Lately I've had some programs show up on my iMac that I had not seen in my applications folder before. Similar Photo Cleaner, Auto fixer, Advanced mac cleaner are a few that come to mind. Are any of these part of the OS that I hadn't been aware of, or are they ad/malware, viruses or other malicious code? Is it better to close and ignore, or should I invest in a security program to protect from and/or delete them from my drives?
iMac 21.5", 10.13
Similar Photo Cleaner is indeed malware; however there is a legitimate (and useful) app available in the App Store called Similar Photos Cleaner. Note the one letter difference in names. Aside from that difference, the opening window of the fake app looks identical to the legitimate one.
An internet search for Similar Photo Cleaner will turn up many instructions for removal of the malware, along with descriptions of its malware behavior.
Adding to the confusion, a Malwarebytes scan flags both of these apps as malware even though Similar Photos Cleaner is a legitimate app. I downloaded it from the App Store several weeks ago and have used it to clean up my Photos Libraries. It works fine and displays none of the malware behavior described for the fake Similar Photo Cleaner. Also, it is hard to imagine a malicious app getting into the App Store and remaining there undetected for many months.
One additional note: Using a third-party app to remove duplicate photos may damage the Photos library if it goes into the database and starts deleting or altering items. However, Similar Photos Cleaner does not do this. It simply tags the duplicates and moves them into a “Duplicate Results” album in Photos. You then open the Photos Library and delete them using Photos normal method. I think this should be perfectly safe.
Similar Photo Cleaner is indeed malware; however there is a legitimate (and useful) app available in the App Store called Similar Photos Cleaner. Note the one letter difference in names. Aside from that difference, the opening window of the fake app looks identical to the legitimate one.
An internet search for Similar Photo Cleaner will turn up many instructions for removal of the malware, along with descriptions of its malware behavior.
Adding to the confusion, a Malwarebytes scan flags both of these apps as malware even though Similar Photos Cleaner is a legitimate app. I downloaded it from the App Store several weeks ago and have used it to clean up my Photos Libraries. It works fine and displays none of the malware behavior described for the fake Similar Photo Cleaner. Also, it is hard to imagine a malicious app getting into the App Store and remaining there undetected for many months.
One additional note: Using a third-party app to remove duplicate photos may damage the Photos library if it goes into the database and starts deleting or altering items. However, Similar Photos Cleaner does not do this. It simply tags the duplicates and moves them into a “Duplicate Results” album in Photos. You then open the Photos Library and delete them using Photos normal method. I think this should be perfectly safe.
Those all sound like Malware, Advanced mac cleaner is well known...
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7142076
EtreCheck is a simple little app to display the important details of your system configuration and allow you to copy that information to the Clipboard. It is meant to be used with Apple Support Communities to help people help you with your Mac.
http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck
You can remove "Similar Photo Cleaner" by following the instructions on this page: remove similar photo cleaner
There is no need to install anything that would risk removing legitimate software.
is similar photo cleaner legit?
