How to remove GuideLibrary (Mac)

What is GuideLibrary

GuideLibrary is a type of adware that is part of the AdLoad malware family. It is designed to deliver intrusive ad campaigns and may have additional harmful capabilities. Adware stands for advertising-supported software and can display advertisements on various interfaces, such as visited websites, desktops, or others. The presence of GuideLibrary on a system threatens device integrity and user safety. It can cause system infections, serious privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft. Once installed, GuideLibrary injects advertisements into websites you visit and redirects your browser search queries. It hijacks your browser homepage and search engine and displays unwanted advertisements not originating from the sites you are browsing. To do this, GuideLibrary uses a browser extension or program. When installed on a computer, the GuideLibrary browser hijacker will redirect your browser search queries through GuideLibrary Search, which will redirect to search result pages from search.yahoo.com. This is most likely done to generate advertising revenue by using Yahoo Search for its search results.

How GuideLibrary infects Mac computers

GuideLibrary is typically installed on a user’s computer through a technique known as bundling. This involves packing ordinary program installation setups with unwanted or malicious additions. Often, this type of program is offered through advertisements or bundled with other software, leaving the user puzzled about where this software came from. Unfortunately, some free downloads do not adequately disclose that other software will also be installed, and you may find that you have installed GuideLibrary without your knowledge.

1. Download GuideLibrary Removal Tool
2. Remove GuideLibrary from Login Items
3. Remove/Uninstall GuideLibrary from Applications
4. Remove GuideLibrary from browsers
5. Reset browser settings
6. Remove GuideLibrary files and folders
7. Block GuideLibrary ads and pop-ups
8. How to protect from threats, like GuideLibrary

Remove GuideLibrary manually for free

Note: GuideLibrary sets up to start on macOS startup. Therefore, before starting the removal, perform these steps:

1. Open System Preferences, choose Users & Groups.
2. Choose your account (set up as Current User).
3. Click Login Items tab.
4. Find “GuideLibrary” entry. Select it, and click the “-“ (minus) button to remove it.

Note 2: GuideLibrary won’t quit just by closing it, therefor use Force Quit to end the process.

1. Press 3 buttons at the same time: Option, Command, and Esc (Escape). This is similar to Control-Alt-Delete on a Windows PC.
2. Choose GuideLibrary in the list.
3. Click Force Quit button.

Here is a manual step-by-step tutorial for full GuideLibrary removal from your computer. This works 99% and was checked with the latest versions of GuideLibrary installer on operating systems with the latest updates and browser versions.

Remove GuideLibrary from Applications

Remove GuideLibrary from Mac:

1. In the Finder sidebar, click Applications.
2. GuideLibrary might have an Uninstaller. If you see Uninstall GuideLibrary or GuideLibrary Uninstaller, double-click it and follow the onscreen instructions.
3. Otherwise, drag GuideLibrary from the Applications folder to the Trash (located at the end of the Dock).
4. Then choose Finder > Empty Trash.

Cannot uninstall GuideLibrary

If you can’t uninstall GuideLibrary using instructions above, or it keeps coming back, you can use free AppCleaner for Mac to remove all residual data and libraries of GuideLibrary. Follow instructions below:

1. Download free AppCleaner.
2. Drag GuideLibrary from Applications folder to AppCleaner window.
3. Choose files and folders you want to remove along with GuideLibrary.
4. Click Delete button.

Remove GuideLibrary add-on from your browsers

Removing GuideLibrary from Applications often does not bring the desired effect. It is a browser extension, and it may still be active in Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Here are instructions on how to remove the GuideLibrary extension from your browsers manually.

Safari:

1. Start Safari on your Mac, click Safari to open drop-down menu and choose Preferences
2. Click Extensions tab.
3. Find GuideLibrary extension.
4. Click Uninstall button to remove it.

Google Chrome:

1. Start Google Chrome browser
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) chrome://extensions.
3. Find GuideLibrary extension.
4. Click the trash can icon to remove it.

Mozilla Firefox:

1. Start Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) about:addons.
3. Choose GuideLibrary extension.
4. Click Disable or Remove button.

Reset browser settings

To finish GuideLibrary removal, reset your browser settings to make sure, there are no leftover items in browser folders.

Reset Safari:

1. Start Safari on your Mac, click Safari to open drop-down menu and choose Preferences
2. Go to the Privacy section of Safari’s preferences.
3. Click Remove All Website Data button.
4. In opened window click Remove Now button to remove data stored by websites in Safari.
5. Go to the Advanced section of Safari’s preferences.
6. Click the Show Develop menu in menu bar option.
7. In the menu click Develop and select Empty Caches from this menu.
8. Again, go to Safari menu and choose Clear History….
9. Choose to clear all history and click Clear History button.

Reset Google Chrome:

1. Start Google Chrome browser
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) chrome://settings.
3. Scroll down and find Show advanced settings link.
4. Click on it and scroll down to the bottom again.
5. Click Reset settings button and click Reset to confirm.

Reset Mozilla Firefox:

1. Start Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) about:support.
3. Click Refresh Firefox… button.
4. Click Refresh Firefox to confirm.

Remove following files and folders of GuideLibrary


~/Library/Application Support/.[random_string]/Services/com.GuideLibrary.service.app
~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.GuideLibrary.service.plist
/Library/Application Support/.[random_string]/System/com.GuideLibrary.system
/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.GuideLibrary.system.plist


Download AdGuard for Mac to block malicious pop-ups, that promote GuideLibrary

AdGuard is the best ad-blocker, internet filtering, and internet security application for macOS. It can cut out unwanted banners from site pages, block pop-ups, stop redirects, and prevent users from visiting potentially dangerous resources. Use it to stop ads promoting GuideLibrary in browsers.

Download AdGuard for Mac

How to protect Mac OSX from adware, like GuideLibrary

Mac OSX is known to be one of the safest operating systems, and for a long time, there was no need for antivirus products for Mac. But with the growing popularity of Mac computers and notebooks and evolving technology, viruses, trojans, adware, toolbars, hijackers, and other malware paved the way for Mac users. We recommend you to use one of the best anti-malware for Mac available — Malwarebytes for Mac.

Download Malwarebytes for Mac