in the “LaunchAgents” folder. Here, you have to search for all the newly added files and move them to “Trash” if you find them suspicious. Some of the examples of suspicious files generated by malware are “myppes.download.plist”, “installmac.AppRemoved.plist”, “kuklorest.update.plist”, “mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist” and so on.

Step4: Go to /Library/LaunchDaemons Folder and search for the files created by malware

Type /Library/LaunchDaemons in the “Go To Folder” option

In the newly opened “LaunchDaemons” folder, search for any recently added suspicious files and move them to “Trash”. Examples of some of the suspicious files are “com.kuklorest.net-preferences.plist”, “com.avickUpd.plist”, “com.myppes.net-preference.plist”, “com.aoudad.net-preferences.plist” and so on.

Step 5: Use Combo Cleaner Anti-Malware and Scan your Mac PC

The malware infections could be removed from the Mac PC if you execute all the steps mentioned above in the correct way. However, it is always advised to be sure that your PC is not infected. It is suggested to scan the work-station with “Combo Cleaner Anti-virus”.

Once the file gets downloaded, double click on combocleaner.dmg installer in the newly opened window. Next is to open the “Launchpad” and press on “Combo Cleaner” icon. It is advised to wait until “Combo Cleaner” updates the latest definition for malware detection. Click on “Start Combo Scan” button.

A depth scan of your Mac PC will be executed in order to detect malware. If the Anti-virus scan report says “no threat found” then you can continue with guide further. On the other hand, it is recommended to delete the detected malware infection before continuing.

Now the files and folders created by the adware is removed, you have to remove the rogue extensions from the browsers.

Remove Merlin Trojan from Internet Browsers

Delete Doubtful and Malicious Extension from Safari

Go to “Menu Bar” and open “Safari” browser. Select “Safari” and then “Preferences”

In the opened “preferences” window, select “Extensions” that you have recently installed. All such extensions should be detected and click the “Uninstall” button next to it. If you are doubtful then you can remove all the extensions from “Safari” browser as none of them are important for smooth functionality of the browser.

In case if you continue facing unwanted webpage redirections or aggressive advertisements bombarding, you can reset the “Safari” browser.

“Reset Safari”

Open the Safari menu and choose “preferences…” from the drop-down menu.

Go to the “Extension” tab and set the extension slider to “Off” position. This disables all the installed extensions in the Safari browser

Next step is to check the homepage. Go to “Preferences…” option and choose “General” tab. Change the homepage to your preferred URL.

Also check the default search-engine provider settings. Go to “Preferences…” window and select the “Search” tab and select the search-engine provider that you want such as “Google”.

Next is to clear the Safari browser Cache- Go to “Preferences…” window and select “Advanced” tab and click on “Show develop menu in the menu bar.“

Go to “Develop” menu and select “Empty Caches”.

Remove website data and browsing history. Go to “Safari” menu and select “Clear History and Website Data”. Choose “all history” and then click on “Clear History”.

Remove Unwanted and Malicious Plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox

Delete Merlin Trojan add-ons from Mozilla Firefox

Open the Firefox Mozilla browser. Click on the “Open Menu” present in the top right corner of the screen. From the newly opened menu, choose “Add-ons”.

Go to “Extension” option and detect all the latest installed add-ons. Select each of the suspicious add-ons and click on “Remove” button next to them.

In case if you want to “reset” the Mozilla Firefox browser then follow the steps that has been mentioned below.

Reset Mozilla Firefox Settings

Open the Firefox Mozilla browser and click on “Firefox” button situated at the top left corner of the screen.

In the new menu, go to “Help” sub-menu and choose “Troubleshooting Information”

In the “Troubleshooting Information” page, click on “Reset Firefox” button.

Confirm that you want to reset the Mozilla Firefox settings to default by pressing on “Reset Firefox” option

The browser will get restarted and the settings changes to factory default

Delete Unwanted and Malicious Extensions from Google Chrome

Open the chrome browser and click on “Chrome menu”. From the drop down option, choose “More Tools” and then “Extensions”.

In the “Extensions” option, search for all the recently installed add-ons and extensions. Select them and choose “Trash” button. Any third-party extension is not important for the smooth functionality of the browser.

Reset Google Chrome Settings

Open the browser and click on three line bar at the top right side corner of the window.

Go to the bottom of the newly opened window and select “Show advanced settings”.

In the newly opened window, scroll down to the bottom and choose “Reset browser settings”

Click on the “Reset” button on the opened “Reset browser settings” window

Restart the browser and the changes you get will be applied

The above mentioned manual process should be executed as it is mentioned. It is a cumbersome process and requires a lot of technical expertise. And hence it is advised for technical experts only. To be sure that your PC is free from malware, it is better that you scan the work-station with a powerful anti-malware tool. The automatic malware removal application is preferred because it doesn’t requires any additional technical skills and expertise.

Download the application and execute it on the PC to begin the depth scanning. Once the scanning gets completed, it shows the list of all the files related to Merlin Trojan. You can select such harmful files and folders and remove them immediately.