You might be a bit confused if you’ve seen messages from an app called Mac Auto Fixer. You didn’t install it, but now it’s running a scan on your Mac and telling you there are lots of issues to fix.
Don’t worry. Your Mac probably doesn’t have any issues—except for the fact that Mac Auto Fixer is installed.
Mac Auto Fixer disguises itself as an app that’s trying to help you, but it’s actually slowing down your computer and trying to get you to hand over your online banking details.
In this article, I’ll explain what the Mac Auto Fixer is, how it was installed on your computer, how to find out if it’s on your Mac, and how to remove Mac Auto Fixer.
Before we start:
Everyone should have reliable antivirus software installed on their Mac. Whether you’re worried about the Mac Auto Fixer or other malware, you should run regular malware scans to keep your Mac safe. Fortunately, MacKeeper’s Antivirus offers real-time antivirus protection, as well as on-demand scans—meaning you can find out quickly if there’s malware on your system.
How to use MacKeeper’s Antivirus:
- Download MacKeeper and follow the on-screen instructions to install it.
- Open MacKeeper.
- Choose Antivirus from the sidebar.
- Click Enable to turn on real-time antivirus monitoring.
- Choose Start Scan.
- If MacKeeper finds any threats, follow the on-screen instructions to remove them safely.
In this article you will find the following:
What is Mac Auto Fixer
Mac Auto Fixer is a type of malware called scareware. It offers to scan your Mac, then tries to trick you into thinking there are problems with your macOS so that you pay to fix a variety of errors. It adds extensions to your web browsers, too, so that you’re constantly interrupted.
Is Mac Auto Fixer a virus? Technically, no. But it’s still malware. To find out about different types of unwanted software, check out our article on malware vs virus.
Is Mac Auto Fixer safe and legit
Mac Auto Fixer isn’t safe or legit. It’s disguised as software that can help you, but it won’t. In fact, it’s there to display fake privacy and security warnings and convince you to purchase a license or “full version” of the app. If you did enter your payment details, though, you wouldn’t get a legitimate security app—your personal information would be stolen instead.
How did Mac Auto Fixer install on computer
But how did Mac Auto Fixer get on your MacBook? Can MacBooks get viruses, and how?
Sometimes, Mac Auto Fixer is bundled with other software—you think you’re just installing one app, but unwanted apps are included in the bundle. Alternatively, you might have clicked on a link online—perhaps you saw a pop-up saying there was malware or outdated software on your MacBook, and clicking the link could solve it.
You can avoid the risk of downloading Mac Auto Fixer and other malware by following some precautions:
- Only download software from reputable sources, such as the App Store or a legitimate developer’s website. Make sure that the app is notarized by Apple.
- Don’t click on pop-ups or other online adverts.
- If you see errors, scan reminders, or other unexpected messages, check the name of the app—if you don’t remember installing it, this could be a scam or a sneaky advert, trying to get you to download malicious software.
However, even if you follow this advice, you may still end up with malware—so let’s find out how to identify and remove it.
How to find out if Mac Auto Fixer is on your Mac
You might notice signs that there’s something wrong with your Mac.
Symptoms of Mac Auto Fixer:
- Your Mac is running more slowly than usual.
- You’re redirected to other search engines when browsing the internet.
- You see more adverts than usual, or pop-up ads appear.
- You see pop-up windows telling you that your system has errors, malware, or other problems.
However, some of these symptoms could be signs of other macOS viruses or entirely different issues.
Important: To find out if Mac Auto Fixer is installed on your system, you should run a malware scan. This will confirm whether you’ve got this potentially unwanted program on your Mac and alert you to other malware issues.
It’s simple to run a scan with MacKeeper’s Antivirus. Additionally, to help improve your MacBook’s security, MacKeeper even includes real-time malware detection, which alerts you as soon as malware is installed on your system. 47% of MacKeeper users discovered malware on their first scan!
To scan for malware with MacKeeper’s Antivirus:
- Open MacKeeper and choose Antivirus.
- Click Enable to turn on real-time malware detection.
- Choose Start Scan.



How to remove Mac Auto Fixer
Next, you’ll need to know how to remove Mac Auto Fixer from your system. If you have a MacBook Air or Pro, iMac, or other Apple computer, you should know how to remove malware from a Mac.
There are a few steps to delete Mac Auto Fixer from macOS, but don’t worry—I’ll explain them as we go along.
To delete Mac Auto Fixer from your computer:
- Delete the unwanted application via Finder
- Remove Login Items
- Get rid of malicious Mac Auto Fixer browser extensions
- Uninstall Mac Auto Fixer with antivirus software
1. Delete unwanted applications via Finder
First, you’ll need to get rid of the Mac Auto Fixer app. You can do this using Finder.
How to delete Mac Auto Fixer in Finder:
- Open Finder, and go to your Applications folder.
- Look for software you don’t recognize—it may be called Mac Auto Fixer. Right-click on the item you want to remove and click Move to Bin.
- Right-click on the Bin, and choose Empty Bin.



Alternatively, you can use MacKeeper’s Smart Uninstaller to uninstall software—here’s how to remove software using MacKeeper:
- Open MacKeeper and choose Smart Uninstaller.
- Click Start Scan.
- Click on Applications.
- Choose the app you want to remove and click Remove Selected.




2. Remove Login Items
Mac Auto Fixer automatically installs some login items on your system. Login items are the apps that open on startup. This is why you see the effects of Mac Auto Fixer even when you haven’t chosen to open the app—macOS opens it automatically every time it starts up.
You can remove login items using System Settings, but you can also use MacKeeper. I find that MacKeeper shows more login items than System Settings, so I’ll explain how to do it that way.
To remove login items using MacKeeper:
- Open MacKeeper, and choose Login Items.
- Click Start Scan.
- Select the items you want to remove and click Remove Selected Items.



3. Get rid of malicious Mac Auto Fixer browser extensions
Mac Auto Fixer also installs some browser extensions, so we’ll need to remove these. Unfortunately, if you use more than one web browser, you’ll need to do this for each one. I’ll explain how to remove extensions in Safari, Firefox, Chrome, and Opera.
In each case, you’ll want to look for unfamiliar browser extensions that you don’t remember installing.
To remove browser extensions in Safari:
- Go to Safari > Settings.
- Under the Extensions tab, find the extension you want to remove.
- Click Uninstall.



To remove suspicious extensions in Firefox:
- Click the Extensions button—the one that looks like a puzzle piece.
- Choose Extensions.
- Click the three dots next to the extension you want to delete, and choose Remove.



To remove browser extensions in Chrome:
- Go to the menu (three dots) > Extensions > Manage Extensions.
- Find the extension you want to delete, and choose Remove.


To remove browser extensions in Opera:
- Click the Extensions icon (it looks like a cube) and then choose Manage Extensions.
- Find the extension you want to delete and click Remove.


4. Uninstall Mac Auto Fixer with antivirus
Finally, you’ll want to run a virus scan to make sure that everything is removed. I’ve already explained how to run a scan to check if your system is infected, but here’s how to delete Mac Auto Fixer with MacKeeper.
To remove Mac Auto Fixer with antivirus software:
- Open MacKeeper’s Antivirus and click Start Scan.
- When the scan is complete, follow the on-screen instructions to remove Mac Auto Fixer and any other malware found on your system.


Conclusion
Remove Mac Auto Fixer from your MacBook as soon as you notice it. It’s only there to cause anxiety, display fake privacy and security warnings, and try to steal your personal payment information.
Fortunately, MacKeeper’s Antivirus can help you: it stops 99.7% of known threats and can remove malware with just a few clicks.