Remove all traces of McAfee VirusScan from your Mac

Making programs that can’t be uninstalled easily is a software crime in my book. I reluctantly accept that many applications leave behind folders and files even after you’ve dragged them to the trash but those that actually leave memory sapping, CPU-guzzling processes behind are simply bang out of order.

Which is why if you’ve ever installed McAfee VirusScan (formerly known as McAfee Virex) on a Mac, you’ll need this tool to remove it. For months, I had been mystified by a couple of processes labeled ‘VShieldCheck’ that were sometimes hogging up-to 30% of my CPU. A few Google searches later and I realized that these processes were associated with McAfee VirusScan for Mac which I’d tested and uninstalled a long time ago.

It turns out that McAfee VrusScan leaves these processes behind when you drag and drop it in the Trash. You have to remove it using the uninstaller which comes with the original download. However, I’d obviously deleted the original download a long time ago so my only option was to download it, install the darn thing again, and then use the removal tool to get rid of it once and for all. Even more frustrating, to download it again, I needed to sign up for a McAfee account!

So to save you going through the same ridiculous process to remove something that should never have been left behind on your Mac anyway, here you have the official McAfee VirusScan uninstaller. Make sure that McAfee Virus Scan is definitely installed on your Mac (if not re-install it) and then run the installer. It opens a dialog in Terminal where you have to enter your password. After that, removal takes just a couple of seconds and you’re left with no nasty process remnants.

If you’ve been tearing your hair out trying to uninstall McAfee VirusScan or mystefied by a ‘VShieldCheck’ process, then this uninstaller is the solution.