Notifications that my Mac is infected

These are probably notifications coming from Safari.

To get rid of them, open Safari, click Safari > Settings in the menu bar, click the Websites tab and then click Notifications in the sidebar. In the list on the right, delete the sites that send you unwanted notifications.

It's new, but no more than a variation on "Beware spontaneously appearing, unsolicited popups demanding immediate action."

Apple's documentation regarding website "popups" doesn't help (Block pop-up ads and windows in Safari - Apple Support) because a Notification is neither one of them. Besides, people generally don't make a distinction between a popup ad and an equally annoying Notification.

People started to complain about "popups" shortly after website notifications became part of the W3 standard. Since they are not popups in the traditional sense it resulted in lots of confusion all around, even among experienced helpers.

I added the relevant passage to Effective defenses a while ago but it's buried among all the other annoyances:

• The same goes for website Notifications — attention-getting banners that appear at the top right corner of your screen. Safari gives you a great degree of control over them: Customize website notifications in Safari on Mac. Most of those Notifications are simply annoying, but some are intended to frighten and deceive you into installing something nefarious.

Anyway please pass along that information if you suspect it may be applicable to someone's concern. So much easier than typing the same thing over and over again.

cstarruby wrote:

I have downloaded and run Malwarebytes, CleanMyMac, and Antivirus One and all have come back clean.

You can delete all of those. The only trustworthy one is Malwarebytes but, just download the free version when you need it. CleanMyMac may be difficult to remove as it's pretty much malware itself. There should be instructions on the developer's website.

See also:

Effective defenses against malware and ot… - Apple Community

Please read Stop unwanted Notifications - Apple Community. It describes those Notifications, what caused them, and how to put a stop to them forever.

I have downloaded and run Malwarebytes, CleanMyMac, and Antivirus One and all have come back clean.

Get rid of all those things. They won't help, and will cause additional, unrelated problems. Notifications are not malware.

Follow their respective uninstallation instructions.

cstarruby wrote:

I am getting repeated notifications that claim that my system is infected. They are obviously a scam but they are made to look as though they are a system notification (see attached screenshot).

According to other threads here, scammers have been copying real system icons – and using them as custom icons in Web site notifications.

Is that a new user tip, John? Or have I just missed it? Regardless, thanks for another really useful User Tip.

Thank you for your continued efforts! I just used this in another post.

😊