| Malware name | MacSpeedUp Pro |
| Category | Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA) |
| Claims to be | A Mac speed up utility |
| Malicious activity | Tries to make user pay for full version, possible data theft |
| Distribution | Intentional download, bundling with other apps |
| Removal | Use the official CleanMyMac X software to find and automatically remove the app or follow instructions for manual removal below. |
What is MacSpeedUp Pro?
MacSpeedUp Pro claims to be a legitimate tool that optimizes on your Mac and eliminates performance issues. It’s not. It’s a type of malware known as a potentially unwanted program that was probably installed on your Mac without your knowledge and which could steal data, as well as try and extract money from you.
How MacSpeedUp Pro works
Like most fake cleanup programs, MacSpeedUp Pro launches automatically and claims to have found a problem with your Mac, offering to scan for more issues. When it finds them, it directs you to its website where you have to pay for the ‘full’ version of the application to fix the problems it claims to have found. It’s likely that these problems don’t exist, but even if they are real, this is a very underhand way to operate and you should not part with money to fix them.
Note, that it’s different from legitimate Mac cleaning apps, like CleanMyMac X. For example, the latter is notarized by Apple and is sold via the Mac App Store.
How did it get on my Mac?
Like most PUPs, it was probably bundled with an app you downloaded from somewhere else. Free software download sites that use their own download managers are notorious for bundling unwanted programs which are then installed in the background.
Once these programs are on your Mac, they will launch automatically and cause problems by annoying you, slowing down your Mac and possibly stealing data like your IP-address and details of websites you visit. You should remove MacSpeedUp Pro as soon as you notice it.
How to remove MacSpeedUp Pro manually
- Go to Applications > Utilities and launch Activity Monitor.
- Look for any processes with the words MacSpeedUp Pro in them.
- If you find any, select them and press the Quit Process button.
- Quit Activity Monitor.
- Navigate to your Applications folder and look for MacSpeedUp Pro.
- Drag it to the Trash.
- While you’re there, drag the application you downloaded just before you noticed MacSpeedUp Pro, along with other programs you don’t recognize, to the Trash.
- Empty the Trash.
Remove additional MacSpeedUp Pro files
The last step is to get rid of the files MacSpeedUp Pro placed on your Mac.
- In the Finder, click on the Go menu.
- Choose Go to Folder.
- Paste each of the locations below, one at a time, into the box and drag the folder to the Trash.
~/Library/Application Support/MacSpeedup Pro/~/Library/Application Support/Mac Speedup Pro/~/Library/Application Support/Speedup Mac Pro/~/Library/Application Support/mswp~/Library/Application Support/msp/~/Library/Application Support/spdmpr/~/Library/hlprmswp/~/Library/MacSpeedup Pro/
- Empty the Trash and restart your Mac.
How to check if MacSpeedup Pro has been removed
When your Mac restarts, continue using it as you normally would. You should not be troubled by MacSpeedup Pro popping up and claiming to have found problems on your Mac.
Note: While MacSpeedup Pro isn’t a virus, it is malware. It’s covertly trying to make you pay for the full version so you should assume that it has employed other underhand tactics, too. These may include stealing data such as:
- You IP address
- Web searches
- Websites you’ve visited
- Usernames and passwords
- Financial details
If you have visited any secure websites since MacSpeedup Pro was installed on your Mac, you should change your password. And if you paid for the ‘full’ version, you should contact your credit card company and tell them what happened.
MacSpeedup Pro is a PUP that tries to extract money from users by making them think there are problems on their Mac that can only be fixed by paying for the full version. You should never do that. Instead, remove it using the steps above as quickly as possible and try to avoid websites that use proprietary download managers.
