Virus or hacker

First I want recommend you an antivirus scanner.

And yes, factory reset is one of the options to delete the virus.

Do you want to explain the symptoms of the virus you experience?

There is almost no chance that your computer has contracted a virus.

Not impossible, but rather unlikely since there are other things you

may have downloaded by accident in the process of getting other

content, that can cause a computer to act up.

Could be an Adware product that has your system messing up; or

perhaps some kind of thing that generally can be called malware.

•Tech Guides - TheSafeMac:

http://www.thesafemac.com/tech-guides/

Mac Malware Guide:

http://www.thesafemac.com/mmg/

Some kinds of things can re-direct your browser, so you always get

certain content or popups, and if you click on them, then you may

actually install something bad. More adware or a malware product.

If your computer has more than one user account, you could restart

the computer into a different account and access the internet to do

research, and then be careful what you choose, & where you get it.

For this to work, it needs to first connect to TheSafeMac.

•Ad Medic - adware removal:

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

You could get and try this Adware removal tool, to see if the problem

is resolved. The product will work without charge, & is donationware.

A method of manually removing adware is covered in this page:

•Adware Removal Guide:

http://www.thesafemac.com/arg/

Sometimes you can start a computer in SafeBoot mode, to see about

removing some items affecting a browser, add-ons & extensions such

as those which are installed by adware or other dubious products.

You could get & run this product* and post the report it generates to

an ASC discussion here, so those who may read it and recognize

some of the topical and incidental evidence of adware or other, can

suggest removal methods. Most methods are covered in above links.

*Etrecheck: (see the 'read about' link, too)

http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck

Usually an antivirus scan cannot find much in a Mac because there are

no known in-the-wild viri that attack the Mac OS X. But A.V. scanning

and bulk waste of processor cycles can slow down a Mac and also

some of those applications people get to fix their mac mess it up bad.

You may have installed a 'cleanmymac' or mackeeper, etc, so check

to see how to remove that, and then look again. Odds are anything

you remove incorrectly will still affect the system, and some uninstall

methods proposed by adware and malware makers, add more junk.

You could try to start the Mac in Recovery mode, and reinstall the OS X.

Hopefully you can remove the problematic items w/o messing up OS X.

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

I don't think it's a hacker, it's possible that it's malware/adware, but for sure you better run a virusscanner on your Mac (such as ClamXav).

Also check if your MacBook is running on the latest version of OSX.

(Make sure you also read K Shaffer's nice post above).

Well, you better visit the nearest Apple Store, they may help you at the Genius bar. Online it's more difficult to get a good overview of your problems.

Do you have a device that can go online and save a file to a USB flash memory drive?

Can you set up a second user account in the failed computer to see if that can go online?

Which model MacBook Pro (year model vintage, plus OS X version running) do you have?

Can you start the computer in Recovery mode and then see if it can install a new system?

OS X: About OS X Recovery

https://www.apple.com/osx/recovery/

If there is a recovery partition, it may be able to repair itself. Or, with the user account issue

your main admin account has, out of the way, the computer could go online via another

user account. You can make a new account also a second Admin, but the computer may

ask for your old Admin password.

Or you may be able to get to the Internet Recovery server from the recovery mode, and

that should by-pass any current user account problem with getting online. Have you

tried any keyboard shortcuts to see about accessing the computer for troubleshooting?

Startup key combinations for Intel-based Macs

Or, use an Ethernet cable (or Thunderbolt to Ethernet, or USB) to connect by wire to an

internet provider's router, instead of wireless...

http://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/

•Locate Apple sales, service, etc by Country/Region:

https://locate.apple.com/country

• Find an Apple Authorized Service Provider
• Visit an Apple Retail Store

In the long run, you may end up installing a completely new system; and if you have

an older backup in TimeMachine that pre-dates this odd issue, you could use it, but

any backup that may be contaminated by the issues you now face, shouldn't be used.

Good luck! 🙂

edited 2x

As all of the other support members have suggested, you will have to reinstall OS X through the Recovery Partition.

First, back up all of your data.

Forget viruses.

In many cases, this issue is caused by a hardware fault. A loose connection, a short circuit, or a microscopic break in a solder joint may open and close depending on temperature, making the failure intermittent.

Test after taking each of the following steps that you haven't already taken. Back up all data before making any changes.

1. If you can connect to the Internet via Ethernet, Bluetooth, or a USB network device, make sure all available OS X updates are installed. If Wi-Fi is your only means of network access, skip this step.

2. Reset the NVRAM.

3. Reset the System Management Controller.

4. Start up in Recovery mode. In the menu bar of the OS X Utilities screen, there's a Wi-Fi menu. Try to connect. If it works, select Install OS X. If your Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade, so make a note of those before you begin.

5. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service provider.