2011 iMac 10.13.6 clean up by uninstall and reinstall OS?

NEVER EVER install any antivirus apps on your computer. At best they are worthless and at worst may damage Mac OS. If you want to keep Mac OS safe and secure, simply keep it up-to-date and never install any third party antivirus, cleaning or any other types of "maintenance" apps. You will find most experienced users on these forums agree with this point of view and do not recommend any third party "maintenance" apps.

I would recommend doing the following and then we can look to see if there are any obvious issues with your installation.

Please navigate to the Mac App Store and download the free version of EtreCheck OR please click www.EtreCheck.com where you will find the app. Once you downloaded the free app and created the report please post it as your reply to this message. In order to post it, please use the following link for more detailed instructions on how to correctly include the results: 

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250000211

We can then look for obvious issues that may be causing your problem.

The system is low on RAM due to all the old apps you have installed that are set to launch on startup. Remove the startup items you do not need.

System Preferences - Users & Groups - Selection your user name - Click Login Items tab - Select the items you don't need and click the " - " symbol below to remove them.

Also uninstall all the Intego software and the "helper" software you installed on the 29th.

Get rid of Teamviewer. Never, ever have remote access software installed without a very good reason for it to be there.

Delete anything and everything written by Google. In your case, that would be at least Google Earth and Chrome. They aren't just RAM hogs, they are anything but conscious of your privacy. These two items get loaded and are running from the moment your Mac is turned on to the moment you turn it off. Neither Chrome or Google Earth need to be open for these to be active.

com.google.keystone.agent.plist

com.google.keystone.xpcservice.plist

What do they do? They constantly collect anonymized data of your computer usage and online activity and send it to Google's servers.

Get rid of CCleaner and its Daemon. This is yet another app owned by Avast.

Hello Harry,

Hmm. You might want to download AVG Antivirus to see if you got some bug in your system.

Also, check your login items and Activity monitor to see if your have any unnecessary processes running.

Can you attach a screenshot of the message?

Thanks,

jack

It was patched, but if you go (like me) in search of torrent websites, you can be ABSOLUTLEY (not shouting, just emphasizing) positive of getting infected. I remember force shutting my Mac, going to another user, installing AVG, and getting rid of it.

Its still out there, that's what I'm saying.

I'm not an Apple Developer, but I certainly wouldn't disagree with installing antivirus apps. Got my Mac infected with the Flashback virus a few months ago. Thank god I had AVG. Besides, the thing that "Macs are virus proof" is a well known myth.

You were not infected wi th a virus, it was some other type of malware. That is a fact and you installed the malware. The difference between a virus and other malware is a virus self installs. Other malware needs the user to manually install. This can be easy to do if the user is not vigilant.

As there are ZERO viruses for Mac OS in the wild, your theory of a myth is disproved.

Your Mac most definitely did not get infected with Flashback. That was patched against over three years ago.

AVG is also NOT your friend. Actually as far from that as possible. AVG is owned by Avast. Read this and please tell us again how great AVG is.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qjdkq7/avast-antivirus-sells-user-browsing-data-investigation

What I did mean by virus is malware tbh. So I meant to say that Macs aren't "malware-proof". And it is true I clicked on it - purposefully. Don't ask me why.

Kurt,

Great explanation, thanks!

Really well put! Besides, I get illegally uploaded software mostly for testing purposes, and I only run them in virtual machines.

Thanks for the clarification.

Torrents, P2P's and general file sharing sites are the best way possible to get the absolutely worst malware out there. Such as key loggers, back doors, root kits, ransomware, etc.

That's where criminals put it, on purpose. It's very well known to be the number one way to get your computer infected with the worst malware out there. They load up illegal versions of Photoshop, Mathematica, and other such software with extra installer packages. Once you give your admin credentials to install the cracked/hacked commercial software you think you're getting for free, the malware gets installed with it. The installer doesn't need to ask for your admin password again to install what you weren't expecting.

But yes, if you install torrents (Not all downloads from them are illegal, of course. But most are.), then you easily could have installed Flashback packaged a different way. What's patched against is the original method. That was by visiting an infected site and having Java for the web installed. Your Mac would be immediately infected through the security hole in Java. If you didn't have Java installed, the site would beg you to enter your admin password. Cancel the request, and it couldn't do anything.

Nothing can stop Trojans, other than the user. That's what virtually all Mac malware and adware is. AV software can't stop it since it doesn't know if what you have is malware until after you install it. Only very occasionally will AV software even tell you it found the malware you installed from a Trojan download. Most of the time, it doesn't even do that. I've seen the EtreCheck reports of multiple users here who have up to four different AV titles running at the same time, and their Macs were still loaded with adware and worse.

Can Macs be infected? Sure, it's a computer like any other computer. It's just a lot harder to infect a Mac since there has yet to be an actual virus in the wild (malware that installs and spreads without any interaction by you required). It's all Trojans, which requires the user to do something before any infection can happen.