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Aug 26, 2015 6:16 PM in response to alexx1823by Linc Davis,You may have installed ad-injection malware ("adware").
Don't use any kind of "anti-virus" or "anti-malware" product on a Mac. There is never a need for it, and relying on it for protection makes you more vulnerable to attack, not less.
Some of the most common types of adware can be removed by following Apple's instructions. If those instructions don't work for you, or if you have trouble following them, see below.
This easy procedure will detect any kind of adware that I know of. Deactivating it is a separate, and even easier, procedure that doesn't involve downloading anything.
Some legitimate software is ad-supported and may display ads in its own windows or in a web browser while it's running. That's not malware and it may not show up. Also, some websites carry intrusive popup ads that may be mistaken for adware.
If none of your web browsers is working well enough to carry out these instructions, restart the computer in safe mode. That will disable the malware temporarily.
Step 1
Please triple-click the line below on this page to select it, then copy the text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C:
~/Library/LaunchAgents
In the Finder, select
Go â–¹ Go to Folder...
from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. Press return. Either a folder named "LaunchAgents" will open, or you'll get a notice that the folder can't be found. If the folder isn't found, go to the next step.
If the folder does open, press the key combination command-2 to select list view, if it's not already selected. Please don't skip this step.
There should be a column in the Finder window headed Date Modified. Click that heading twice to sort the contents by date with the newest at the top. If necessary, enlarge the window so that all of the contents are showing.
Follow the instructions in this support article under the heading "Take a screenshot of a window." An image file with a name beginning in "Screen Shot" should be saved to the Desktop. Open the screenshot and make sure it's readable. If not, capture a smaller part of the screen showing only what needs to be shown.
Start a reply to this message. Drag the image file into the editing window to upload it. You can also include text in the reply.
Leave the folder open for now.
Step 2
Do as in Step 1 with this line:
/Library/LaunchAgents
The folder that may open will have the same name, but is not the same, as the one in Step 1. As in that step, the folder may not exist.
Step 3
Repeat with this line:
/Library/LaunchDaemons
This time the folder will be named "LaunchDaemons."
Step 4
Open the Safari preferences window and select the Extensions tab. If any extensions are listed, post a screenshot. If there are no extensions, or if you can't launch Safari, skip this step.
Step 5
If you use the Firefox or Chrome browser, open its extension list and do as in Step 4.
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Aug 27, 2015 3:57 AM in response to Linc Davisby WZZZ,Linc Davis wrote: Don't use any kind of "anti-virus" or "anti-malware" product on a Mac. There is never a need for it, and relying on it for protection makes you more vulnerable to attack, not less. Since this piece of advice is appearing in the context of the suggestion to use Malwarebytes for Mac (Adware Medic), it is incumbent on you to demonstrate, with serious evidence, aka, "facts," how using that program specifically can leave you more vulnerable to attack, not less. I am certain that doing so will prove to be constructive and helpful to the OP, or anyone else happening upon this thread, who must now feel put off using said program because of what you have written.
And since you are making this claim, I must also ask if you have ever tested this program on your own system? You do know that the ToU for this site require such.
5. Test your answer. When possible, make sure your Submission works on your own computer before you post it. -
Aug 27, 2015 4:04 AM in response to Linc Davisby OGELTHORPE,Linc Davis wrote:
Don't use any kind of "anti-virus" or "anti-malware" product on a Mac. There is never a need for it, and relying on it for protection makes you more vulnerable to attack, not less.
Be advised that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac is not an anti-virus or anti-malware application. By making this statement, you may be confusing the OP and others as well. Don't you agree?
Some of the most common types of adware can be removed by following Apple's instructions. If those instructions don't work for you, or if you have trouble following them, see below.
This easy procedure will detect any kind of adware that I know of. Deactivating it is a separate, and even easier, procedure that doesn't involve downloading anything.
Downloading Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac is essentially a 2 step process, if that, than the complicated 5 step process that you advocate or the Apple support instructions. Perhaps if you tried it yourself, you would see that I am correct.
Also may I point out that Apple telephone support personnel and genius bar technicians use and have advised Apple customers to use Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac in lieu of the Apple support alternative because it is faster, simpler, more comprehensive and much easier to use.
Ciao.
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Aug 27, 2015 4:23 AM in response to alexx1823by Lexiepex,The first line in the response of ILLaass basically the same as Linc's "procedure, and much better explained.
In general, line 3 in Illaas, you can safely use Adwaremedic (now MalwarebytesAnti-Malware) it does the same and is always up-to-date. Download it from the developer website only: https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/mac/
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Aug 27, 2015 7:28 AM in response to alexx1823by Linc Davis,Your question brings up the subject of removing adware. This is a general comment on that subject.
Under no circumstances should you ever allow anti-virus software to delete something for you.
The only tools that anyone needs to detect and remove adware are the Finder and a web browser, both of which you already have. Anyone who has enough computer skill to install adware can just as well remove it without using anything else. That's not just my opinion; it's the official position of Apple Support, as you can see by following the links below.
Apple doesn't endorse any third-party "anti-virus" or "anti-malware" product. Here and here are its general statements about malware protection, and here are its instructions for removing the most common types of ad-injection malware. None of those support pages mentions anti-malware products. An Apple employee who recommends such a product is speaking only for himself or herself, not for the company. See this thread for an example of what the results can be.
You become infected with malware by downloading unknown software without doing research to determine whether it's safe. If you keep making that mistake, the same, and worse, will keep happening, and no anti-malware will rescue you. Your own intelligence and caution are the only reliable defense.
The Windows/Android anti-malware industry had more than $75 billion in sales in 2014 [source: Gartner, Inc.] Its marketing strategy is to convince people that they're helpless against malware attack unless they use its products. But with all that anti-malware, the Windows and Android platforms are still infested with malware—most of it far more harmful than mere adware. The same can be expected to happen to the Mac platform if its users trust the same industry to protect them, instead of protecting themselves.
You are not helpless, and you don't have to give full control of your computer—and your data—to strangers in order to be rid of adware.
These are generalities. Regarding the "malwarebytes" product in particular, you may be told that there are no reports that is has caused damage. In fact, I know of two such reports: one by ASC user Big Kev55 in this thread, and one by LizardMBP in this thread. Read those reports and draw your own conclusions. There are also many reports that the Windows version of the product has deleted essential Windows system files; see, for example, this thread on the developer's own support forum.
Whether the software damages the system or not, it takes full adminstrative control and connects to a server controlled by the developer. The developer's privacy policy reads in part as follows:
"Without limiting the Privacy Policy, you agree that Malwarebytes may track certain data it obtains from your Computer including data about any malicious software or other threats flagged by the Software, data about your license, data about what version of the Software you are using and what operating conditions it runs under and data concerning your geographic location."
(Emphasis added.) So the developer admits to tracking your location, as well as other unspecified data, and gives itself the legal right to collect any data it chooses. How it uses that right, you don't know. By running the software, you accept these terms.
The question then is: as a security-conscious computer user, do you want to take such risks when there is no offsetting benefit?
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Aug 27, 2015 7:50 AM in response to alexx1823by Csound1,Please bear in mind that opinions are expressed here regularly but there is no way to evaluate them. Lincs opinion is his own, it lacks wide support, it his just his. And he is just another anonymous internet stranger, same as the rest of us,
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Aug 27, 2015 7:53 AM in response to Linc Davisby WZZZ,Under no circumstances should you ever allow anti-virus software to delete something for you.
Why is that? What specific evidence do you have the Malwarebytes for Mac is harmful?
These are generalities. Regarding the "malwarebytes" product in particular, you may be told that there are no reports that is has caused damage. In fact, I know of two such reports: one by ASC user Big Kev55 in this thread, and one by LizardMBP in this thread. Read those reports and draw your own conclusions. There are also many reports that the Windows version of the product has deleted essential Windows system files; see, for example, this thread on the developer's own support forum.
Whether the software damages the system or not, it takes full adminstrative control and connects to a server controlled by the developer. The developer's privacy policy reads in part as follows:
"Without limiting the Privacy Policy, you agree that Malwarebytes may track certain data it obtains from your Computer including data about any malicious software or other threats flagged by the Software, data about your license, data about what version of the Software you are using and what operating conditions it runs under and data concerning your geographic location."
(Emphasis added.) So the developer admits to tracking your location, as well as other unspecified data, and gives itself the legal right to collect any data it chooses. How it uses that right, you don't know. By running the software, you accept these terms.
thomas_r. the developer, already replied to that. That is a gross exaggeration. Besides that, it is only for the agreement for the Windows side of Malwarebytes; it doesn't apply to his program.\
You should stop posting those links as "evidence"; they have already been thoroughly debunked.
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Aug 27, 2015 7:52 AM in response to Linc Davisby Lexiepex,Under no circumstances should you ever allow anti-virus software to delete something for you
We are not talking about anti-virus apps here. Your message is beside the point.
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Aug 27, 2015 7:54 AM in response to WZZZby Csound1,WZZZ wrote:
Under no circumstances should you ever allow anti-virus software to delete something for you.
Why is that? What specific evidence do you have the Malwarebytes for Mac is harmful?
These are generalities. Regarding the "malwarebytes" product in particular, you may be told that there are no reports that is has caused damage. In fact, I know of two such reports: one by ASC user Big Kev55 in this thread, and one by LizardMBP in this thread. Read those reports and draw your own conclusions. There are also many reports that the Windows version of the product has deleted essential Windows system files; see, for example, this thread on the developer's own support forum.
Whether the software damages the system or not, it takes full adminstrative control and connects to a server controlled by the developer. The developer's privacy policy reads in part as follows:
"Without limiting the Privacy Policy, you agree that Malwarebytes may track certain data it obtains from your Computer including data about any malicious software or other threats flagged by the Software, data about your license, data about what version of the Software you are using and what operating conditions it runs under and data concerning your geographic location."
(Emphasis added.) So the developer admits to tracking your location, as well as other unspecified data, and gives itself the legal right to collect any data it chooses. How it uses that right, you don't know. By running the software, you accept these terms.
That is a gross exaggeration.
That is SOP.
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Aug 27, 2015 7:56 AM in response to Linc Davisby OGELTHORPE,Linc Davis wrote:
Under no circumstances should you ever allow anti-virus software to delete something for you.
I have already covered the error that you make with statement. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac is not anti-virus software. If you feel otherwise, please present you reasoning.
The only tools that anyone needs to detect and remove adware are the Finder and a web browser, both of which you already have. That's not just my opinion; it's the official position of Apple Support, as you can see by following the links below.
Can you point to any specific document from Apple that actually states what their 'official position' in the use of third party applications? Until you do, I must reject this premise as having no factual basis but merely an opinion on your part.
Apple doesn't endorse any third-party "anti-virus" or "anti-malware" product. Here and here are its general statements about malware protection, and here are its instructions for removing the most common types of ad-injection malware.
What you omit failing to mention is that Apple does NOT discourage the use of third party applications for solving various problems and it never has. The reader should understand that there can be and often are better and simpler alternatives to problem solving than just what is available from Apple.
An Apple employee who recommends such a product is speaking only for himself or herself, not for the company. See this thread for an example of what the results can be.
Note that the discussion that you are alluding to is in regards to Sophos, not Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac. Sophos is an AV application, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac is not. Your thinking seems confused here.
You apparently do not understand how large businesses are organized and run. In the case of Apple, telephone support personnel and genius bar technicians are trained by Apple on how to deal with the Apple consumer community. They are coached what to say, how to say it and what to avoid saying, all of which is common to a multitude of large corporations. They do this because all of these people DO speak for Apple when they are engaged with customers. Sadly this statement of yours is a gross error.
The fact is that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac has been recommended by Apple telephone support personnel and genius bar technicians because it is fast, effective and comprehensive and BETTER than the Apple alternative. No where have you ever shown that that there are risks associated with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac that can damage your MBP. If you have actual proof to the contrary, please present it.
In regards to the balance of your post, I offer this from the author of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac made in a prior discussion:
I suggest that you rewrite this article that you have posted on many occasions correcting the numerous errors. I do not feel that it reflects well on your credibility.
Ciao
