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Oct 27, 2015 8:47 AM in response to David Cunby etresoft,Hello David,
This thread is over a year and half old. Please don't resurrect old threads like this. I can guarantee that no good will come of it.
Also, I'm afraid you have been misinformed on a few points. If it were possible to just practice "safe browsing" then there wouldn't have been a Windows malware epidemic to begin with. At this point, it is pretty clear that no only were Windows users blameless, they were correct when they told us that the Mac's immunity was largely due to lack of interest from malware authors. As the Mac is slowing getting more popular and Windows anti-malware more effective, adware and malware developers are taking more interest in the Mac.
Specifically, it is not possible to "be careful" about what you download. E-mail attachment get downloaded automatically. Malicious web sites can automatically download files to your computer. Sometimes Gatekeeper will stop malware, but not always. Many people have turned Gatekeeper off altogether. Many people simply don't understand how it all works.
Also, most bad actors are not "zero day". The vast majority are established adware and malware.
The key point is that it isn't fair to just tell people to be more tech-savvy and put the blame, and responsibility, on them. If someone doesn't even know about scamware, adware, or malware, they are probably not going to have the technical ability to safely dig through hidden system directories and manually delete these files. Most people are unable to distinguish legitimate software from malware. Even if they do have good technical ability, maybe they bought a Mac because they simply don't like having to dig around in hidden directories to fix their computer.
When you give advice here on Apple Support Communities, it is important to keep your audience in mind. There are 3rd party tools that are easy-to-use, reliable, and effective. I like to give cooking as a good example. I know there are many gourmet cooks. I know there are complicated recipes posted online. I also know I have neither the skill, the time, nor the interest in them. I'm hungry and I just want to make dinner. Give me an easy recipe and don't scoff at me for not being Julia Child or Jamie Oliver.
You don't want to just start re-pasting random content you find on the internet. You may not know when that information was posted or under what context. For all you know, you could be wading into some petty online competition between people whose motives might not be sincere.
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Oct 27, 2015 9:44 AM in response to etresoftby David Cun,I stand admonished. However, I didn’t “resurrect” anything. I was browsing “OS X Mavericks” and saw the post listed. My main thrust was that Link’s advice and explanation is pretty thorough. I just added my experience and didn’t think I was being “technical” in the least. How technical is it to say beware of popups that say “click here” to fix your slow computer? How technical is it to say check your apps and utilities for stuff you don’t recognize? Is it too technical to mention the OS X popup asking if you're sure you want to open an app? Then you go on to bring up "the Windows malware epidemic", which is really beside the point.
Not sure where I pasted anything.
You do make some valid points and I appreciate that. However, you seem to be one of the very few who advocate using antivirus software on a Mac. And, you didn’t answer Aidan’s question; which I now see is an older thread and one which the original author hasn’t even responded himself. Therefore, I stand admonished.
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Oct 27, 2015 11:09 AM in response to David Cunby etresoft,Hello again David,
If you look at the first post, it shows a date of Apr 13, 2014. I see now that there was a post by Miracles46 on Oct 26, 2015. So, it wasn't you who resurrected it. Your post was just the one that showed up at the bottom. Generally, it is better to let sleeping threads stay that way. If you want to contribute, I suggest advising Miracles46 to start his or her own thread.
If you want to wade in on the topic of malware or adware, there are plenty of recent threads to choose from. You will probably see pretty quickly what I was talking about. It is a very touchy subject right now, with lots of misinformation flying around. Something as simple as "checking your apps and utilities" can be very difficult. Adware and malware really doesn't want to be found. Most people can't recognize it or tell it apart from legitimate software. The Windows malware epidemic is most certainly not beside the point. We Mac users are just now getting a taste of it. Our response (including Apple users and Apple itself) is quite pathetic.
And finally, I am not advocating for the use of antivirus software. I am advocating for an open mind on the topic. There is some software, targeting mainly towards adware, that is very easy to use and effective. I'm not about to suggest running some corporate AV software 24x7 that destabilizes your Mac so it can scan for Windows viruses. But if there is a tool that will safely and easily remove any Mac adware or malware that might be installed (and there is), then I would recommend that most users use that tool instead of attempting it themselves. Next year, or in six months, I might recommend something else. This topic is changing too quickly to rely on last year's advice.
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Jan 11, 2016 2:06 PM in response to aidan_s_by joyrly,I got a pop up in a separate browser saying
A website you have visited today has infected your mac with a virus. A full system scan is now required to find and remove harmful files or applications from your device'.
It then had a 'Scan Now' button.
The alert popped up in a separate page in my Safari browser. I didn't click the button as this was suspicious to me and after doing some googling I found this was the correct thing to do.
Additionally my youtube and other videos had strange audio. It was as if you could only hear the base and not the main sound. For example I was trying to listen to a podcast and I could hear the music but not the people speaking. I couldn't find other web users with that problem as well.
I also googled the address of the so called virus alert. It was from a website ‘macsytemsaver.***'. The description for the website was very obscure so I didnt click it and I couldn't find anybody talking about it from a google search.
I am now worried that my computer has a virus. I am about to download Sophos for Mac Home Edition to run a check but before I do this I was hoping somebody might be familiar with this 'macsystemsaver.com'?
I hope someone can help me
A quietly freaking out mac-user
P.S. I have a OS X Macbook Version 10.9.3
<Link Edited by Host>
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Jan 11, 2016 2:19 PM in response to joyrlyby MadMacs0,This is a very old thread and it's never a good idea to post to those. Nobody new will see it and most of us that contributed previously have stopped monitoring it.
This is just a well known Tech Support Scam. There is nothing on your computer, so just ignore it and have a good day. Whatever you do, don't call the number and don't give anybody remote access to your computer. They just want your credit card number to fix a nonexistent problem. There is no way for anybody to scan your computer from the internet without your knowledge.
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Jan 11, 2016 2:27 PM in response to joyrlyby John Galt,That's a scam. Please read Phony "tech support" / "ransomware" popups and web pages. Do not react to it by downloading anything regardless of the source or apparent popularity. To do so would be an unjustified response that is likely to lead to other, unrelated problems.
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Jan 23, 2016 10:43 PM in response to Ric Donatoby riospark,where can i find these programs to check for viruses?
i searched clamX on app store but it wasnt available
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Apr 7, 2016 2:52 AM in response to Linc Davisby brunofromwindhoek,Hi Linc, sorry to bother you, but I think you can help me in understanding if I have to be worried about my mac being affected by a phishing virus or not. Today I have, without reading properly the mail received, tried to open a webpage which I later discovered hosting phishing virus, however the mac did not really managed to open it because I got a message saying that mac did not supported a windows application so it instead of opening it save it as a zip file in the download directory. It was when I went to the other pc which I discovered that the webpage was a dangerous one because the antivirus informed me. Now my question is, is the mac infected or not?
Thanks a lot for the help you can provide
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Apr 7, 2016 5:52 AM in response to brunofromwindhoekby Kurt Lang,No, you are not infected with anything. OS X told you exactly what it meant. The attachment in the .zip file cannot be opened or run on a Mac. Windows only software. Delete and ignore.