Q: Pop-ups. I have deleted cookies, checked security etc. worried about malware.

Hope this helps

Viruses, Trojans, Malware - and other aspects of Internet Security

best of luck!

Try this:

http://www.thesafemac.com/admedic/

Ciao.

You may have installed the "VSearch" 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 before proceeding.

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 "com.vsearch.agent.plist" 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
~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ConduitNPAPIPlugin.plugin

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," "Trovi," 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.

Reset the home page and default search engine in all the browsers, if it was changed.

This trojan is distributed on illegal websites that traffic in pirated content. 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 this Internet criminal 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 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.

Hi. I just wanted to post this as I've also been experiencing problems with pop-up ads from malware on Safari and Firefox. I did all of the checking we're told to do on forums such as seeing if there is anything unusual in the Activity Monitor, deleted cookies and so on. Today, I also got malware on Google Chrome. After spending a long, long time trying to work out how to remove malware from my Mac or from the browsers, I was left confused and unable to remove it. Downloading anti-virus software didn't help either, as these sort of pop-up ads are not considered to be harmful to the computer, so the software seems not to to detect it. But I came across and article suggesting that I go to 'extensions' within Safari (click on 'Safari' > 'preferences' > 'extensions') and delete those. I only had one extension which I deleted and that has solved the problem. Sure enough, I had the same extension in Firefox (click on 'Tools' > 'add-ons') and Google Chrome ('Chrome' > 'preferences' > 'extensions'). Once deleted in Chrome's 'extensions' or disabled in Firefox's 'add-ons', the pop-up ads have disappeared. So in the end, I discovered the malware was affecting the browsers and not the Mac itself. How the extension on the browsers got there, I don't know. But I was really surprised as the eventual solution was very simple.

You may have inadvertently installed adware. Eradicating it is simple. For an explanation or how this may have occurred, how to avoid it in the future, and for one possible solution read How to install adware.

If that does not describe your problem please post a representative screenshot of the anomaly:

Screenshots (Mac):

To take a screenshot hold ⌘ Shift 4 to create a selection crosshair. Click and hold while you drag the crosshair over the area you wish to capture and then release the mouse or trackpad. You will hear a "camera shutter" sound. This will deposit a screenshot named "Screen Shot...." followed by a date and time on your Desktop.

When you post your response, click the "camera" icon above the text field:

This will display a dialog box which enables you to choose the screenshot file (remember it's on your Desktop) and click the Insert Image button. If you are not using full screen mode you can simply drag the image into the text entry field.

⌘ Shift 4 and then pressing the space bar captures the frontmost window.

⌘ Shift 3 captures the entire screen.

Don't capture or upload any information you consider personal. To edit an existing screenshot, read How to edit a screenshot.

Drag the screenshot to the Trash after you post your reply.

Okay, I feel dumb, but where can I locate the list of my extensions in GChrome. Are they just buttons that appear next to the omnibar, beside the "customize and control Google Chrome" button?

Nevermind, I figured it out Chrome > Preferences > Extensions. Sweet and simple.