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MacJoseph Author

Level 3

598 points

Heads Up/Warning Mac Defender

Just as a heads up and warning, there hsa been two incidents in the last hour or so where users are being redirected and Mac Defender seems to have downloaded itself claiming a virus has been detected. This is a trojan and should be deleted immediately. If you feel you need protection perhaps installing ClamXavwould be an option. Be careful where your surfing in the Interwebs. Any information you can provide if you encounter this problem would be greatly appreciated, info such as the browser you're using and the website that is redirecting you.

Regards,

Joseph

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.7), 2011 MBP 15" 2.0Ghz 4GB RAM

Posted on Apr 30, 2011 10:24 AM

Top-ranking reply

aatyler

Level 1

5 points

Posted on Apr 30, 2011 11:37 AM

This just happened to us too. What is ClamXav?

View in context

190 replies

Deb145

Level 1

0 points

May 1, 2011 6:15 PM in response to brianfromfremont

Oops-- responded to wrong thread-- was saying thanks to someone else. I'm sorry. I don't know how to retract!

Deb145

Level 1

0 points

May 1, 2011 6:17 PM in response to brianfromfremont

Never mind. That WAS you! Thanks about the spotlight! I will get used to this soon, I hope!

MacJoseph Author

Level 3

598 points

May 1, 2011 6:22 PM in response to brianfromfremont

Brian

Just as a precaution so as to be sure that no files are added to the trash that you don't want to be deleted. That's all that is. That is also what forum memebrs wiht much more experience were instructing people to do.

Joseph

May 1, 2011 6:23 PM in response to MacJoseph

Joseph,

My wife was also just attacked by the MacDefender virus. She was on Safari and was downloading a picture from http://bethelipa.com/hello/animal-mask-templates-for-kids. The down load was interrupted with a popup from http://awasthi-antivirus.cz.cc. that was from Windows Security 2011.

Unfortunately, I downloaded the program but became concerned when it required the program to be registered.

I then went to FireFox and googled MacDefender and found your comments. MacDefender is set up to automatically start on startup and I could not delete the program because it was in use.

I was able to trash the MacDefender program but only after I went to setup in MacDefender and changed the settings. I did not find any other files connected to the program, but what a pain!

Should I still check my MacBook Pro with ClamXav? I currently do not have this software.

MacJoseph Author

Level 3

598 points

May 1, 2011 6:26 PM in response to elroyale

I would say your computer has not been compromised. One other thing people can do is open finder and in the sidebar select either the target disk, or user disk, go to library and open the preferences folder and search there for anything that might say MacDefender. Just be careful you don't delete any other preferences. But please rest easy that you've not been compromised.

Joseph

May 1, 2011 6:27 PM in response to MacJoseph

I am with you Joseph MUCH more experienced people were saying it that is why I wouldn't dare to suggest it is wrong or something like that. I did exactly as you suggested and it worked. The wife and I were just curious as to why this is so. Your explanation clears that up. Thanks!

Brian

May 1, 2011 6:30 PM in response to melissafromva

Melissa,

I had the same problem. When MacDefender is loaded on the computer it has a default setting to open on start up. Go the the setup in MacDefender and deselect the setup option to open on startup. You will then be able to trash/delete the program.

elroyale

Level 1

0 points

May 1, 2011 6:34 PM in response to MacJoseph

thanks joseph

MacJoseph Author

Level 3

598 points

May 1, 2011 6:36 PM in response to samuelfromlakeville

Samuel,

It is not a virus so pleae rest easy. It is a kind of scareware, a malicious way to trick people into believing their computer has been infected. If MacDefender is still on your system, open activity monitor and look for a process called MacDefender double click on it and force quit the process. Then go to your applications folder and drag MacDefender to the trash. Also go to system preferences, go to accounts and look at your login items, if you see an entry for MacDefender highlight it an dclick the minus sign to remove it. To look for any additional related files open finder and type in a search for Macdefender, you can do the same with Spotlight. If it will give you peace of mind by all means install ClamXav it is a well none AV program for Mac and has been around for a long time. Install it and then update the virus definitions and run a scan. I use it myself. Many will tell you there are no viruses for Macs and that's true, however if people are not vigilant about clicking on things online Macs can br suceptible to various form of malware. I would rather err on the side of caution. Hope this helps.

Joseph

MacJoseph Author

Level 3

598 points

May 1, 2011 6:39 PM in response to Deb145

Deb

This scareware scam seems to be popping up when people are searching for images. I have no clue as to why that is. Maybe because often times some photo downloads could contain viruses.

Joseph

MacJoseph Author

Level 3

598 points

May 1, 2011 6:46 PM in response to elroyale

Not a pproblem. That's what we're all here for to help one another to the best of our abilities.

Joseph

MacJoseph Author

Level 3

598 points

May 1, 2011 6:45 PM in response to brianfromfremont

Brian

If you search the forums for Mac viruses there is some great documentation going around that explains the nature of viruses, and why Macs are not prone to viruses. If I find the link to the virus docs I'll post it here for everyone. another great place to read up on Mac stuff isThe X Lab. Another great site for security issues is ThreatPost, not to scare anyone, but it doesn't hurt to education oneself.

Joseph

MacJoseph Author

Level 3

598 points

May 1, 2011 6:48 PM in response to brianfromfremont

Not a problem Brian. We can learn so much from visitng the forums and reading various threads of interest.

MacJoseph Author

Level 3

598 points

May 1, 2011 6:54 PM in response to caroltoronto

Carol

Thanks for the info. Let's hope it goes away. Macs are great computers in there design, and operating system. we can be thankful that our machines are not prone, but we always need to be careful of what we do online, because there are those out there in cyberspace that don't have our best interests in mind. And they want to take advantage of our inexperience and fears of getting hacked, or getting virueses and whatever else.

Joseph

MacJoseph Author

Level 3

598 points

May 1, 2011 7:04 PM in response to brianfromfremont

Brian

I found thisdocuemtation from the User Tips hope it will help everyone.

Joseph

Heads Up/Warning Mac Defender