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this computer will restart in 5 min

I keep getting this message randomly, perhaps once a month or so. Even if I don't click ok or if I do, it shuts down automatically and I cannot stop it. This is very problematic in the age of zoom. I looked for fixes and I cannot find it anywhere. It happens on my iMac and also on my Macbook Air. I have turned off all automatic updates, but it still happens at the worst times. Help! The previous answers were not helpful.


iMac 27″, macOS 10.15

Posted on May 25, 2021 2:14 PM

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Posted on May 26, 2021 3:55 PM

I don't see any of the usual suspects but there are a couple of unneeded items installed. But first there is no reason to ever install or run any 3rd party "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus, VPN or security apps on your Mac.  This user tip describes what you need to know and do in order to protect your Mac: Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community.  


There are no known viruses, i.e. self propagating, for Macs.  There are, however, adware and malware which require the user to install although unwittingly most of the time thru sneaky links, etc.   


Anti Virus developers try to group all types as viruses into their ad campaigns of fear.  They do a poor job of the detecting and isolating the adware and malware.  Since there are no viruses these apps use up a lot of system resources searching for what is non-existent and adversely affect system and app performance.


There is one app, Malwarebytes, which was developed by a long time contributor to these forums and a highly respected member of the computer security community, that is desshoigned solely to seek out adware and known malware and remove it.  The free version is more than adequate for most users.  


Also, unless you're using a true VPN tunnel, such as between you and your employer's or bank's servers, they are useless from a privacy standpoint: Public VPN's are anything but private.  


That being said SentinelOne is unnecessary and should be uninstalled according to the developer's instructions That also goes for Adobe Flash. It's been discontinued by Adobe at the end of last year and there's no legit website that uses it. Sites that profess to update Flash more often than not include adware/malware with the installer.


You also have a Seagate preference pane. Do you have any external Seagate drives that came with that software? It's not needed for managing external hard drives. If the drive(s) is/are used for normal use and storage I recommend uninstalling the Seagate apps and pref pane.



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Question marked as Best reply

May 26, 2021 3:55 PM in response to hoosierbulldog

I don't see any of the usual suspects but there are a couple of unneeded items installed. But first there is no reason to ever install or run any 3rd party "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus, VPN or security apps on your Mac.  This user tip describes what you need to know and do in order to protect your Mac: Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community.  


There are no known viruses, i.e. self propagating, for Macs.  There are, however, adware and malware which require the user to install although unwittingly most of the time thru sneaky links, etc.   


Anti Virus developers try to group all types as viruses into their ad campaigns of fear.  They do a poor job of the detecting and isolating the adware and malware.  Since there are no viruses these apps use up a lot of system resources searching for what is non-existent and adversely affect system and app performance.


There is one app, Malwarebytes, which was developed by a long time contributor to these forums and a highly respected member of the computer security community, that is desshoigned solely to seek out adware and known malware and remove it.  The free version is more than adequate for most users.  


Also, unless you're using a true VPN tunnel, such as between you and your employer's or bank's servers, they are useless from a privacy standpoint: Public VPN's are anything but private.  


That being said SentinelOne is unnecessary and should be uninstalled according to the developer's instructions That also goes for Adobe Flash. It's been discontinued by Adobe at the end of last year and there's no legit website that uses it. Sites that profess to update Flash more often than not include adware/malware with the installer.


You also have a Seagate preference pane. Do you have any external Seagate drives that came with that software? It's not needed for managing external hard drives. If the drive(s) is/are used for normal use and storage I recommend uninstalling the Seagate apps and pref pane.



May 25, 2021 3:35 PM in response to hoosierbulldog

hoosierbulldog wrote:

I keep getting this message randomly, perhaps once a month or so. Even if I don't click ok The previous answers were not helpful.

We're not clairvoyant here so you'll have to enlighten us as to what were not helpful.


Please read the following user tip and restate your question/problem in detail


Writing an Effective Apple Support Communities Question - Apple Community


May 26, 2021 3:47 PM in response to hoosierbulldog

Notes:

  • No Time Machine backup - Time Machine backup not found. You must have a backup!
  • Automatic updates disabled - Automatic updates are disabled. This computer is at risk of malware infection and Security updates disabled - Security updates are disabled. This computer is at risk of malware infection. Please turn this back on!!!
  • Apple security disabled - Apple security software is disabled. This computer is at risk of malware infection. Please turn this back on!!!
  • Configuration profiles found - This computer may have configuration profiles installed. These are sometimes used by adware and malware. This may be malware. Go to System Preferences > Profiles and review them.
  • Clean up - There are orphan files that could be removed. Follow the prompts for clean up.
  • Delete SentinelOne
  • Delete Adobe Flash Player.
  • You have a large number of Internet Plug-Ins.
  • You have a large number of system extensions.


However, this message you see is typically cause by Jamf software and device management. Who manages your device with Jamf?


Cheers,


Jack

May 26, 2021 11:29 AM in response to hoosierbulldog

Download and run Etrecheck. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support  to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.


IMPORTANT:

Before running Etrecheck assign Full Disk Access to Etrecheck in the Etrecheck's Privacy preference pane so that it can get additional information from the Console and log files for the report:


Also click and read the About info to further permit full disk access.



Copy the report



and use the Additional Text button to include the report in your reply.



Then we can examine the report and see if we can determine what might be causing the problem.


May 26, 2021 10:55 AM in response to Old Toad

The pop up window that I loaded above randomly appears. If I click OK, it shuts down in 5 minutes and restarts. It takes a very long time to restart, typically 20+ minutes. If I don't click OK and ignore it, it still shuts down in 5 minutes and restarts, again taking a long time to restart. I have no idea how to make this stop. The prior suggestions from similar type of questions did not apply to my particular situation.


This has happened both on my iMac (Catalina) and my MacbookAir (Catalina).

May 26, 2021 8:37 PM in response to hoosierbulldog

Jack-19 is 100% correct. That is a message generated by JAMF, which is used to remotely manage computers.


https://www.jamf.com/jamf-nation/feature-requests/1905/adjust-user-interaction-restart-message


Do you own these computers? Are they owned and managed by your employer remotely? If not, a remote agent is installed and is controlling your Mac(s). Typically these messages come up when the entity that is remotely managing a computer is pushing out updates that require a restart. Not knowing what your employer has installed as a standard enterprise configuration, it's hard to say what it is doing or why it takes so long to restart but it could include a new "build" of the custom setup, security updates etc. etc.

May 27, 2021 6:41 AM in response to Old Toad

I ran the Malwarebytes and it found a few things and deleted them. The Seagate, SentinalOne, and JAMF are required by our university. We also have the VPN client in order to access the university network from off campus. Our IT says that they use these on nearly 1000 macs on campus and have never had a problem like this reported. I suspect the malware is likely the problem. The only way of knowing is to wait and see if it happens again. Unfortunately, it is so random, I could go for weeks without it happening. So, we will see.


Thanks all for your help.

this computer will restart in 5 min

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