Help. just got the weirdest alert from mozilla firefox which started a security scan on my computer

Hi, laverne's mom -

Is it possible you had a window (tab) open to another site in the background? If so, that could have been a popup from that other site. Popups promoting useless (and sometimes dangerous) bogus software have been around for a few years. Almost invariably they are for Windows stuff; they may be claiming to be scanning files, but it's BS. All you need do is kill the window.

I got one the other day (when I was at some other site, can't remember which now), which auto-downloaded something when I clicked the closebox for the window. The 'something' was a PC .exe file; since such can't run in a Mac OS directly, it just sat in my download folder without doing anything until I discarded it.

Hi there

Usually you can safely ignore these 'alerts'. They are made to scare people into downloading/purchasing their software, that will supposedly 'clean' your computer of all these 'errors' etc.

As you said, it was indicating something to do with Windows, however you have a Mac, so there is one reason right there to ignore it.

The chances of getting a virus on a Mac are extremely low, as the OS is built on UNIX - very robust.

In the future though, you could perhaps post your question under Desktops -> iMac, or Mac OS X -> Snow Leopard.

🙂

You can get these "offers" with most browsers - I've gotten them with Safari; my personal preference is to use Firefox, so don't let this occurrence stop you from using the browser you prefer. Just make sure you don't click on anything on that page - if necessary, move your cursor around on the outside and hit the minimize button. If it won't close (as it did in my case once), just quit Firefox and restart it.

Also, since you use Firefox, after something like that, I prefer to "clear" the air so to speak = under Tools in the menu bar, I hit clear recent history. The resulting window will give you different options (my preference is to clear the history and cache; I only clear cookies manually).

laverne's mom wrote:

It is amazing though how those "offers" can make even a usually, okay sometimes, reasonable person scared. They are so ominous. I can understand why people who aren't familiar or aware of these things get hooked into thinking they have a problem. Thank goodness for forums like this which provide answers and sanity.

It's not just ads and promos on the web. You can see similar things on TV, in magazines and newspapers, etc. In general, pause and reflect, examine the offer - if the tone of a commercial or ad is designed to instill fear, there's almost certainly something wrong with it. Legitimate ones are wrapped around information, and promote concern and perhaps caution - but not fear.

No, I haven't; I tend to wait until the smoke has cleared so to speak; also, since the current version is working very well, I see no reason to jump to another one. But that is just my own opinion.

The chances of getting a virus on a Mac are extremely low, as the OS is built on UNIX - very robust.

I have been using Macs since 1984.

I've worked at companies with 50+ Macs.

I've used every Mac OS From 1.1 to 10.6.7

I have never seen a Mac virus or known anyone that has.

You're welcome and I'm sorry about your withdrawal symptoms - I'm sure they'll lessen with time 😀

Now, if it'll make you feel better, you can check out this site:

https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

Hopefully the link will work (it may not because as soon as I clicked on it, it showed with my IP address) - in any case, if it doesn't, google ShieldsUp. Check out all the different checks and explanations.

I'm on version 4.0 of FF and it's working fine but I also got the same virus check as you when I tried to find out more about the painting by following the link.

For Firefox, consider using the Add-on NoScript. There are a number of browser based threats (not viruses) which depend on using the weaknesses inherent in JavaScript, including Flash. NoScript can defend against those and block Flash content with a placeholder (there is ClicktoFlash for Safari.) It takes a bit of getting used to, but it's worth it. I don't use any other browser, including Safari, since there is nothing like NoScript available. I wouldn't go around on the net without it. (Even my wife, who hated NoScript at first, has gotten used to it. Or, at least, rarely complains now.) In addition, I think the developer team for Firefox, Mozilla, is more vigilant about getting out security patches quickly than Apple is for Safari. The new Firefox 4 is quite fast.

There is also the Add-on WOT. It alerts you to various safety threats by placing a small icon in the Firefox menubar and next to the URLs that appear in any list of searches. Here, you can see everything coming up for WOT appears with a green, safe, icon. Sites with poor reputations will appear with an orange or red icon.

In Firefox, go to Preferences>Content and select Block pop-up windows. Not exactly malware, but close, go to Privacy and make sure Accept third-party cookies is unchecked. This will help prevent tracking. (Other Add-ons to conside for this purpose: Beef Taco (Targeted Advertising Cookie Opt-out) and Ghostery.

I can't remember the last time I saw a pop-up or one of those scareware messages.