Mac Scan

Question

Level 1

30 points

Mac Scan

I just got information about MacScan suddenly while on Safari. It had a demo and I tried it and it said I had 3 spyware hits and several "Bad cookies" I could "clear". It offers this for $29.95 after a trial period.
Do Mac owners have to be concerned with this kind of "Scan" to clear our systems of hidden bits that can be placed in our systems and feed our information out to who knows who? Or arer Security updates I always download, removing cookies manually and resetting Safari after each use, enough to keep our systems free of spyware and bad cookies?
I was told by the Mac Store when I purchased and again when I upgraded my systems last year, that Macs don't get virus or spyware problems?
Now I am confused. It even occurred to me it might be a fake company, uploading my information as I tried the demo scan? But I did find it later under Apple Products.'

E Mac, Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Posted on Oct 10, 2008 8:14 AM

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Answer 1

nerowolfe

Level 6

13,090 points

Oct 10, 2008 9:18 AM in response to Sue Emerich

Sue Emerich wrote:
I just got information about MacScan suddenly while on Safari.

You have been hoaxed. You were at a website that has malicious code. Be careful where you point your browser.

It had a demo and I tried it and it said I had 3 spyware hits and several "Bad cookies" I could "clear". It offers this for $29.95 after a trial period.

Again you were hoaxed and may have malware or a virus on your system.

Do Mac owners have to be concerned with this kind of "Scan" to clear our systems of hidden bits that can be placed in our systems and feed our information out to who knows who? Or arer Security updates I always download, removing cookies manually and resetting Safari after each use, enough to keep our systems free of spyware and bad cookies?

The infections you may have downloaded are harmless on a Mac, but you should find them and get rid of them. They take up space, but there are a few real ones that, as you did, only get into the system because you ask them to do so.

I was told by the Mac Store when I purchased and again when I upgraded my systems last year,
that Macs don't get virus or spyware problems?
Now I am confused. It even occurred to me it might be a fake company, uploading my
information as I tried the demo scan? But I did find it later under Apple Products.'

They most likely "spoofed" the name of a real product.
Again, when you visit strange websites you can pick up strange things. Be careful where you go.

Message was edited by: nerowolfe

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Answer 2

V.K.

Level 9

56,192 points

Oct 10, 2008 9:30 AM in response to Sue Emerich

don't EVER believe popups like that. they are all malware themselves. don't believe anything that offers to scan your drive for viruses and such. and don't visit websites that spring those popups. there are no mac viruses. there are legitimate mac antivirus programs but they wouldn't advertize themselves that way. and as i said they are not needed anyway. in general NEVER believe or click on any popups offering to buy you anything, telling you anything about your computer etc. This applies to windows too. you absolutely can not trust this stuff. and in may cases those things are malware themselves.

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Answer 3

Sue Emerich Author

Level 1

30 points

Oct 10, 2008 10:42 AM in response to Sue Emerich

Mac Scan 2.6 is listed under the Mac Products on the Apple Official page where I log in for this discussion, so I didn't think I was being hoaxed, after I checked it out. However, I wondered if I NEEDED it along with all our Security updates, removing cookies, ec.?

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Answer 4

jkt13

Level 1

10 points

Oct 10, 2008 12:41 PM in response to Sue Emerich

At best the popup add was unethical, oh right its advertizing so its ok… yeah right! (as ypu may notice i take a very dim view of this whole category FUD advertizing). Macscan is a real app, whether it is worth buying or of any use is another question.

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Answer 5

nerowolfe

Level 6

13,090 points

Oct 10, 2008 12:43 PM in response to Sue Emerich

Sue Emerich wrote:
Mac Scan 2.6 is listed under the Mac Products on the Apple Official page where I log in for this discussion, so I didn't think I was being hoaxed, after I checked it out.

As I wrote, many of these malware websites that use popups "Spoof" the names of real software, just as hackers sometimes even "Spoof" the website of a bank to do bad stuff. Anyone can write an add that says it's Mac Scan, but if it just popped up on it's own, my guess is it was a spoof, but I have been known to be human 🙂

However, I wondered if I NEEDED it along with all our Security updates, removing cookies, ec.?

Macs, at this moment, do not need any AV or other such 3rd party security apps. The time will come when they will, but that time is not now.

For those who understand the workings of the "hosts" file, that is the place to block all these websites that cause trouble and add malevolent cookies, etc. It also blocks most of the embedded ads in a webpage and it's easy to add new sites to be blocked as they come online.
Familiarity with the terminal is a prerequisite.

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