Q: AdMedic

Hi Richard ...

It's safe and effective and only takes a minute or to to find and move adware / malware to the Trash for you.

AdwareMedic

The Safe Mac » Adware Removal Guide

Generally speaking you should never download and install something without having specific justification for doing so. That action is responsible for the vast majority of Mac-related problems reported on this site.

If you are having trouble with your Mac, please describe its symptoms in as much detail as you are able. I am unaware of any problem that absolutely requires downloading anything to fix it, excluding routine software updates from software developers, including Apple.

Should I download it now, or just wait until I have any problems?

Neither. You should make sure you never have such a problem.

The built-in security features of OS X reduce the risk of malware attack, but they are not, and never will be, complete protection. Malware is a problem of human behavior, and a technological fix is not going to solve it. Trusting software to protect you will only make you more vulnerable.

The best defense is always going to be your own intelligence. With the possible exception of Java exploits, all known malware circulating on the Internet that affects a fully-updated installation of OS X 10.6 or later takes the form of so-called "Trojan horses," which can only have an effect if the victim is duped into running them. The threat therefore amounts to a battle of wits between you and the scam artists. If you're smarter than they think you are, you'll win. That means, in practice, that you always stay within a safe harbor of computing practices. How do you know when you're leaving the safe harbor? Below are some warning signs of danger.

Software from an untrustworthy source

☞ Software of any kind is distributed via BitTorrent, or Usenet, or on a website that also distributes pirated music or movies.

☞ Software with a corporate brand, such as Adobe Flash Player, doesn't come directly from the developer’s website. Do not trust an alert from any website to update Flash, or your browser, or any other software.

☞ Rogue websites such as Softonic, Soft32, and CNET Download distribute free applications that have been packaged in a superfluous "installer."

☞ The software is advertised by means of spam or intrusive web ads. Any ad, on any site, that includes a direct link to a download should be ignored.

Software that is plainly illegal or does something illegal

☞ High-priced commercial software such as Photoshop is "cracked" or "free."

☞ An application helps you to infringe copyright, for instance by circumventing the copy protection on commercial software, or saving streamed media for reuse without permission.

Conditional or unsolicited offers from strangers

☞ A telephone caller or a web page tells you that you have a “virus” and offers to help you remove it. (Some reputable websites did legitimately warn visitors who were infected with the "DNSChanger" malware. That exception to this rule no longer applies.)

☞ A web site offers free content such as video or music, but to use it you must install a “codec,” “plug-in,” "player," "downloader," "extractor," or “certificate” that comes from that same site, or an unknown one.

☞ You win a prize in a contest you never entered.

☞ Someone on a message board such as this one is eager to help you, but only if you download an application of his choosing.

☞ A "FREE WI-FI !!!" network advertises itself in a public place such as an airport, but is not provided by the management.

☞ Anything online that you would expect to pay for is "free."

Unexpected events

☞ A file is downloaded automatically when you visit a web page, with no other action on your part. Delete any such file without opening it.

☞ You open what you think is a document and get an alert that it's "an application downloaded from the Internet." Click Cancel and delete the file. Even if you don't get the alert, you should still delete any file that isn't what you expected it to be.

☞ An application does something you don't expect, such as asking for permission to access your contacts, your location, or the Internet for no obvious reason.

☞ Software is attached to email that you didn't request, even if it comes (or seems to come) from someone you trust.

I don't say that leaving the safe harbor just once will necessarily result in disaster, but making a habit of it will weaken your defenses against malware attack. Any of the above scenarios should, at the very least, make you uncomfortable.

Java on the Web (not to be confused with JavaScript, to which it's not related, despite the similarity of the names) is a weak point in the security of any system. Java is, among other things, a platform for running complex applications in a web page, on the client. That was always a bad idea, and Java's developers have proven themselves incapable of implementing it without also creating a portal for malware to enter. Past Java exploits are the closest thing there has ever been to a Windows-style virus affecting OS X. Merely loading a page with malicious Java content could be harmful.

Fortunately, client-side Java on the Web is obsolete and mostly extinct. Only a few outmoded sites still use it. Try to hasten the process of extinction by avoiding those sites, if you have a choice. Forget about playing games or other non-essential uses of Java.

Java is not included in OS X 10.7 and later. Discrete Java installers are distributed by Apple and by Oracle (the developer of Java.) Don't use either one unless you need it. Most people don't. If Java is installed, disable it—not JavaScript—in your browsers.

Regardless of version, experience has shown that Java on the Web can't be trusted. If you must use a Java applet for a task on a specific site, enable Java only for that site in Safari. Never enable Java for a public website that carries third-party advertising. Use it only on well-known, login-protected, secure websites without ads. In Safari 6 or later, you'll see a lock icon in the address bar with the abbreviation "https" when visiting a secure site.

The only way to prevent installing adware is to recognize its appearance, so that you can avoid it. To learn how to do that read How to install adware.

Once installed, eradication methods vary depending on the particular adware that you installed. There is no one technique guaranteed to work in all cases and for all time, because adware creators are constantly trying different ways to deceive users into installing their products. If not for deception and the ease of exploiting users' common desire to download or view Internet content they would otherwise need to pay for, adware would not exist. For that reason there are no automated means of its prevention. That doesn't mean there are not products on the market that claim that ability, but none can be relied upon to prevent all present and future threats. Most of them will only cause unacceptable performance and other miseries, resulting in a "cure" worse than the disease you seek to avoid.

The best technological means of protecting your Mac from the threat of adware or malware in general is to implement a reliable backup strategy, so that a last-ditch means of recovery exists in the event less drastic recovery methods fail. To learn how to back up read Mac Basics: Time Machine backs up your Mac.