Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

SnowLeo777 Author

Level 1

0 points

New malware?

Since a couple of days my iMac (Snow Leopard (10.6.8) would not start up when it is connected to the Internet. Blue

screen appears, and the desktop never appears. If I disconnect the Internet or turn off the modem, it loads

correctly and works as usual. If I turn on the modem while the computer is already on, it freezes or gets extremely

slow - impossible to open any application or turn it off in a normal way. I called my Internet provider, we reset

the modem, and I connected my old PC to test the modem with another computer. It works without problem. After the

reset I tried it with Mac again. The computer was able to start up, very slowly, and I managed to set up the

Internet connection again. But then a message appeared on the screen saying "Please type you computer password in

order for Dropbox to function properly". I clicked "cancel". After that the computer became incredibly slow again,

freezing each time I clicked the mouse.
I would like to run ClamXav or another antivirus software but can not do it because I need to get definitions from

Internet, and the computer becomes not usable as soon as it's connected to the Internet.

Does it look like a malware? The message that appears by itself proposing to enter the password for the computer

seems not to be normal.

I would really appreciate some advice!

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Oct 23, 2012 2:27 PM

Best reply

BDAqua

Level 10

239,333 points

Posted on Oct 23, 2012 2:43 PM

Doesn't sound like malware yet.

One way to test is to Safe Boot from the HD, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, Test for problem in Safe Mode...

PS. Safe boot may stay on the gray radian for a long time, let it go, it's trying to repair the Hard Drive

Reboot, test again.

If it only does it in Regular Boot, then it could be some hardware problem like Video card, (Quartz is turned off in Safe Mode), or Airport, or some USB or Firewire device, or 3rd party add-on, Check System Preferences>Accounts>Login Items window to see if it or something relevant is listed.

Check the System Preferences>Other Row, for 3rd party Pref Panes.

Also look in these if they exist, some are invisible...

/private/var/run/StartupItems

/Library/StartupItems

/System/Library/StartupItems

/System/Library/LaunchDaemons

/Library/LaunchDaemons

View in context

57 replies

MadMacs0

Level 5

5,221 points

Oct 29, 2012 12:50 PM in response to SnowLeo777

SnowLeo777 wrote:

For the moment, I just removed the Version Cue CS4 from the System Preferences panel. The same 2 errors were shown after reboot:

Sender: com.apple.launchctl.Aqua[104]

Message: launchctl: Please convert the following to launchd: /etc/mach_init_per_user.d/com.adobe.versioncueCS4.monitor.plist

Sender: com.apple.launchd.peruser.501[102]

Message: (0x100302d80.mach_init.VersionCueCS4monitor) Failed to check-in!

So now, which file shoul I try to remove: "com.adobe.versioncueCS4.monitor.plist" or

"com.adobe.versioncueCS4.plist"?

I believe the two "errors" are related. The first is just a message to the developer that he needs to change the format of that plist as it's been deprecated and may not work in a future version of the OS. What is the date on that file? It's possible that it's left over from an earlier version of VersionCue and has already been replaced by the one in LaunchDaemons.

The second message may well disappear if you remove the one form /private/etc/mach_init_per_user.d/.

MadMacs0

Level 5

5,221 points

Oct 29, 2012 12:53 PM in response to SnowLeo777

SnowLeo777 wrote:

I have several Adobe CS4 appications installed. Did you mean uninstalling these applications or only the Version Cue? I never installed it, it just appeared in the System Preferences after the installation of one of the CS4 applications. Version Cue is not listed in "Applications". What would be the correct way to uninstall it?

I would guess that all of your CS4 Applications are using the Prefs Pane to determine when updates are available. It's probably time to contact Adobe to see what the best way to make certain you have the latest update to Version Cue.

MadMacs0

Level 5

5,221 points

Oct 29, 2012 1:06 PM in response to SnowLeo777

Apparently this is a well documented problem.

You can find the latest version of Version Cue CS4.0.1 here.

Then I Googled: "version cue cs4 macintosh site:adobe.com" without the quotes and got over 8,000 hits.

Bottom line seems to be to upgrade to CS5 which did away with Version Cue.

SnowLeo777 Author

Level 1

0 points

Oct 29, 2012 1:56 PM in response to MadMacs0

Thank you for the info!

I deleted Version Cue CS4 from the System Preferences panel and removed

"com.adobe.versioncueCS4.monitor.plist" from private/etc/mach_init_per_user.d/.

Now, both error messages have disappeared.

But it didn't help with the Internet problem so far - the system freezes or becomes very slow as soon as the

Ethernet cable is plugged in. However, this time there were no changes in Activity Monitor - "System Preferences"

stayed at zero. The biggest CPU usage is now Dropbox - up to 6,5, and Safari shows "Not responding". I'd like to deinstall Dropbox to make a test (I remember I deleted some Dropbox folders before the problem occured... maybe did something wrong...) What would be the right way to deistall - just move Dropbox.app into trash?

Or could it be some "physical" problem? The day when it happened, the computer was working correctly all the morning (connected to the Intenet). During the day I just moved it to another room, and it didn't want to boot after that. I was very careful, I really don't think I could break something... But it seems like something happened during these 10 minutes - the router didn't have all the lights lit anymore, and I had to reset it and test with the PC, and it

worked fine. But since that time I am having this strange problem - iMac doesn't work properly as soon as there is

Internet connection.

BDAqua

Level 10

239,333 points

Oct 29, 2012 2:37 PM in response to SnowLeo777

What would be the right way to deistall - just move Dropbox.app into trash?

Reintall, then use the Uninstall function.

Might be HW, did you try another Ethernet cable yet?

MadMacs0

Level 5

5,221 points

Oct 29, 2012 2:47 PM in response to SnowLeo777

SnowLeo777 wrote:

I deleted Version Cue CS4 from the System Preferences panel

If it is v4.0.1 you should be able to put it back without resurrecting the problem.

and removed

"com.adobe.versioncueCS4.monitor.plist" from private/etc/mach_init_per_user.d/.

Now, both error messages have disappeared.

What is the date on com.adobe.versioncueCS4.monitor.plist? If it's older than the Prefs Pane then it probably is from an older installation and need not be restored.

Also, it appears I was wrong about what Version Cue is. From the update description it would seem to be used to keep track of various CS4 project versions. I can't tell much about it from the update as it uses the Adobe propriatary installer, which checks for the installed version first and then patches it. I can't be certain whether Version Cue even uses the internet.

SnowLeo777 Author

Level 1

0 points

Oct 29, 2012 2:55 PM in response to BDAqua

Might be HW, did you try another Ethernet cable yet?

Not yet but will get another one tonight to try. But it's the same with wireless connection, the same symptomes. I was always connected through Airport, started to use the cable only when the problem occured, to make sure it's not because of wireless connection. When it happened for the first time, it was wireless, through Airport but now both cause the same problem.

SnowLeo777 Author

Level 1

0 points

Oct 29, 2012 3:05 PM in response to MadMacs0

MadMacs0 wrote:

What is the date on com.adobe.versioncueCS4.monitor.plist? If it's older than the Prefs Pane then it probably is from an older installation and need not be restored.

The date on the date on com.adobe.versioncueCS4.monitor.plist was September 2009 and it's probably older but I already deleted Version Cue from the Preferences Panel so I can't check now...

MadMacs0

Level 5

5,221 points

Oct 29, 2012 3:13 PM in response to SnowLeo777

SnowLeo777 wrote:

I already deleted Version Cue from the Preferences Panel so I can't check now...

It's in your trash can unless you emptied it. You can restore it by dragging it from the Trash to /Library/PreferencePanes/ and authenticating.

BDAqua

Level 10

239,333 points

Oct 29, 2012 4:17 PM in response to SnowLeo777

Ah, not likely the cable then.

SnowLeo777 Author

Level 1

0 points

Oct 30, 2012 1:16 PM in response to BDAqua

Well, this morning my old PC which was helping me to access this forum since the problem started refused to work, so I couldn't get here and check your answers anymore. So I decided to try the last option and reinstall Mac OS. Sad, but it's been more than a week we were trying to find a solution. Well it helped. No connection problems anymore. It's a pity we won't know what the bug was but at least nothing is wrong with the iMac itself.

Thank you everyone so much for your help, I really learned a lot.

As they say, when the problem occurs, "turn it into something good" so I will use this occasion to organize things better on my computer and to get rid of outdated applications or things I was not using anymore.

BDAqua

Level 10

239,333 points

Oct 30, 2012 4:29 PM in response to SnowLeo777

Thanks for the report & good luck! 🙂

New malware?