Gadgetwise Blog: Q&A: Removing Programs on a Mac

Windows computers have the Add/Remove Program option and many programs include uninstaller software, but how do you uninstall a Mac program?

Some Mac programs do come with their own uninstaller programs to remove the software from the computer. If the program you want to delete does not offer that utility, you can get rid of it in other ways.

Just dragging the program’s icon out of the Applications folder to the Mac’s desktop Trash can — and then going to the Finder’s File menu and choosing Empty Trash — gets rid of the program and many of its associated files. Some Mac application icons contain many more files than just the program itself; just right-click on an icon in the Applications folder and choose Show Package Contents from the menu to see what lies beneath.

Some programs leave other files around the Mac’s system, though, and just deleting the application’s icon from the computer may leave some digital detritus on your drive. If you are comfortable with poking around in OS X, tutorials like those from Cult of Mac or Raw Computing show where to look in your clean-up mission. For a more automatic approach, free or inexpensive utility apps like AppDelete, AppZapper and CleanApp can take care of the job for you.

Gadgetwise Blog: Q&A: Removing Unwanted Firefox Add-ons

I installed some free software and also got an extra toolbar on my Firefox browser in the process. How can I get rid of this thing?

Third-party toolbars are often bundled with certain software programs and are automatically added to your computer unless you watch closely and decline the option during the installation process. (Depending on the software, extra toolbars and other adware may just get added to your computer anyway.)

In some cases, you can remove the unwanted toolbar by going to the Firefox menu bar, choosing Tools and selecting Add-ons. On the left side of the Add-ons Manager screen, click on the Extensions icon. In the list of extensions that have been added to Firefox, click on the name of the toolbar you want to discard and click the Remove button. You may need to restart the Firefox browser to see any change.

If the toolbar defies removal, try returning to the Extensions panel and clicking on the Disable button next to its name to at least shut it down. Browser add-ons and extensions can vary widely in quality, and some can persist despite your best efforts to get rid of them the easy way. If you still cannot uninstall the toolbar, visit Mozilla’s guide for serious add-on troubleshooting in Firefox for further instructions.