Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT
I contracted the dreaded mds virus. There is also something called md worker--two files, in fact.
There are quite a few posts on here on how to disable it but how do it get rid of it completely? Also will disabling or getting rid of it mean the files it infected have to be replaced? I guess it must also be on my backup drive.
Thank you to any and everyone who replies.
Mac OS X (10.6.8)
There are no viruses for OS X. None.
mds is a valid OS X process related to Time Machine. It will take up quite a bit of the CPU activity when a backup is in process. And yes, it will also be on your backup drive since it includes a backup of the OS.
Hello:
I rarely post "me too" comments, but Kurt is exactly on point😎.
I don't know where you heard about the "dreaded mds virus," but it does not exist.
Barry
Well, that's good to know. It seems that a lot of people complain about Spotlight and disable it. How would that affect my computer if I do the same thing? The computer is as slow as molasses.
I have been unable to search my mail for weeks. I didn't realize it was Spotlight-related but now it explains why.
Your Spotlight index is probably corrupted. Open the System Preferences and click on Spotlight, then the Privacy tab. Drag and drop your main hard drive into the window. This will remove the current index. Now highlight the drive and remove it from the list and Spotlight will start building a new index.
Well, I did the first part up to the point of highlighting the drive I'd dragged into the Privacy window. I hightlighted the drive and tried to drag it back onto the desktop. When that didn't work, I hit the minus sign and was able to drag it out. Was that correct? It's not like anything seemed to be going on while it was the in Privacy window.
Perhaps you can let me know the best way I can tell if the problem has been remedied.
Thank you, Kurt.
You don't drag the icon of the drive out of the privacy pane, you just highlight it and click the minus button.
Okay. I did that. What is supposed to have changed? Can I check if Spotlight is building a new index?
One other thing: a Sophos scan of my hard drive found a single threat which turns out to be a Windows virus Mal/Zbo-I. I can't find anything to remove it as all the suggested removal tools only work with Windows. Any suggestions?
Can I check if Spotlight is building a new index?
Look at the upper right. If you see a magnifying glass without a dot pulsing in the center, Spotlight is currently indexing a drive. If it's not pulsing, it's probably done.
Sophos scan of my hard drive found a single threat which turns out to be a Windows virus Mal/Zbo-I.
Very likley an email attachment. Harmless to you, just don't forward it to any Windows users.
Get rid of mds virus, not just disabling
