Malware Removal

First uninstall CMM by following the developer's instructions. CMM is almost considered a form of malware by many contributors on these Apple forums. Cleaning apps, anti-virus apps, and third party security software is not needed on a Mac and usually causes more problems than they solve plus they impact system performance. The Apple forums contain thousands of posts where these types of apps are the source of computer issues and CMM is one of the most notorious.

If you feel you have malware installed on the Mac, then run MalwareBytes to remove the malware. This is the only app which will work well on a Mac. Even then there is no need to keep the app installed after the malware has been removed. This app is free to use (the paid version only allows it to run in the background to constantly scan your Mac which is not necessary as I mentioned earlier).

If your Mac is having issues, then you can look for other possible software issues by running EtreCheck. If you give EtreCheck "Full Disk Access" the summary of recent logs will also be included in the report which may contain additional clues. Post the EtreCheck report here using the "Additional Text" icon which looks like a piece of paper so other experienced contributors can analyze the EtreCheck report for you. EtreCheck is a stand alone app so it can easily be removed when you are finished troubleshooting your Mac.

You can also run the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected.

Some problems can also be caused by external devices, so you may want to disconnect all external devices when troubleshooting any issues with your Mac.

You can try booting into Safe Mode. However, if the laptop froze during the memory test it either means the laptop lost the network connection, or the laptop has a hardware issue that is causing the laptop to freeze. Try running the Apple Diagnostics again to see what happens.

You can also try booting into Internet Recovery Mode (Command + Option + R) to try to run Disk Utility First Aid in the hidden Container. Within Disk Utility you may need to click "View" and select "Show All Devices" so that the hidden Container appears on the left pane of Disk Utility. Even if First Aid says everything is "Ok" click "Show Details" and manually scroll back through the report to see if there are any unfixed errors listed. If there are any unfixed errors listed, then you will need to erase the whole physical drive before restoring from a backup or clone. If the physical SSD does not appear on the left pane of Disk Utility, then it means the SSD has most likely failed, or you are booting a macOS 10.12 or earlier installer and have a third party SSD installed. Sometimes Internet Recovery Mode will boot into the OS which originally shipped with the computer and won't be able to repair the newer APFS file system or recognize a third party SSD.

If you are unable to boot into Safe Mode and you are unable to finish booting the diagnostics, then you should have Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider examine the computer to provide you with a repair estimate.

cltaylor12 wrote:

The Apple Diagnostics stalled while running through memory so I had to exit the program. How do I run any of the malware removal programs if I can not boot to the disc drive?

Apple Diagnostics thumps on memory so hard, there are no extra cycles left to update the displays, so it appears to stall when it may not have stalled.

Let it run for a quarter hour. Only after that amount of time can you reliably say it has stalled.

PS: The main reason I shut it down is there was no visual indication it was still running and the fan was running heavy (machine was heating up). Any suggestions on how to run malware when one can not boot but suspects perhaps a browser bug? Maybe a .dmg from a USB drive?

The Apple Diagnostics stalled while running through memory so I had to exit the program. How do I run any of the malware removal programs if I can not boot to the disc drive?

@Grant, good catch!

Thank you.

Not being able to boot is likely not connected to a browser problem.

Time to take HWTech's advice and have Apple evaluate it for possible repair.