KitRigby

Q: I have adverts pop up and open new tabs. And all over my homepage. It has never happened before? all these mac keeping problems? whats happened?

whenever i try to go on to youtube or Facebook an advert will open a new tab, and when the search comes through there are adverts all over the screen. This only just started happening? What should i do????

MacBook Air, OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)

Posted on Jul 21, 2014 7:50 AM

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Q: I have adverts pop up and open new tabs. And all over my homepage. It has never happened before? all these mac keeping problems? w ... more

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  • by a brody,

    a brody a brody Jul 21, 2014 8:18 AM in response to KitRigby
    Level 9 (66,781 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Jul 21, 2014 8:18 AM in response to KitRigby

    If you installed Mackeeper, that's the problem, and you need this tip to remove it: https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3036

  • by a brody,

    a brody a brody Jul 21, 2014 8:19 AM in response to KitRigby
    Level 9 (66,781 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Jul 21, 2014 8:19 AM in response to KitRigby

    Note: Mac OS X 10.9 is not the same as Mac OS 9.  I've asked your thread be moved to the Mavericks forum.

     

    OS X Mavericks

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jul 21, 2014 11:27 AM in response to KitRigby
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Jul 21, 2014 11:27 AM in response to KitRigby

    You installed the "DownLite" trojan, perhaps under a different name. Remove it as follows.

    Malware is constantly changing to get around the defenses against it. The instructions in this comment are valid as of now, as far as I know. They won't necessarily be valid in the future. Anyone finding this comment a few days or more after it was posted should look for more recent discussions or start a new one.

    Back up all data.

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

    /Library/LaunchAgents/com.vsearch.agent.plist

    Right-click or control-click the line and select

              Services Reveal in Finder (or just Reveal)

    from the contextual menu.* A folder should open with an item named "VSearch" selected. Drag the selected item to the Trash. You may be prompted for your administrator login password.

    Repeat with each of these lines:

    /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.vsearch.daemon.plist
    /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.vsearch.helper.plist
    /Library/LaunchDaemons/Jack.plist

    Restart the computer and empty the Trash. Then delete the following items in the same way:

    /Library/Application Support/VSearch
    /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/Jack
    /System/Library/Frameworks/VSearch.framework

    Some of these items may be absent, in which case you'll get a message that the file can't be found. Skip that item and go on to the next one.

    From the Safari menu bar, select

              Safari Preferences... Extensions

    Uninstall any extensions you don't know you need, including any that have the word "Spigot" or "Conduit" in the description. If in doubt, uninstall all extensions. Do the equivalent for the Firefox and Chrome browsers, if you use either of those.

    This trojan is distributed on illegal websites that traffic in pirated movies. If you, or anyone else who uses the computer, visit such sites and follow prompts to install software, you can expect much worse to happen in the future.

    You may be wondering why you didn't get a warning from Gatekeeper about installing software from an unknown developer, as you should have. The reason is that the DownLite developer has a codesigning certificate issued by Apple, which causes Gatekeeper to give the installer a pass. Apple could revoke the certificate, but as of this writing, has not done so, even though it's aware of the problem. This failure of oversight is inexcusable and has compromised both Gatekeeper and the Developer ID program. You can't rely on Gatekeeper alone to protect you from harmful software.

    *If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination  command-C. In the Finder, select

              Go Go to Folder...

    from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. You won't see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.

  • by KitRigby,

    KitRigby KitRigby Jul 22, 2014 4:01 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 22, 2014 4:01 AM in response to Linc Davis

    thanks

  • by a brody,

    a brody a brody Jul 22, 2014 4:07 AM in response to KitRigby
    Level 9 (66,781 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Jul 22, 2014 4:07 AM in response to KitRigby

    And as a matter of course, the lesson learned here is only download:


    Adobe Flash from http://www.adobe.com/

    Microsoft Silverlight from http://www.microsoft.com/mac/

    Apple updates from http://support.apple.com/ or the App Store.

    Realplayer from http://www.real.com/

     

    Popups and websites requiring you to download additional support need to have their webmasters contacted directly to inform them that they are using non-standard formats for viewing.   There is no such thing as a free lunch!

  • by Carolyn A-W,

    Carolyn A-W Carolyn A-W Jan 25, 2016 12:48 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 25, 2016 12:48 PM in response to Linc Davis

    I've been having the same problem and tried to follow your steps but when i click on 'reveal in finder' nothing happens.  Any help much appreciated.

     

    Thanks

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Jan 26, 2016 9:51 AM in response to Carolyn A-W
    Level 9 (70,061 points)
    iTunes
    Jan 26, 2016 9:51 AM in response to Carolyn A-W

    Manual method:

     

    For accessing the user Library, go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J.  When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder.  Select Library.

     

    Malware – Adware removal – Apple Support

     

    Or download this program which was written by Thomas Reed, a long time poster. The program will do the work for you which makes it easy. If you are uncertain about downloading programs, try the manual method.

     

    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac      10.8 and later

     

    What should I do if Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac didn't solve my problem?