Gallo14

Q: How do I remove ad malware from my Mac?

I've been struggling to find a solution to this problem. Ads pop up everywhere; especially on YouTube and on the Google search engine. Also, these ads seem to be related to the iLivid virus but I keep reading that the iLivid programs are not supported on OS X. I've tried several anti-virus software from the Mac App Store and none seem to identify the root of the problem. How do I get rid of the problem?

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2012), OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)

Posted on Mar 9, 2014 10:23 AM

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Q: How do I remove ad malware from my Mac?

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  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Mar 9, 2014 10:25 AM in response to Gallo14
    Level 10 (271,133 points)
    Desktops
    Mar 9, 2014 10:25 AM in response to Gallo14

    The Safe Mac » Adware Removal Guide - Genieo

     

    Helpful Links Regarding Malware Protection

     

    An excellent link to read is Tom Reed's Mac Malware Guide.

    Also, visit The XLab FAQs and read Detecting and avoiding malware and spyware.

    See these Apple articles:

     

              Mac OS X Snow Leopard and malware detection

              OS X Lion- Protect your Mac from malware

              OS X Mountain Lion- Protect your Mac from malware

              About file quarantine in OS X

     

    If you require anti-virus protection Thomas Reed recommends using Dr.Web Light from the App Store. It's free, and since it's from the App Store, it won't destabilize the system. If you prefer one of the better known commercial products, then Thomas recommends using Sophos.(Thank you to Thomas Reed for these recommendations.) If you already use Sophos, then be aware of this if you are using Mavericks: OS X Mavericks- Sophos Anti-Virus on-access scanner versions 8.0 - 9.1 may cause unexpected restarts

     

    From user Joe Bailey comes this equally useful advice:

     

    The facts are:

     

    1. There is no anti-malware software that can detect 100% of the malware out there.

    2. There is no anti-malware that can detect anything targeting the Mac because there

         is no Mac malware in the wild, and therefore, no "signatures" to detect.

    3. The very best way to prevent the most attacks is for you as the user to be aware that

         the most successful malware attacks rely on very sophisticated social engineering

         techniques preying on human avarice, ****, and fear.

    4. Internet popups saying the FBI, NSA, Microsoft, your ISP has detected malware on

        your computer is intended to entice you to install their malware thinking it is a

        protection against malware.

    5. Some of the anti-malware products on the market are worse than the malware

        from which they purport to protect you.

    6. Be cautious where you go on the internet.

    7. Only download anything from sites you know are safe.

    8. Avoid links you receive in email, always be suspicious even if you get something

        you think is from a friend, but you were not expecting.

    9. If there is any question in your mind, then assume it is malware.

  • by thomas_r.,Solvedanswer

    thomas_r. thomas_r. Mar 9, 2014 10:32 AM in response to Gallo14
    Level 7 (30,924 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 9, 2014 10:32 AM in response to Gallo14

    See my Adware Removal Guide - specifically, the section on removing DownLite is likely to hold your solution, as that has been linked to iLivid recently. If you don't find DownLite installed, check for the other things.

  • by sahb2397,

    sahb2397 sahb2397 Jul 24, 2014 5:39 AM in response to Gallo14
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 24, 2014 5:39 AM in response to Gallo14

    The easiest way to stop this is to click on the safari button on your desktop bar next to the apple button. Then click on preferences. Go to extensions and disable macdeals, and uninstall.

  • by thomas_r.,

    thomas_r. thomas_r. Jul 24, 2014 6:51 AM in response to sahb2397
    Level 7 (30,924 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 24, 2014 6:51 AM in response to sahb2397

    sahb2397 wrote:

     

    The easiest way to stop this is to click on the safari button on your desktop bar next to the apple button. Then click on preferences. Go to extensions and disable macdeals, and uninstall.

     

    That only works if the adware in question is MacDeals. There are many others, and most are more common than MacDeals. Plus, at the time this topic was posted more than four months ago, iLivid was linked to Downlite.

  • by tomellis,

    tomellis tomellis Jul 24, 2014 4:07 PM in response to thomas_r.
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 24, 2014 4:07 PM in response to thomas_r.

    thomas_r. thanks for the link to the Adware removal software.  My Mac was infected yesterday and I was going nuts dealing with all the pop-ups, the Adware Removal tool worked instantly to solve my problem.

  • by bunnabella,

    bunnabella bunnabella Jul 29, 2014 11:00 PM in response to Gallo14
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 29, 2014 11:00 PM in response to Gallo14

    yes, post by thomas_r helped me too with the same problem.  i had accidentally installed some sort of video related download, so i removed the files that thomas_r listed on the Downlite link he gave, and now I no longer have ads popping up all over and tabs perpetually opening trying to get me to shop. Thanks for posting.

  • by JD LAN,

    JD LAN JD LAN Nov 24, 2014 8:50 AM in response to sahb2397
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 24, 2014 8:50 AM in response to sahb2397

    Perfect, works and so simple. Same for Chrome. Thanks!

  • by noradaisy,

    noradaisy noradaisy Dec 20, 2014 2:04 PM in response to thomas_r.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 20, 2014 2:04 PM in response to thomas_r.

    Thank you, just did this and it worked!

  • by GeoFan49,

    GeoFan49 GeoFan49 Feb 13, 2015 4:48 PM in response to Gallo14
    Level 1 (43 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 13, 2015 4:48 PM in response to Gallo14


    Suddenly getting ILIVID ads all over the place on Mac OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard. Mainly in Chrome web browser.

     

    See example:

     

    https://twitter.com/iNetMore/status/566393491157053440

     

    I cannot believe that Chase.com would have any flashing, animated ads on their home page.

     

    More info...


    ILivid virus is also known as ILivid redirect virus | Type: Browser Hijackers

    ILivid Virus is a browser hijacker that redirects users to ilivid.com without their permission asked. Undoubtedly, these redirections mean that your computer is infected with a browser hijacker that works on altering computer's DNS settings and hijacks all the browsers it finds installed on victim's PC.

  • by thomas_r.,

    thomas_r. thomas_r. Feb 14, 2015 4:38 AM in response to GeoFan49
    Level 7 (30,924 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 14, 2015 4:38 AM in response to GeoFan49

    GeoFan49 wrote:

     

    Suddenly getting ILIVID ads all over the place on Mac OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard.

     

    Yes, and did you see the info that was marked as the solution on this topic?

  • by randy_r7,

    randy_r7 randy_r7 Jul 23, 2015 1:48 PM in response to thomas_r.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 23, 2015 1:48 PM in response to thomas_r.

    yeah didn't help meh either

  • by sarah_hhirst,

    sarah_hhirst sarah_hhirst Mar 19, 2016 3:04 AM in response to thomas_r.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 19, 2016 3:04 AM in response to thomas_r.

    Thank you so much. I have been looking for a solution to my adware problem for over 2 months and now can thankfully use safari without random ad pop ups that cause me to have to restart my Mac.