You might be worried about getting pop-ups that says “WebSocketServerApp will damage your computer. You should move it to the Trash.”
Many users report of getting warnings as “randomname will damage your computer,” after updating their Mac with the latest version of the Mac OS. This means your Mac is infected with any potentially unwanted program.
Read the full article to know about WebSocketServerApp in detail.
What is WebSocketServerApp?
WebSocketServerApp is a piece of malicious program that may have slipped inside your Mac without seeking permission. Certainly, users may install the potentially unwanted program in various forms. For example, fake extension, fake system optimization tools, ad-supported search engine and free software.
After updating the latest version of Mac OS Catalina 10.15, users started noticing such warnings. As with the latest update, the Mac noticed unwanted and malicious entries, files and objects that can be harmful for the system. The program might have present before the updates and went undetected.
Similar to Spchlpr, Maftask, Helpermcp and so on, these files may came along with Similar Photo Cleaner, Mac Auto Fixer, Mac Cleanup Pro respectively. But there are hundreds of such unwanted programs that may bundle with such unwanted objects. Installing them can be an invitation to WebSocketServerApp and the above mentioned files.
WebSocketServerApp is an executable file that can be used to collect the browsing and system related information without the consent of users. Also such files can help installation and updating of Adware and malware programs.
Thus, users may receive pop-ups on their latest updated Mac version as:
Pop-up Warning by WebSocketServerApp
WebSocketServerApp will damage your computer. You should move it to the Trash. The file was downloaded on an unknown date.
Report malware to Apple to protect other users.
Such warnings are scaring users and is regarded as “randomname Will damage your computer”, pop-ups. These pop-ups appear again and again while user is active on their system. As said earlier, the reason behind the warnings is the presence of unwanted and harmful files and objects inside the system which needs immediate removal.
Well, it’s hard to get rid of such warnings even if the said file is removed. Because it is important to detect and remove in the entire bundle of malicious program and its associated with it.
How Does Potentially Unwanted Application get install on my computer?
When it comes to the distribution tactics of WebSocketServerApp, it can various social engineering ways like:
- Being bundled along with free software programs from third-party sites;
- Fake updates or pop-up links that ask to update flash player or so, but they actually contain potentially unwanted programs;
- Clicking on ads within the infected or hacked websites and so on.
Thus many times users do not have a clue of the presence of unwanted files or programs like WebSocketServerApp on their system. Their presence may bother with unwanted ads, pop-ups and banners while surfing. It may take over the browsers and collect browsing information from background. Thus, in order to stop pop-ups and warnings on your Mac from WebSocketServerApp, you should first stop the malicious process running. Then isolate the files and programs that restricts the removal process of the Adware.
However, it’s an overwhelming process that needs time and patience. So it’s safe to opt for a legitimate removal tool to securely detect and remove WebSocketServerApp.
How to Remove WebSocketServerApp From Mac (Guide)
This is a complete manual removal guide for Mac users. It consist of step-by-step removal of unwanted programs. For instance, Adware, browser hijackers, redirects, Trojans and other malware. The manual removal may take several minutes, therefore you have to patience. Please follow the steps carefully. If you are in hurry, then we suggest you to go for automatic removal solution.

(The above link will open a new page from where the Combo Cleaner will download)
To Remove WebSocketServerApp Extension from Mac OS, follow the steps:
- Remove Unknown Profiles Created by WebSocketServerApp Program From Mac OS
- Uninstall WebSocketServerApp/Malicious Apps From Mac OS
- Remove WebSocketServerApp Daemons And Agents From Mac’s Startup
- Use ComboCleaner Scan To Remove WebSocketServerApp
- Remove WebSocketServerApp From Safari, Chrome, And Firefox Web Browsers
- Double Check for Malicious Files and Enable Safe Browsing
STEP 1: Remove Unknown Profiles Created by WebSocketServerApp Program From Mac OS
Profiles are utility that allows business or organizations to control the actions and behavior of the Mac system. Thus, any profile created by the admins will prevent the users to change them. However, adware distributes design their programs that may create new profile. As a result, it prevents user from uninstalling the adware or other malware program.
So, we first need to find out if there is any malicious profile created on the Mac. If yes, then you have to remove them.
Please follow the Steps here:
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- Select System Preferences from the Apple menu;
Open System Preferences
- Within the System Preferences window, find “Profiles” icon; (If you can’t find the profile icon, it means may not have any profiles created.)
Choose Users & Groups Icon
- When the “Profile” Window opens, look for the unknown profiles. To remove WebSocketServerApp fake user profile, select it and click on the – (minus) button.
Remove Unknown User Profile By WebSocketServerApp
- Repeat the steps to remove all unknown profiles.
- Select System Preferences from the Apple menu;
STEP 2: Uninstall WebSocketServerApp/Malicious Apps From Mac OS
In this step, You need to locate for WebSocketServerApp application or unknown programs that you may not have installed yourself. Remove all such apps from your system.
- Open “Finder” application from your dock;
Finder
- In the left pane of the Finder, click on “Applications“;
Choose Applications
- The Applications window will display the list of all apps installed on your Mac OS. Next, you need to locate the WebSocketServerApp/suspicious apps by scrolling.
- To remove WebSocketServerApp, right-click on it, and then click “Move to Trash”. (Repeat this step until you remove all such apps).
Remove WebSocketServerApp Application
- Now you need to empty the trash as sometimes program can restore themselves from the trash. On your dock, right-click on the trash icon and then select “Empty Trash”.
STEP 3: Remove WebSocketServerApp Daemons And Agents From Mac’s Startup
- From top menu On Desktop → Choose Go→Go to Folder;
Go To Folder
- Within the “Go To Folder” pop-up window, enter the following paths along with WebSocketServerApp.plist one by one. This will locate the malicious files created by the apps.
- /Library/LaunchAgents
Remove Launch Agents By WebSocketServerApp
- ~/Library/LaunchAgents
- /Library/Application Support
- /Library/LaunchDaemons
- /Library/LaunchAgents
For instance, If a malicious program named WebSocketServerApp, then you may see ~/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.WebSocketServerApp.plist”, within this location. You will see lots of files with “.plist” extension. Scroll through it and find the ones which appear to be suspicious.
- ~/Library/Application Support/com.WebSocketServerApp/WebSocketServerApp
- ~/Library/Application Support/com.WebSocketServerAppDaemon/WebSocketServerApp
- ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.WebSocketServerApp.plist
- ~/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.WebSocketServerAppDaemon.plist
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- To Remove launch agents by WebSocketServerApp, right click on it and “More To Trash”.
Delete WebSocketServerApp Malicious Agents
- To Remove launch agents by WebSocketServerApp, right click on it and “More To Trash”.
Similarly, do this for launching agents locations: /Library/LaunchAgents/com.WebSocketServerApp.plist.
NOTE: Do not forget to empty the trash.
STEP 4: Use ComboCleaner Scan To Remove WebSocketServerApp

(The above link will open a new page from where the Combo Cleaner will download)
Combo Cleaner is a complete security suite for Mac OS that is developed by “RCS LT” company. This program is featured with anti-virus scanner and system optimization tools like disk cleaner, duplicate files finder, application uninstaller, privacy scanner, and 24*7 customer support service.
How to Install and Scan with Combo Cleaner
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1. Click the above button to Download the “Combo Cleaner”;
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2. Once the download completes, double-click on the downloaded file;
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3. After the window opens, drag the Combo Cleaner program icon and drop it into your “Applications folder” icon.
Combo Cleaner Install Step 2
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4. Now, open your “Launchpad” and click on the “Combo Cleaner” icon.
Combo Cleaner Install Step 3
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5. This will start the combo cleaner installation and updates its latest virus definition. Once done, Combo cleaner will launch;
Combo Cleaner Dashboard
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6. Click on “Antivirus” tab and choose the scan options like Quick, Full, and custom. (Full is recommended for the first time)
Combo Cleaner Antivirus Scan
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7. Let the scan be completed and it will list all the threats found. Now, click on “Remove All Threats”;
Combo Cleaner Scan Results
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8. after removing the threats, click on the “uninstaller” to find and remove any unwanted programs. Select the program from the list and its related files and then click on “Remove Selected Items“
Remove WebSocketServerApp And Other Threats
STEP 5: Remove WebSocketServerApp From Safari, Chrome, And Firefox Web Browsers
Safari Browser
To Remove WebSocketServerApp Extensions, homepage redirects From Safari Browser, follow steps:
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- On the Safari browser, click the “Safari” menu then select “Preferences”.
Safari Preferences
- On the “General” tab of the Safari preferences, check for WebSocketServerApp URL added as the default homepage. Within the “Homepage” field enter your preferred URL as your default start-page of the browser.
Reset Safari Homepage
- Next, you need to check for malicious extensions, click on the “Extensions” tab on the same window.
- The “Extensions” screen will list all the extensions installed on your safari browser. You need to browse through the list and uninstall WebSocketServerApp extension or Adware. Select it and then click on “Uninstall”. Repeat the steps to remove all unwanted extensions.
Uninstall WebSocketServerApp Extension From Safari
- On the Safari browser, click the “Safari” menu then select “Preferences”.
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Delete Safari’s preferences file to reset the default settings
Even after performing the above steps, some malicious program may reappear again. This happens because adware and browser hijackers creates new files within the preferences. Thus, they are able to replace the homepage and search engine URLs each time when user launches the Safari.
To do this, follow the below steps:
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- Close the Safari browser;
- Come to normal desktop mode, now choose “Go” from the top menu then click on “Go to Folder“.
- Within the “Go to Folder: pop-up window, enter the ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist path and click on GO;
Safari Reset
- Delete the file, if found;
- Launch the Safari Again.
Google Chrome
To Remove WebSocketServerApp From Chrome (Extensions, homepage redirects), follow steps:
Similarly, you need to reset the default settings of Chrome browser. In order to remove unknown extensions, search engines, startup, and new tabs.
It is better to use the default reset feature of the Google Chrome. This will reset all the unwanted modifications done by third-party programs. It should be noted that you will not lose your saved passwords and bookmarks. (Sync your Google with Account to secure them first). However, it will delete cookies, extensions, startups, URLs, homepage and new tabs preferences.
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- Click on Chrome’s main menu then choose “Settings“. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on “Advanced”;
Google Chrome Advanced Settings
- Under the Advanced page, go for “Reset and clean up” section. Then click on “Reset settings to their original defaults”;
Remove WebSocketServerApp Extension And Reset Chrome
- Next, click on “Reset”, when you will be prompted for a confirmation “This will reset your startup page, a new tab page, search engine, and pinned tabs. It will also disable all extensions and clear temporary data like cookies. Your bookmarks, history, and saved passwords will not be cleared”;
- Click on the “Reset Settings” button to confirm the procedure. After that, it may ask to restart your browser, click “Yes”.
- Click on Chrome’s main menu then choose “Settings“. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on “Advanced”;
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Remove Chrome’s policies created by WebSocketServerApp Program
If the above reset solution does not work for you, then it may possible that the malicious programs has created policies within the chrome browser. This certainly restricts the unwanted apps, homepage and search engine settings to reset again. The Chrome polices are listed within chrome://policy URL. You can check the unwanted policies created by malicious apps. If this is the case then you need to remove them.
To reset such policies from chrome browser, follow the steps below:
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- Open a Terminal window. Go to Finder → Go → Utilities → Terminal;
Open Terminal Window
- Within the Terminal window, execute the following commands one by one. And press enter after each command.
Delete Chrome Policies
- Open a Terminal window. Go to Finder → Go → Utilities → Terminal;
defaults write com.google.Chrome HomepageIsNewTabPage -bool false defaults write com.google.Chrome NewTabPageLocation -string “https://www.google.com/” defaults write com.google.Chrome HomepageLocation -string “https://www.google.com/” defaults delete com.google.Chrome DefaultSearchProviderSearchURL defaults delete com.google.Chrome DefaultSearchProviderNewTabURL defaults delete com.google.Chrome DefaultSearchProviderName defaults delete com.google.Chrome ExtensionInstallSources
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- After executing the above commands, launch the Chrome browser again. To check the unknown policies to be removed successfully. Type “chrome://policy” within the address bar and click on “Reload policies”.
Reload Chrome Policy
- Now, the malicious policies should be gone. After that, you can modify your homepage, new tab and search engine as per your preferences.
- After executing the above commands, launch the Chrome browser again. To check the unknown policies to be removed successfully. Type “chrome://policy” within the address bar and click on “Reload policies”.
NOTE: Last but not the least, if the above solution also does not work for you. Then the malicious programs may have install “Managed by your organization” policy. As a consequence it restricts to remove the unknown extension or homepage even after resetting the browser.
Please follow our guide Remove “Managed by your organization” Chrome Hijack From Mac
Mozilla Firefox Browser
To Remove WebSocketServerApp Extension, homepage redirects From Mozilla Firefox Browser, follow steps:
Finally, if you have facing same issues with Firefox browser, then follow the steps to refresh it.
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- Open Firefox’s Main Menu button by clicking on three horizontal lines. After that, from the drop-down menu select “Help“;
- Click on the “Troubleshooting Information,“ from the Help menu;
Troubleshooting Information Firefox
- From the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page, click on the “Refresh Firefox”.
Reset Firefox
- To confirm, click on the “Refresh Firefox” button, within the confirmation pop-up window.
- Click on the “Finish“ button.
By the time now, your Mac should free from adware and other malicious programs. Most importantly, you should always have a reliable anti-malware with real-time protection features. So, that it can trace the behaviors of unwanted program at its earliest. And quarantine it from being making serious damages.
Double Check for Malicious Files and Enable Safe Browsing Using Intego Internet Security X9
After removing persistent threat WebSocketServerApp, it is important to safe guard the browser. So that such browser hijackers may not enter to your browser like Safari, Chrome , Mozilla.
The Intego Internet security X9 not only provides real-time antivirus protection for Macs. But also scans files whenever they’re accessed to keep your Mac free of malware.
Also, it it integrated with “Safe Browsing” feature that configures advanced browser settings that will prevent redirects to malicious or fraudulent sites, fake downloads and warn you if you visit any harmful site.

Intego Safe Browsing