App Store Thinks That I Have CodeBox Installed...

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App Store Thinks That I Have CodeBox Installed...

Not sure exactly where to ask this question, so I apologize if this is in the wrong subsection.

I have a mid-2010 21.5-inch 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3 iMac. I recently updated to iOS Mavericks from iOS 10.6.8 Snow Leopard, and ever since then, whenever I try to update my installed software the App Store thinks that I have an app called CodeBox installed. I never installed such an app; in fact, I never even bought it. It's $9.99 on the app store, and it's not showing up on my list of recent purchases.

I'm fairly sure the App Store thinks that someone logged into their Apple account on my computer and installed it, but I'm 100% sure that the only other people besides me that have had access to my computer have no idea how to use developer programs, and have not purchased developer software of any kind, ever. I've tried to update it, but it said "Update Unavailable with This Apple ID: This update is not available for this Apple ID either because it was bought by a different user or the item was refunded or cancelled." After I click OK, I got "We could not complete your request: There was an error in the App Store. Please try again later. (null)". After clicking OK again, the process just repeats if I try to update it again. I've searched my entire computer for the CodeBox files, but nothing shows up. I have not yet tried messing around with Terminal or tried to find hidden files, but I will if nothing else works.

After doing everything that I can think of to either get rid of it, I'm now forced to ask for help on the forums. Should I directly contact Apple, or is there something I can do to get rid of the app Apple thinks I have installed on my computer?

EDIT: My Apple account was accessed without my permission a while back, but I immediately contacted Apple to get the purchases refunded and changed my password. The hacker was in China, and never had physical access to my computer. They never downloaded any software onto my computer. I've looked at all my recent purchases periodically ever since then.

iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Jan 5, 2014 12:46 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

K Shaffer

Level 7

34,966 points

Jan 5, 2014 12:57 PM in response to Zenophilious

Perhaps Apple Sales Support* could help with this kind of issue.

*call 1-800-676-2775 per Apple Store (US) page

Though there is a software that could look into your computer to

see what kinds of software may be installed, of that some from

the older Snow Leopard 10.6 and that can also play havoc with

the later Mavericks 10.9.x system, & any could be removed...

This is too new for my old antique MacBook 1.1 and older PPCs

but worth a look; not sure if it costs, see: http://www.etresoft.com/

You can disable, remove, etc items that may appear in system profiler

applications list if you can't run them, such as older PPC applications

that are not supported in 10.9; also anything older & not 'universal'.

Software that is incompatible, to include any av or malware, can go.

Hopefully this helps somewhat.

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

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Answer 2

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,535 points

Jan 5, 2014 2:59 PM in response to Zenophilious

You installed a hacked app, originally from the Mac App Store. It contains the receipt for a different app, downloaded using an account that you don't control. You need to identify and remove the hacked app.

Important: The app you need to remove is not necessarily the one named in the App Store alert. For example, if the App Store says you need to update "Twitter," the hacked app may be "Angry Birds" or something else entirely. Don't make any assumptions about which app you're looking for. To find it, you have to carry out a systematic search.

Triple-click anywhere in the line of text below on this page to select it:

kMDItemAppStoreHasReceipt=1

Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.

In the Finder, press command-F to open a search window, or select

File ▹ Find

from the menu bar. In the search window, select

Search: This Mac

from the row of tokens below the toolbar. Below that is a popup menu initially showing Kind. From that menu, select Other...

A sheet will drop down. In that sheet, select Raw Query and click OK or press return.

Now there will be a text box to the right of popup menu. Click in that box and paste (command-V).

The search window will show all the App Store products you've installed. Compare those search results with the list of your purchases from the App Store. To see the complete list, you may need to unhide hidden purchases. If any apps were download from the App Store using other Apple ID accounts that you control, sign in to the store under each of those ID's and check the purchases.

At least one of the items listed in the search window is not among your purchases in the App Store. Move each such item to the Trash. You may be prompted for your administrator password. Empty the Trash.

Log out and log back in. Test.

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Answer 3

Zenophilious Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 5, 2014 3:05 PM in response to K Shaffer

Thanks for providing me with the number. I dislike searching through Apple's site, so I very much appreciate you giving me the number.

I'll check out the software. The System Profiler application should help a lot, since I didn't know how to easily remove installed software from my Mac without finding all the files and trashing them one by one. Thanks for telling me about that, too. I've used it before, but only to get the system specs. Can't believe I never noticed the "Software" option. That makes me feel so smart.

I'm going to call after I try your suggestions. I really appreciate your help. This issue has made me feel a little out of my league, since everything I tried to do failed. I'll rate your answer once I've tried your suggestions :3

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Answer 4

Zenophilious Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 5, 2014 3:15 PM in response to Linc Davis

I'll also try this when I get access to my computer again later today. Thanks for finding the protocol for removing hacked apps; I'm not quite sure how a hacked app was installed on my computer, but that would make sense as to why it's not showing up as CodeBox.

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Answer 5

K Shaffer

Level 7

34,966 points

Jan 5, 2014 3:21 PM in response to Linc Davis

This appears to be a very helpful way to actively deal with this issue, troubleshoot it, or at least give it a go.

Thanks for sharing.

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

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Answer 6

Zenophilious Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 5, 2014 5:24 PM in response to Zenophilious

Okay, so I followed Linc's advice first, and, low and behold, a game that I had gotten from a friend showed up. I guess they pirated it, since you can't really share unhacked apps. Thanks for your help, K Shaffer and Linc Davis. Now that stupid update list won't tell me that I can't update an app I don't have anymore.

Guess I should be more careful of games I get from friends. Heh.

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Answer 7

Mar 6, 2014 4:50 PM in response to Zenophilious

Perfect!! Worked like a charm!!

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