email spam-how do I scan for a virus?

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Level 1

6 points

email spam-how do I scan for a virus?

Hello,

My ISP deactivated my email program after 57 spamming emails arrived in one afternoon. I called them to find out why I was not able to access my email and they told me that because of these emails they were concerned that my computer may have been hacked. They recommended running a virus scan on the computer before reactivating the email program. I do not have an anti-virus program on my Mac Pro, so I assume that I cannot run a scan. Is this correct?

The ISP will reactivate the email program if I give the go-ahead.

Should I reactivate the program or change my email address?

Should I run anti virus software on my Mac Pro?

By the way, I am having no problems with the Mac Pro.

Thank you!

MacBook Pro

Posted on May 4, 2014 5:02 PM

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Answer 1

thomas_r.

Level 7

32,031 points

May 5, 2014 2:57 AM in response to Pmhnj

Your e-mail address was hacked remotely and used by hackers to send spam. You do not have malware on your Mac. Your ISP does not understand that the Mac is different from Windows... there's no known malware on the Mac that causes spam to be sent. There's simply no need for that, since it's much easier to hack an e-mail address than to create malware and figure out how to distribute it and trick Mac users into installing it.

Tell your ISP whatever they need to hear to reactivate your e-mail address, but make absolutely sure that you change the password on your e-mail account. If you don't know how to change the password, ask your ISP for assistance. Be sure to use a strong password, at least 10 characters long and containing at least one number and at least one symbol (!#*%&$()., etc)

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