Java Cache Virus Identified by Norton Antivirus for Mac - Please Advise

Thank you for your response!

I just downloaded and installed ClamXAV and scanned my Mac with it - it detected no infected files, so I am going to assume that I am in the clear. I went ahead and deleted everything in my Java cache to be on the safe side - unfortunately I didn't do this in safe mode, but nothing strange has happened.

I am using Safari 4.0.5 and, aside from this virus notification when performing the routine virus scan with Norton Antivirus, I hadn't experienced a single problem when browsing the web.

If this was a legitimate virus, are there things I should be on the look out for that would indicate it's still somewhere in my system? Or would deleting those particular files have gotten rid of it?

I would be grateful for any more advice you might have.

Thanks for your reply. I downloaded the demo of MacScan and, after updating it, scanned my entire system - it showed no spyware found, so I guess I'm okay. I plan to buy MacScan and use it instead of Norton, though I've used Norton for almost a year and haven't had any problems with it until this warning.

"Trojan Horse - Virus" was how Norton identified it, so that should have told me something about how reliable it was. That, and the fact that searching for the file name on Symantec's site produced no results.

Thanks again for your help. I don't use Peer2Peer software or download software except for Apple updates, but I had been using Java applications recently to view virtual tours on real estate websites and play the occasional games at legitimate sites. I wonder if perhaps Norton misidentified a legitimate Java application as something bad. I'm hardly a technology expert, so when any anti-virus program tells me there's a problem, I tend to panic.

I've only had my Mac for a year and I'm not nearly as tech-savvy as the others on this board, but I'll tell you the exact steps I took to delete the files Norton identified on my machine.

To delete the file manually I took the following steps: Library>Caches>Java>Cache>Javapi>V1.0>Jar. I just dragged the file from here to my trash can and secure deleted it. There were three files with the same name and I got rid of all three. You can always search for a file by name using Finder>File>Find and go directly to it that way, but I like to get the location and then find it the long way to get a feel for where things are in the system.

By the way, just to be on the safe side I deleted ALL of the files in my Java cache. I haven't noticed any problems when surfing the web.

After I did that, and after reading various threads on the net concerning Java cache files, I took the precaution of deleting temporary Java files through Java Preferences: Finder>Go>Utilities>Java Preferences>Network. Click on "Delete Files". This was probably overkill since I had already manually deleted the files - but, like I said, I'm not that tech-savvy and I just wanted to be sure they were really gone!

I hope this helps you.

Thanks, Bee. It's already done - I've uninstalled Norton. I've learned a valuable lesson I won't soon forget.