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All replies
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Helpful answers
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Sep 4, 2014 3:50 PM in response to weinertby Kappy,Helpful Links Regarding Malware Problems
If you are having an immediate problem with ads popping up see The Safe Mac » Adware Removal Guide and The Safe Mac » Adware Removal Tool.
Open Safari, select Preferences from the Safari menu. Click on Extensions icon in the toolbar. Disable all Extensions. If this stops your problem, then re-enable them one by one until the problem returns. Now remove that extension as it is causing the problem.
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
OS X Mavericks- Protect your Mac from malware
If you require anti-virus protection Thomas Reed recommends using ClamXAV. (Thank you to Thomas Reed for this recommendation.)
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.
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Sep 4, 2014 3:57 PM in response to Kappyby weinert,below is the pop up i keep getting. the "safe mac" removal tools were used last night with no success. now what?
Safari - Alert
Suspicious Activity Detected. Your Browser might have been hijacked and an anonymous activity has been detected.
Major Security Issue
To fix it please call Support for Apple +1-866-782-9808 (Toll Free) immediately!
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Sep 4, 2014 4:29 PM in response to weinertby Kappy,It's spam. Ignore it and don't click anything. Open Safari's preferences, click on the Extensions icon in the toolbar. If you see an extensions you did not install yourself, then remove it.
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Sep 4, 2014 4:33 PM in response to Kappyby weinert,hi kappy: thx for your note and effort. it's tough to ignore b/c is completely disables the safari browser. also, i only have one extension on the safari browser and it's one i recognize as being safe. so............
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Sep 4, 2014 5:15 PM in response to weinertby spinnerlys,How does it disable Safari completely? Can you not close the tab or window the message appears in?
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Sep 4, 2014 5:17 PM in response to spinnerlysby weinert,everything freezes. all open tabs are not functional. the only out is to quit safari and start over. the same thing is repeated.
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Sep 4, 2014 5:19 PM in response to weinertby spinnerlys,Have a look at this Adware Removal Tool and see if it helps.
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Sep 4, 2014 5:23 PM in response to weinertby Kappy,You can give this a try:
You Don’t Have a Virus and Don’t Pay Money to Remove
This is not a virus nor is it pop-up adware. Fortunately, it doesn’t affect anything but the browser, and it can be easily removed.
If it has opened a tab or window, then close the window by pressing COMMAND-W. A large box may pop open. Press the RETURN key which should dismiss the box and close the page.
If the above does not work then try the following:
1. Select Safari preferences. Click on the Security icon in the toolbar.
2. Locate the checkbox labeled, Enable JavaScript, and uncheck the box. Do not
close the preferences dialog.
3. Close the bad window or tab.
4. Re-check the JavaScript box and close the preferences dialog.
If the Preferences menuitem is inactive then quit or force quit Safari. Run Safari by holding down the SHIFT key while clicking Safari’s Dock icon. Select Safari preferences and click on the Privacy icon in the toolbar. At the top is a dropdown menu labeled, “Cookies and other website date.” Click on the Remove All Website Data… button.
Check your Downloads folder for anything you don’t recognize or remember downloading and delete it.
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Sep 4, 2014 7:33 PM in response to Kappyby weinert,Kappy: This looks promising. I'll let you know what happens. :-)
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Sep 10, 2014 4:35 AM in response to weinertby Marigmac,Yes, this is a scam! I got a warning, (screen shot below) while I was watching an online video, to call 866-782-9808. It bounced me out of Safari and I could not get back in (now I know how - Force Quit, then hold down the Shift key while clicking on Safari) without calling this number. That gets you to a person who claims to be an Apple Support tech who asks a few questions to get into your computer. They somehow already have a street address and want a phone number and date of birth. He opens files on your computer and circles things in red to show you that your system has been compromised (files that are "sleeping" for example) and says all devices on your wireless network are at risk and you need to contact an anti-hacking specialist. Then he gives you two options - Office Depot with their rates and an on phone option where he can transfer you - Tech Care Live in Las Vegas which charges $340 and "takes 60-90 minutes." This first guy is very convincing as they imitate Apple's format for online support - a code to log in to support, a little text box to show you the conversation, etc. He convinced me I had a problem, although I was very wary and kept asking about going to the Apple Store for help (he said they could only help with software problems which is WRONG), but I gave in and was transferred, after a wait, to the Tech Care Live people. They were brusque, difficult to understand, and basically wanted credit card information (a pop up with Visa/Master Card, etc came on the screen to input my credit card info). That's when I backed off, not wanting to spend $340 and risk credit card theft.
Here is a screen shot of the warning that came up on my screen:
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Jan 27, 2015 2:08 PM in response to Marigmacby asummerer,Hello,
I received the same message when my daughter was using my computer so I called. The person got into my computer and was showing me stuff, circling stuff as you say. I got wary and hung up. Was he able to get anything from my computer? Is my computer info in danger? Please let me know your thoughts asap.
Thank you.
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Feb 22, 2015 9:13 AM in response to weinertby grnmthawk,I Have the same pop up notice requiring that I call. It has completely locked me out of Safari. I do not have another search engine so I cannot go to any other website. Any assistance on how to get rid of this would be much appreciated. I have not rebooted my system for fear it may make it worse. I am working off of my ipad. Any advise on how to get past this? BTW I am unable to get to my Safari prefererences. They are also blocked! This popped up when I tried to open an image of different types of font from google??? Thank you!
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Feb 22, 2015 9:14 AM in response to Marigmacby grnmthawk,How did you ever get rid of it? I have the same pop up and it will not let me out of it. I can force quit safari but it always comes back up...thank you!
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Feb 22, 2015 11:13 PM in response to asummererby MadMacs0,asummerer wrote:
The person got into my computer and was showing me stuff, circling stuff as you say. I got wary and hung up. Was he able to get anything from my computer? Is my computer info in danger?
There is absolutely no way to tell what he might have done. Once granted access, most anything could have been accessed, copied or something malicious added.
From reports, they seem to be more interested in convincing the user to pay them to fix a nonexistent problem, which might compromise your credit card, but as I said, anything is possible.
Best to restore everything from a backup prior to granting access. Keep your eye on any financial accounts you access on-line and consider changing passwords, especially if you use the same one for multiple sites.
