User profile for user: _Purrr
_Purrr Author
User level: Level 1
6 points

Virus Notifications

Hey everyone,

I've been having these virus notifications since the 19th February 2023. At first I barely read the notifications, until I decided to look at them and noticed it said I had viruses on my laptop (MacBook Air). Out of panic at the time and not knowing it was a scam, I immediately clicked on the notifications and it lead me to Mictiotom.com and did the "scan" and it said I had I had 5 viruses (Mac/Hoax.Renos/HX, Trojan IRC/Backdor.Sd.FRV, Adware.Mac.Look2me.ab, Trojan.Qoologic - Key Logger & Trojan.Fakealert.356). Apparently my antivirus expired the day before the alerts, and I felt extremely panicked as the only thing I did that day on my laptop was watch youtube, play video games and update geometry dash. After TONS and TONS of researching I found out it was fake, but now I'm worried as when I'm writing this it's 22nd March and I'm STILL getting notifications. Did I get a virus from clicking on the fake alert? I was quite sure I blocked notifications from settings soon after that, but it came back.


For people too lazy to read all that, here's a shorter version

Last month I got fake virus alerts and didn't know it was a scam at the time and clicked the link. I blocked notifications from settings and it stopped for a while, I now get the notifications that I have a virus. Do I have a virus? If not how do I get rid of these fake alerts?


Screenshots from 19 February


Today (22 March)

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 13.2

Posted on Mar 22, 2023 3:20 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: MVegas21
MVegas21
User level: Community Specialist

Posted on Mar 23, 2023 8:49 AM

Hi _Purrr,


Do you recall if the pop-up prompted you to download an app? If so, start by checking for and uninstalling any unrecognized apps with these steps: Uninstall apps on your Mac.


"Use the Finder to delete apps

  1. Switch to the Finder, such as by clicking your desktop or the Finder icon in the Dock.
  2. Select the app that you want to delete.
  3. Most apps are in your Applications folder, which you can open by clicking Applications in the sidebar of any Finder window. Or choose Go > Applications from the menu bar in the Finder.
  4. Use any of these ways to move the app to the Trash:
    • Drag the app to the Trash.
    • Select the app and choose File > Move to Trash from the menu bar.
    • Select the app and press Command-Delete on your keyboard.
  1. If you're asked for a user name and password, enter the name and password of an administrator account on your Mac. This is usually the name and password you use to log in to your Mac.
  2. To delete the app after moving it to the Trash, choose Finder > Empty Trash."


You can manage notifications on your Mac by going to the Apple menu > System Settings, then clicking Notifications in the sidebar as mentioned here: Change Notifications settings on Mac.


Blocking pop-up windows will help with stopping these phishing attempts in the future. Here's how to do that: Block pop-up ads and windows in Safari.


Regards.



View in context

Similar questions

3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: MVegas21
MVegas21
User level: Community Specialist

Mar 23, 2023 8:49 AM in response to _Purrr

Hi _Purrr,


Do you recall if the pop-up prompted you to download an app? If so, start by checking for and uninstalling any unrecognized apps with these steps: Uninstall apps on your Mac.


"Use the Finder to delete apps

  1. Switch to the Finder, such as by clicking your desktop or the Finder icon in the Dock.
  2. Select the app that you want to delete.
  3. Most apps are in your Applications folder, which you can open by clicking Applications in the sidebar of any Finder window. Or choose Go > Applications from the menu bar in the Finder.
  4. Use any of these ways to move the app to the Trash:
    • Drag the app to the Trash.
    • Select the app and choose File > Move to Trash from the menu bar.
    • Select the app and press Command-Delete on your keyboard.
  1. If you're asked for a user name and password, enter the name and password of an administrator account on your Mac. This is usually the name and password you use to log in to your Mac.
  2. To delete the app after moving it to the Trash, choose Finder > Empty Trash."


You can manage notifications on your Mac by going to the Apple menu > System Settings, then clicking Notifications in the sidebar as mentioned here: Change Notifications settings on Mac.


Blocking pop-up windows will help with stopping these phishing attempts in the future. Here's how to do that: Block pop-up ads and windows in Safari.


Regards.



Reply
User profile for user: _Purrr
_Purrr Author
User level: Level 1
6 points

Mar 23, 2023 1:05 PM in response to MVegas21

The issue is I did not download any app the sight prompted, I panicked at the "Attention prompted" screenshot ( I think) and didn't click anything else, if I did I only went to see how much was it, but didn't buy anything. I still get these notifications and it's been quite a while, so I was worried about if it was something to worry about. Is a virus sending me these or are these just annoying notifications I get. I'm unsure if this helps, but I don't think these are safari pop-ups as they aren't on a sight. They were notifications that popped up on my screen like how you get software updates and low battery updates. They also come up when I go to the widgets section (My mac is updated if it affects anything). I stopped notifications from settings again, so it stopped.


Sorry if my grammar's kind of messed up, it's quite late where I am. Thank you so much for the suggestion though!

Reply

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Virus Notifications

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.
Learn more Sign up