Has anyone used Malwarebytes or anything similar to protect Mac from virus etc

The Apple store installed the program Malwarebytes for me, so I guess that's a pretty good recommendation.

I was using that company with a "prime" membership and was redirected and foolishly downloaded an app. Safari got hijacked and while I was able to uninstall some of the malware, I am not confident in my tech abilities so took it to the genius bar and asked them to scan it and clean it. They did, and also installed Malwarebytes. I won't be so careless in the future; I think the days of feeling safe with all things Apple are over.

Thanks guys, this thread helped a lot.

My girlfriend wanted to watch one of the simpson halloween specials yesterday, and to do so, she went on one watchseries.com and pressed one of the wrong 'buttons'. She then got promoted that she needed additional software to watch this (which of course was not true.. ) and downloaded and installed the promoted software. As a result, mackeeper was installed (That blasted thing.. ) and my safari browser was infested with this pesky little 'search .. something' malware, which I could not get rid of. I am not a MAC savy guy, I just recently got my first MAC, so I followed some tutorials to try to get rid of it, or evidently reset safari to default or something, but still the ****** 'search.. ', whatever it was called, stayed as my homepage.

I am very glad i came over this thread! I downloaded the adwareMedic, or Malwarebyte Anti-Malware, and now it seems to be ok. I just did this a few minutes ago though, so haven't checked it out extensively yet, but I'll edit this post once some time has passed, to see if it really did the job or not.

Cheers,

T.

Yep, MBAM (Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac) is the way to go. Much better than manually inspecting numerous files and directories.

machow2 wrote:

Malwarebytes will remove both adware and malware but it won't remove viruses (which are extremely uncommon on Mac anyway).

Actually, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac will detect all kinds of malware. Although it is technically accurate to say it won't remove viruses, that is because there are NO viruses (by the strict definition of the term) for OS X, and thus there is nothing to detect. If there should ever be a true virus released for OS X, we'll detect it.

Thomas Reed

Director of Mac Offerings, Malwarebytes

I notice there are some misconceptions with regard to viruses and malware in that review. Malware is an all-encompassing term for malicious software. Malware may steal data, provide back doors, turn your computer into a "bot" (for example, to "mine" BitCoins or to commit DDoS attacks), and most recently, encrypt your data and hold it for ransom. Trojans, viruses, worms, etc are all malware.

The term "virus" refers to the method of transmission for a particular kind of malware, which is able to spread on its own and which injects itself into existing apps. Viruses are malware, but not all malware is a virus.

Adware - software that injects ads where they don't belong or manipulates your search engine - is generally not considered to be malware, although there are exceptions where adware has crossed the invisible line and is now considered malware. (As an example, the Genieo adware crossed the line last year when it used vulnerabilities in OS X to get itself installed, and at Malwarebytes, we now consider it to be malware.)

Thomas Reed

Director of Mac Offerings, Malwarebytes

Thanks for making clear the meaning of malware. Also, thanks for Malwarebytes. Unfortunately, I had inadvertently opened a file which installed MacKeeper. I did force quit the process of opening the file before it had finished. But, trashing it and MacKeeper, seemed to require trashing thousands of other files! But, annoyingly, I still kept getting the adware popup from Offerz4u and it was through Malwarebytes that it was removed, very simply and without fuss. Trying to do it manually proved awkward and was ineffective.

However, I think I had noticed a post which would suggest using, together with Malwarebytes, a more specific anti-virus app, one which, it would seem, would dig deeper into the files on the computer? But, your comment would suggest that that is not necessary. I had once used ClamXav and that did seem to take ages!

Finally, I was wondering why your app is not featured on Apple's App Store, as that would be a natural place for mac users to go.

I had "McAfee all access" on my IMAC 27' 5k for almost a year and have had no problem's! 😉

The rules imposed by Apple for all applications available from the App Store would not allow MalwareBytes Anti-Malware for Mac to be nearly as effective as it is at detecting and removing malware. That's why there are so few A-V offerings on MAS and those that are there are quite limited.

I have had Avast on my iMac for some time now and it has trapped a few malicious files when some web sites have been visited. It runs perfectly in the background and I would recommend it. I am not and have never been an employee so this isn't an ad disguised.

I strongly recommend against the installation of Avast. All I have ever seen it do is cause problems. The only thing it report on is PC virus that have no effect on a Mac.

With your posting of this so many times, you are are certainly looking like a shill for them.

Is there any way I can I can install the MBAM on my Mac 10.7.5. It says it needs to be 10.8 or higher.

Is there any way I can install the MBAM on my 10.7.5 Mac? It says it needs to be 10.8 or higher.

For 10.7

https://data-cdn.mbamupdates.com/web/MBAM-Mac-1.0.2.8.dmg

I'm perplexed that the only information I can find on the Apple website about whether it's wise to have anti-virus or malware protection on a Mac are threads in a user forum. Many Mac users state, with a great tone of authority, that "Macs can't get viruses; never install any anti-virus or anti-malware software on a Mac," while others present a more nuanced "that's not true anymore; anti-virus protection may be worthwhile" position, e.g.: http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/are-macs-safe-virus-hackers-malwar e-antivirus-ransomware-3454926/

My question is, does Apple have a support article, or any statement anywhere, weighing in on this question? If anyone knows of one, please share the link!

Lori in the hills wrote:

My question is, does Apple have a support article, or any statement anywhere, weighing in on this question? If anyone knows of one, please share the link!

No, they do not. Several years ago there were statements and advertisements along those lines, but since that is no longer absolutely true (as outlined in that article), they have refrained from saying much of anything about Malware or the use of Anti-Malware software.

And nobody here can tell you whether to use an A-V product or not, it's strictly up to you based on your making an educated decision on the benefits vs. penalty paid by their use. Some products extract a significant amount of CPU time or RAM while in operation. Some users are careless or even reckless when it comes to safe computing and need that safety net to prevent disaster. You also need to pay attention to any current threats that may come up in the future. In short, there is no easy, one-size-fits all answer to "whether it's wise to have anti-virus or malware protection on a Mac".