Adobe Mac Cleaner

Oct 21, 2019 Remove Advanced Mac Cleaner rogue optimization tool from Mac OS X to stop its frustrating alerts and undo the concomitant bad effects it calls forth. Update: October 2019. Advanced Mac Cleaner usually appears on Mac boxes out of the blue and floods the victim’s experience with annoying warning messages. The Adobe Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool for Mac allows you to more precisely remove installation records for Creative Cloud or Creative Suite applications that may have become corrupted or may be causing problems with a new installation. It can be particularly helpful if you have installed prerelease software on your system, and now want to remove it.

Adobe Advanced Mac Cleaner
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A decade-old Windows malware trojan wormed its way into the macOS ecosystem, complete with a signed (likely stolen) Apple developer certificate. The exploit appears as an Adobe Flash Player installer. Once permission is granted, it hides itself deep inside macOS folders. Its certificate has already been revoked by Apple, but it's good to be aware of your enemies.

According to Fox-IT, Snake, a malware framework that has been infecting Windows software since 2008, and more recently Linux, is now targeting Mac.

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Now, Fox-IT has identified a version of Snake targeting Mac OS X.As this version contains debug functionalities and was signed on February 21st, 2017 it is likely that the OS X version of Snake is not yet operational.Fox-IT expects that the attackers using Snake will soon use the Mac OS X variant on targets.

Snakes are dangerous and here's why

Similar to the Dok trojan that we heard about earlier this week, Snake popped up with an authenticated developer certificate, which means the Mac's built-in security system, Gatekeeper, would consider it legit and allow the installation process to complete.

It's important to note that Apple has already revoked this fake or stolen developer certificate, so Gatekeeper will block it. However, there is still a slight chance of someone downloading Snake by accident if they've found it through dubious channels. Malwarebytes explains:

Fortunately, Apple revoked the certificate very quickly, so this particular installer is no further danger unless the user is tricked into downloading it via a method that doesn't mark it with a quarantine flag (such as via most torrent apps).

How Snake slithers into your Mac

Just like most malware attacks, Snake doesn't just magically appear on your Mac one day. There isn't someone shooting corrupted files through your ethernet cable directly into your software. Snake has to be welcomed into your operating system by you.

Think of it is a vampire. If you don't invite it into your home, it can't attack you.

The file, named Install Adobe Flash Player.app.zip, will appear to be an Adobe Flash installer (Say what you will about Flash, but there are still a lot of people that have to use it for school or work). From Malwarebytes:

If the app is opened, it will immediately ask for an admin user password, which is typical behavior for a real Flash installer. If such a password is provided, the behavior continues to be consistent with the real thing.

Interestingly, once the installation is complete, Flash is actually installed on the Mac, making it even more difficult to tell that it's a trojan.

How you can protect yourself against Snake

As noted above, the fake/stolen developer certificate that allowed Snake to get a pass from Gatekeeper has already been revoked, so it's likely that, even if you download the zip file and try to open the app, your built-in security program will say, 'Nope Dope!'

But to refresh best practices, if you receive an email with an attachment at all, do some due diligence to make sure it's from a legitimate source. Check the sender address to make sure it is from an address you recognize. Click on the sender's name to view the email address it was sent from to make sure it's not a spoofed email. If you're still unsure, confirm with the sender by texting, calling or sending a separate email asking if the attachment is legit.

Specific to the Snake trojan, avoid downloading any zip files with the name Install Adobe Flash Player.app.zip.

What to do if Snake already bit you

Do you like my snake puns?

If you think you might have managed to accidentally install the Snake trojan onto your Mac, you can find and delete the following files:

/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.adobe.update.plist
/Library/Scripts/installd.sh
/Library/Scripts/queue
/var/tmp/.ur-*
/tmp/.gdm-socket
/tmp/.gdm-selinux

Next, delete the stolen/fake signed Apple Developer certificate.

Launch Finder.
Select Applications.
Open your Utilities folder.
Double-click on Keychain Access.
Select the certificate named Adobe Flash Player installer with the signed certificate issued to Addy Symonds.
Right or Control + click on the Certificate.
Select Delete Certificate from the drop down options.
Select Delete to confirm that you want to delete the certificate.

Lastly, change your administrator password to ensure that you're backdoor is rekeyed so the hackers can't get back in.

Remember best practices for staying safe

It is unlikely, at this point, that Snake will slither through your Mac's backdoor. For one, Apple has revoked the certificate, which makes it nearly impossible to make it through the installation process without you knowing about it.

To reiterate, don't open attachments from unknown sources. Double check the sender email address to make sure it is not spoofed. Don't open suspicious-looking files or give administrator permission to unknown programs. You can protect yourself from attacks if you stay safe.

If you do end up with malware on your Mac, take a moment to relax and know that everything will be O.K. You can remove malware on your own, but if it seems too difficult for you to tackle, you can talk to Apple support. Someone will be able to help you.

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Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool

The Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool removes a standalone installation of Reader or Acrobat, including any preferences and settings that may be preserved during a standard program uninstall.

While most installs, uninstalls, and updates operations happen without incident, there are cases where a user may not be able to complete such tasks due to some registry or file conflict on the machine. This is particularly problematic when permissions set on plist entries or files prevent the successful installation of new installs and/or updates. The Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool is designed to fix such issues by cleaning up corrupted installations, including removing or fixing corrupted files, removing or changing permissions registry entries, etc. The tool provides options for removing problematic Acrobat items only while leaving Reader untouched and vice versa.

Note: JavaScript is disabled in your browser. To access the Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool, please enable JavaScript and reload the page.

Adobe Reader DC and Acrobat DC Cleaner Tool

AcroCleaner for DC and later

Adobe Advanced Mac Cleaner

This download provides the Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool for Windows and Mac.

IMPORTANT:
1. THIS TOOL IS NOT FOR USE WITH ANY CREATIVE SUITE PRODUCTS INCLUDING SUITES THAT CONTAIN ACROBAT. IT CAN ONLY BE USED WITH STANDALONE VERSIONS OF ACROBAT AND ADOBE READER.
2.The Windows version of the tool only supports cleanup of DC products (both Continuous and Classic tracks). If you want to remove any older versions of Acrobat and Reader products then please refer to “AcroCleaner for 10.x and later”.
3. In some scenarios Cleaner tool for Windows might affect some preferences common between Acrobat and Reader. Hence it is advised that if both Acrobat and Reader products are installed on machine then the installed product be repaired after running the cleaner Tool.

Windows

Version	4
Date	June 10, 2015

Use the AcroCleaner Version 4 for DC and later on Windows to cleanup failed or partial uninstalls of DC products.

English

Download Adobe Reader DC and Acrobat DC Cleaner Tool for Windows version 4.0 (ZIP, 468 KB)

Mac

Version	1
Date	Dec 13, 2017

Use the AcroCleaner Version 1 for 11.x, DC and later on Mac to cleanup failed or partial uninstalls of of 11.x and DC products.

English

Download Adobe Reader DC and Acrobat DC Cleaner Tool for Mac version 1.0 (DMG, 416 KB)

Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool

AcroCleaner for 10.x and later

This download provides the Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool for Windows.

IMPORTANT:
THIS TOOL IS NOT FOR USE WITH ANY CREATIVE SUITE PRODUCTS INCLUDING SUITES THAT CONTAIN ACROBAT. IT CAN ONLY BE USED WITH STANDALONE VERSIONS OF ACROBAT AND ADOBE READER.

Version	Preview 2
Date	June 17, 2013

Use the AcroCleaner Version 2 for 10.x and later to cleanup failed or partial uninstalls of 10.x and 11.x products.

English

Download Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool for Windows version 2 (ZIP, 651 KB)

AcroCleaner for 9.x

Version	Preview 1
Date	June 17, 2013

Use the AcroCleaner for 9.x to cleanup failed or partial uninstalls of 9.x products.

English

Download Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool for Windows version 1 (ZIP, 614 KB)

User Instructions

Follow either the User Interface Workflow or the Command Line Usage instructions below to use the Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool. Once you are done, please send us your comments and let us know about your experience.

Windows

User Interface Workflow

Do not proceed if you installed Acrobat or Reader as part of Creative Suite. This tool can only be used with standalone versions of Acrobat and Reader.
Double click the AdbeArCleaner.exe file.
Verify you want to continue, and choose Next.
Accept the EULA and choose Next.
Choose the standalone product to clean and choose Next.
- If the product to be cleaned is installed on the machine, tool directly proceeds to cleanup.
- If the product is not found, then Acrobat/Reader is cleaned from default installation location at ProgramFilesFolderAdobeAcrobat *.* folder. The user is also given an option to select and add any other additional installation.
If more than one product is detected, choose which product to remove and whether or not to remove any files that may be shared between Adobe Reader and Acrobat.
Choose Clean Now. Cleanup begins.
When finished, restart the machine.

Command Line Usage

Do not proceed if you installed Acrobat or Reader as part of Creative Suite. This tool can only be used with standalone versions of Acrobat and Reader.
Open a command prompt.

Run tool with the desired command line parameters as follows:

ProductId	Identifies the product: 0 = Acrobat (Default) 1 = Reader
InstallPath	Specifies the product installation path. Default = the product’s default location; e.g. C:Program Files (x86)AdobeReader 10.0. You must use this parameter when using ScanForOthers = 0.
CleanLevel	Specifies the level of cleanup; i.e. shared components should be cleaned or not: 0 (Default) = clean only components for the selected product. 1 = clean components for the selected product as well as shared components.
ScanForOthers	Specifies whether to search for and delete only the installation directory identified by InstallPath or all directories on the machine: 0 = Search for and delete only directories found on the path specified by the InstallPath parameter. 1 (Default) = Search for and delete installation directories system wide. This search includes non-default paths as well as default paths such as C:Program FilesAdobeAcrobat 10.0.
/?	Invokes the tool’s Help; for example: AdbeArCleaner.exe /?

Mac

User Interface Workflow

Double click to mount the AdobeAcroCleanerTool.dmg
Double click the file: AcroCleanerTool.app
Verify you want to continue, and choose Next.
Accept the EULA and choose Next.
Choose the product to remove and click Next.
Applications found installed are listed separately for both Acrobat and Reader. By default, all the listed applications will be selected for clean-up. Following buttons below the lists can be used to customize the list.
Remove button: Select the application you don’t want to uninstall and click ‘Remove’ button below that particular list.
Refresh button: You can repopulate the full list again using ‘Refresh’ button below that particular list.
Click on Clean button to remove the listed applications
Press OK to confirm.
Provide admin password in the admin prompt dialog.
Cleanup processing begins.
Press OK once finished dialog is shown.
Press Quit button to quit the CleanerTool app or ViewLog button to view the logs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What products and versions work with the cleaner tool?

The tool supports both Acrobat and Reader versions 11.x , DC, and Classic Tracks – 2015 and 2017.

Does running the tool write to a log?

During execution, a log file is created at:

Windows 7: C:Users[USERNAME]AppDataLocalTempRaftLogsAdbeArCleaner.log
Windows XP: C:Documents and Settings[USERNAME]Local SettingsTempRaftLogsAdbeArCleaner.log
Mac: ~/Library/Logs/Adobe/AcroCleanerTool.log

If the cleaner tool executes the MSI uninstaller as part of the cleanup process, then an additional log file named Msi[RANDOM_NUMBER].tmp.log is created in the above location.

What are the system requirements?

The tool can be used on any system that is supported by product versions 9.x and 10.x.
Mac: The tool can be used from OS X 10.9 and onward.

When should the tool be used?

The tool should be used when the regular uninstall fails for Adobe Acrobat, or when you want to remove Adobe Reader from your system.

How do I uninstall the tool?

To uninstall the tool, just delete it.

How do I provide feedback?

To submit feedback or ask a question, use the Enterprise Forum .

Known Issues