How to get rid of 'Will damage your computer' pop up on Mac?

It stands to reason if you are not using Pulse Secure or if it is no longer working, you should uninstall it for no other reason its presence will only complicate matters. Same goes for Airwatch (which may have been installed in conjunction with it) Citrix, Kinoni Epocam or anything else you are not certain about. When uninstalling things always research the developer's legitimately obtained uninstallation instructions, or contact the developer on your own. Never resort to using some generic "app zapper" and never Google for a solution. That's how people dig themselves into a bigger hole.

I am reasonably certain the one Apple file in the second screenshot is no longer needed either. Its presence does not cause any trouble, but in my opinion if something is not needed, you might as well get rid of it.

The point is that everything in those folders will be there only if you want it to be there and are certain you need those files for the software you require. Nothing gets installed in them without your consent, and no legitimate product will hide behind some obscure name. If you want to continue troubleshooting along those lines, repeat the above instructions — start in Safe Mode (which renders those non-Apple system modifications inactive so that you can delete the files), drag anything suspicious out of those folders and into the Trash, or even your Desktop, restart normally, and evaluate.

If you still encounter that unwanted dialog the next step would be to download and run EtreCheck. For instructions, How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting Large Amounts of Text, i.e. an Etrecheck Report - Apple Community.

p.s. I thought I have deleted the suspected file from finder already.

You almost certainly did, but there are other files causing the dialog to appear. None of them will bear the name of the one in the dialog you encountered.

Please read Removing "Search Marquis" / "Search Baron" / etc on your own - Apple Community, and post the three screenshots it describes in a reply to this Discussion.

The next step is to download and run EtreCheck, followed by posting its report in a reply to this Discussion. Instructions: How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting Large Amounts of Text, i.e. an Etrecheck Report - Apple Community. As its author states, "Be sure to give it Full Disk access before running."

And run it after rebooting normally — not "Safe Mode".

You're using a camera cover on that Mac? Using a camera cover, palm rest, or keyboard cover on a Mac notebook - Apple Support

Please read these updated instructions: About those "<app> will damage your computer" messages - Apple Community. Post the three screenshots described in it.

Please read these updated instructions: About those "<app> will damage your computer" messages - Apple Community. Post the three screenshots described in it.

doob60 it is difficult to work with incomplete / truncated file names, but with the understanding I will be working with incomplete information you may proceed as below.

Since this Discussion was posted last November, I created the following User Tip on the subject: About those "<app> will damage your computer" messages - Apple Community. At your option you may wish to review that more recent document to be sure you capture all relevant information.

First, start your Mac in "Safe Mode": How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support. Starting in Safe Mode takes longer than usual so let it finish.

While in that mode, drag all the files in those three folders to the Trash except those with the following in their names:

Adobe

Google

Oracle

Then, restart your Mac normally and confirm the alert messages cease to appear.

That is built in security. If you don't download unsafe stuff from questionable sites, you won't get the popup.

If you are running 10.13 (High Sierra), go to System Preferences > SEcurity & Privacy > and you have two choices: either only download from app store or from app store and identified developers. Neither one of those will result in the popup. You should make sure that one of those is checked. The only time you will get the popup is if you are trying to download things that may not be safe.

You should provide the screen shots in list mode by changing the View option on the top of each file locations. When you are in icon mode, some files may be off the screen.

If you recently deleted files from those locations and did not do it in Safe Mode, then restart now in Safe Mode and see if any additional files show up at those locations.

The inability to access the App Store or use the Google Chrome browser may be a separate problem I'll address later, but let's get rid of some obviously extraneous files first.

First, start your Mac in "Safe Mode": How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support. Starting in Safe Mode takes longer than usual so let it finish.

While in that mode, drag all the files in those three folders to the Trash except those with the following in their names:

Apple

Google

Microsoft

Zoom

Those are ok. Leave them in place. When you are finished those few are the only files that should remain in those folders.

Then, restart your Mac normally, and test.

• Specifically for Google Chrome: If you use it, you will also need to reset the Chrome product to its default settings. To learn how to do that read https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/3296214?hl=en
• As for the App Store, read If you see "Cannot connect" - Apple Support. That document provides little more than cursory information ("Make sure that your device is connected to the internet" — really?) Removing the files described above may have already fixed the problem, but if they persist please write back for additional help. For example, the presence of a proxy server in Network Settings may be a factor.

First, start your Mac in "Safe Mode": How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support. Starting in Safe Mode takes longer than usual so let it finish.

While in that mode, drag all the files in those three folders to the Trash except those with the following in their names:

Apple

ClamXAV

Docker

Google

Microsoft

OpenVPN (but please read the Note later)

Oracle

Quickbooks

Teamviewer

Zoom

When you are finished those few are the only files that will remain in those folders.

Then, restart your Mac normally, and test.

Note: Regarding OpenVPN, I recommend you don't use such things, but at least familiarize yourself with what they claim vs. what they can actually accomplish.

You can see for yourself that neither Avast nor ClamXAV did anything to prevent you from installing malware. I recommend you uninstall both of them. In the event you thought those products were free, think again.

All Mac "anti-virus" products are categorically useless but "Avast" deserves special recognition as a particularly bad actor:

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/06/ftc-finalizes-order-avast-banning-it-selling-or-licensing-web-browsing-data-advertising-requiring-it

Rule 1 of Macs is don't install junk.

The same can be said for Google. If you want to install Google on your Mac, just be aware it comes at a price as well — not only in terms of the personal information they constantly harvest and sell, but from the performance degradation its constantly running "helpers" are inflicting on your Mac. Google won't care if it causes a Mac to perform poorly, they are just interested in selling you, as their product. What's it like to be sold?

By any chance is that Mac "managed" through MDM, possibly by an employer, educational institution, or similar entity?

I'll provide instructions presently, but let me know in case I need to revise them.

First, start your Mac in "Safe Mode": How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support. Starting in Safe Mode takes longer than usual so let it finish.

While in that mode, drag the following files to the Trash:

Then, restart your Mac normally and confirm the alert messages cease to appear. If they persist — and pending an answer regarding that Mac's MDM status — please write back and provide brand new screenshots showing the contents of those three folders.

Note: "Windscribe" appears to offer VPN services. If that is a reason you are using it, you might want to read Don't use VPN services. It provides a brief description of what such things are, what they can and cannot do, and the potential privacy implications of using them — subjects that often contradict commonly held beliefs.

This is not to be confused with VMWare which is completely appropriate.

John, I followed your instructions in "About those '<app>' will destroy your computer messages" article. Attached are the screenshots of the three folders. In the LaunchDaemons folder I see two files with "LookupDisplay" in their names. Can't tell if anything else is suspicious. Could you please advise? Thank you, Bob

Not MDM, but I have used Pulse Secure and Imprivata to access files through the hospital I work for—though it's not longer working on this Mac and I don't know why. (I also have a Dell work laptop, and I can also get access on my personal Mac desktop, so I just gave up on using my MacBook for this access.) The hospital does also use MDM on site, but I haven't been able to access that either with the MacBook.

I was in Nigeria and tried Windscribe, but my connection keep flickering so I gave up on it. I did also download ProtonVPN, which worked a bit, but I haven't used it while home. I"ll dump the Windscribe. Do you see anything for ProtonVPN, and do you recommend I dump that also?

I'll try deleting all the files you outlined. Thanks.

I did what you suggested: restarting in safe mode and then deleting the files you outlined in red. This did not get rid of the "LookupDisplay" alert, but the MacBook—and particularly Safari—are significantly snappier.

I'm attaching new screenshots of those three folders.