How to remove Bird Miner from the operating system?

How to remove Bird Miner from Mac?

What is Bird Miner?

Bird Miner is the name of a malicious software which uses computer resources to mine cryptocurrency via emulation. Research shows that it runs two miners for that, which means it consumes a large amount of resources. It is known that cyber criminals distribute Bird Miner using an installer for a cracked (pirated) version of the ValhallaVintageVerb software.

Once a cryptocurrency miner like Bird Miner is installed, it starts using computer resources (e.g., CPU, GPU) to mine cryptocurrency. Software of this kind does that by solving mathematical problems. It can mine cryptocurrency faster on computers with more powerful hardware, it means that it generates more revenue for cyber criminals behind it. Typically, computers that have cryptocurrency miner installed and running on them start operating slower or even at the level where they almost cannot perform any other tasks. It means that the operating system may start crashing, stop responding which can result in loss of unsaved data loss, unexpected shutdowns, hardware overheat, etc. It is worthwhile to mention that high computer hardware usage caused by cryptocurrency miner causes higher electricity consumption. Therefore, users of computers that mine cryptocurrency receive higher electricity bills. Research shows that this particular miner is designed not to run on the operating system (not to mine cryptocurrency) when the Activity Monitor is launched so that users would not notice its processes running in it.

Threat Summary:

Name	Bird Miner crypto-malware
Threat Type	Crypto-malware
Detection Names	AegisLab (Trojan.OSX.BirdMiner.4!c), BitDefender (Trojan.MAC.Generic.6329), Kaspersky (HEUR:Trojan.OSX.BirdMiner.a), Microsoft (Trojan:Win32/Casdet!rfn), Full List (VirusTotal)
Symptoms	Cryptocurrency miners are designed to stealthily infiltrate the victim's computer and remain silent, and thus no particular symptoms are clearly visible on an infected machine.
Distribution methods	Installers for pirated software, infected email attachments, malicious online advertisements, social engineering.
Damage	Higher electricity bills, hardware overheat, system crashes, data loss, decrease in computer performance.
Malware Removal (Mac)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your Mac with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner for Mac To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited three days free trial available.

Another example of a cryptocurrency miner which is designed to run on Mac computers is the LoudMiner. As a rule, users install mining malware unknowingly, cyber criminals use various methods to deceive them into installing software of this kind on their computers. The most commonly used methods to distribute this and other kind of malware are described below.

How did malware install on my computer?

It is known that Bird Miner is distributed via installer which supposed to install a pirated/cracked version of the ValhallaVintageVerb program. Although, it is possible that this miner is distributed through installers that supposed to install some other software (e.g., pirated Ableton Live 10 version) as well. Other popular ways to distribute various malware are to use malspam campaigns, Trojans, third party (fake) software updating tools and untrustworthy file, software download sources. Users infect computers through malspam campaigns (emails) when they execute malicious attachments or files that they have downloaded through links in emails that they have received from cyber criminals. In most cases cyber criminals send emails that have a malicious Microsoft Office document, PDF document, archive file like ZIP, RAR, JavaScript file, or executable file (like .exe) attached to them. Trojan is a type of malware that can be designed to cause chain infections. Once installed, it can install some other malware. Fake software updating tools infect systems either by installing malware instead of updates, fixes for the installed software, or by exploiting bugs, flaws of outdated software. Examples of untrustworthy file, software download sources that can be used to proliferate malware are Peer-to-Peer networks (e.g., torrent clients, eMule), freeware download websites, free file hosting websites, third party downloaders, unofficial pages. Malicious software can be distributed through them by disguising malicious files as legitimate. It gets installed when users download and open some malicious file.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Installed software should be updated with implemented functions and/or tools that are designed by its official developers. The same applies to its activation. Unofficial, third party activation and/or updating tools often are designed to infect computers with malware. Besides, it is not legal to use such tools to activate licensed software. All files and programs should be downloaded from official and trustworthy websites, none of the channels, sources, tools that are mentioned in the previous paragraph should be trusted/used. Files attached to irrelevant emails (or website links in emails) that are received from suspicious, unknown addresses should not be opened. It is worthwhile to mention that such emails often are disguised as official, important. One more way to keep a computer safe is to have a reputable anti-spyware or antivirus software installed on it and use that software regularly. If your computer is already infected with PUAs, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate them.

Screenshot of the contents of the .dmg file which supposed to contain the installer for ValhallaVintageVerb:

Screenshot of the installer for pirated version of ValhallaVintageVerb which is designed to install Bird Miner:

Instant automatic Mac malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced computer skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of Mac malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner for Mac By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited three days free trial available.

Quick menu:

• What is Bird Miner?
• STEP 1. Remove PUA related files and folders from OSX.
• STEP 2. Remove rogue extensions from Safari.
• STEP 3. Remove rogue add-ons from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove potentially unwanted plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox.

Video showing how to remove adware and browser hijackers from a Mac computer:

Potentially unwanted applications removal:

Remove potentially unwanted applications from your "Applications" folder:

Click the Finder icon. In the Finder window, select "Applications". In the applications folder, look for "MPlayerX", "NicePlayer", or other suspicious applications and drag them to the Trash. After removing the potentially unwanted application(s) that cause online ads, scan your Mac for any remaining unwanted components.

Remove bird miner crypto-malware related files and folders:

Click the Finder icon, from the menu bar. Choose Go, and click Go to Folder...

Check for adware-generated files in the /Library/LaunchAgents folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: /Library/LaunchAgents

In the “LaunchAgents” folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by adware - “installmac.AppRemoval.plist”, “myppes.download.plist”, “mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist”, “kuklorest.update.plist”, etc. Adware commonly installs several files with the same string.

Check for adware generated files in the /Library/Application Support folder:

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

In the “Application Support” folder, look for any recently-added suspicious folders. For example, “MplayerX” or “NicePlayer”, and move these folders to the Trash.

Check for adware-generated files in the ~/Library/LaunchAgents folder:

In the Go to Folder bar, type: ~/Library/LaunchAgents

In the “LaunchAgents” folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by adware - “installmac.AppRemoval.plist”, “myppes.download.plist”, “mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist”, “kuklorest.update.plist”, etc. Adware commonly installs several files with the same string.

Check for adware-generated files in the /Library/LaunchDaemons folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: /Library/LaunchDaemons

In the “LaunchDaemons” folder, look for recently-added suspicious files. For example “com.aoudad.net-preferences.plist”, “com.myppes.net-preferences.plist”, "com.kuklorest.net-preferences.plist”, “com.avickUpd.plist”, etc., and move them to the Trash.

 Scan your Mac with Combo Cleaner:

If you have followed all the steps in the correct order you Mac should be clean of infections. To be sure your system is not infected run a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus. Download it HERE. After downloading the file double click combocleaner.dmg installer, in the opened window drag and drop Combo Cleaner icon on top of the Applications icon. Now open your launchpad and click on the Combo Cleaner icon. Wait until Combo Cleaner updates it's virus definition database and click "Start Combo Scan" button.

Combo Cleaner will scan your Mac for malware infections. If the antivirus scan displays "no threats found" - this means that you can continue with the removal guide, otherwise it's recommended to remove any found infections before continuing.

After removing files and folders generated by the adware, continue to remove rogue extensions from your Internet browsers.

Bird Miner crypto-malware removal from Internet browsers:

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Remove bird miner crypto-malware related Safari extensions:

Open Safari browser, from the menu bar, select "Safari" and click "Preferences...".

In the preferences window, select "Extensions" and look for any recently-installed suspicious extensions. When located, click the "Uninstall" button next to it/them. Note that you can safely uninstall all extensions from your Safari browser - none are crucial for normal browser operation.

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Safari.

Remove malicious plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox:

Remove bird miner crypto-malware related Mozilla Firefox add-ons:

Open your Mozilla Firefox browser. At the top right corner of the screen, click the "Open Menu" (three horizontal lines) button. From the opened menu, choose "Add-ons".

Choose the "Extensions" tab and look for any recently-installed suspicious add-ons. When located, click the "Remove" button next to it/them. Note that you can safely uninstall all extensions from your Mozilla Firefox browser - none are crucial for normal browser operation.

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Mozilla Firefox.

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Remove bird miner crypto-malware related Google Chrome add-ons:

Open Google Chrome and click the "Chrome menu" (three horizontal lines) button located in the top-right corner of the browser window. From the drop-down menu, choose "More Tools" and select "Extensions".

In the "Extensions" window, look for any recently-installed suspicious add-ons. When located, click the "Trash" button next to it/them. Note that you can safely uninstall all extensions from your Google Chrome browser - none are crucial for normal browser operation.

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Google Chrome.

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