I received a message stating that a virus had infected my files and that I needed to purchase MacDefender to clean up my system. Is this true and the best way to move forward?
iMac, Mac OS X (10.2.x)
This is a virus, as soon as the window pops up close it straight away.
It is not true, it is an attempt to get your credit card number, do not respond.
Read the instructions at this link:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4650
Note that this is not a virus,
iGemmo wrote:
This is a virus, as soon as the window pops up close it straight away.
It is NOT a virus. It is malware trying to trick you into installing something on your machine.
Take the link that Cxound1 posted.
According to the OP's profile he's running MacOS X 10.2, so he must have a PPC iMac and in no danger of loosing his credit card or even putting up with the Trojan's nuisances as it won't run on his machine and probably wasn't even downloaded with the latest 2-stage installer. The reference you gave applies only to MacOS X 10.4 and above, but no doubt will still apply to his situation.
Never respond to any popups telling you that you have a virus.
• There is no known virus for Mac OS X in the wild.
• Downloading and installing any applications from an unknown or unreliable source can be dangerous.
• To install most trojans you have to download, authenticate and install. Don't do it.
😉 cornelius
MadMac is right. It won't even install on a powerpc based mac. I tried it on an old computer for experimental reasons and the installer will not even run. It starts the process but stalls and does not let you proceed.
Still, I recommend that you don't play around with it. If you didn't seek it out don't install it. don't believe things that pop up in your face on the internet. A virus scan cannot be done in your browser, plus the "finder window" that it displayed will not even have your folders in it. All it shows is generic folders.
I received a notification that I had a virus and that I now need to purchase Mac Defender. Could this be true or an ad?
