how to get rid of pop ups flash mall

Linc: Thank you for all your help. I posted the results from my MacBook Air that you offered in your Jan 19 post. When you have time, please look at the results and offer advice as to what I do next. Thank you!!

If you're using Safari, it may be a very simple solution. Go to Safari Preferences and select the Tab "Extensions". You may see the bugger right there. Delete Flash Mall and Turn off Extensions. No idea how it got there but I just waved a Big Mac Bye Bye!

If you're using Safari, it may be a very simple solution. Go to Safari Preferences and select the Tab "Extensions". You may see the bugger right there. Delete Flash Mall and Turn off Extensions. No idea how it got there but I just waved a Big Mac Bye Bye!

No idea. I'm wondering the same. And I'm miffed because Mac was until now immune to these invaders. I've been cautioned to keep the Library folder instructions handy as they may not really be all gone - just hiding. Flash Mall is the culprit. Creepy crawlers.

Hey Linc Davis,

I'm having a difficult time removing flash mall. I have followed your instructions, but when I try to empty my trash can, an error message pops up - "The operation can’t be completed because the item “launch” is in use." How do I rid my computer of these nuisances??

Solution: AdBlock. I did all of the library file searches and deletes - multiple times - and even got hours of help from AppleCare. Including escalation to a supervisor. Hooooours of frustration as we had momentary wins and then they'd pop up again. What a nightmare. Those little green circles hiding and then popping up again and multiplying and multiplying. The final solution was to install AdBlock. It worked!!! Neither hide nor hair of any adware. Anywhere. Jheesh. Finally. AdBlock. It does what it says.Thank you.

RedMolly250 wrote:

This does look extremely daunting.

This is confusing: "1. This procedure is a diagnostic test. It changes nothing, for better or worse, and therefore will not, in itself, solve the problem. But with the aid of the test results, the solution may take a few minutes, instead of hours or days."

SNIP

So to simplify, consolidated questions:

If I go through all the steps provided:

1) IF I back up first won't it also back up the virus?

2) If I go through all these steps will it actually rid my computer of the virus? or is this an exercise in diagnostics only.

RedMolly

Linc Davis is one of the most respected and capable members here. Read your emphasized quote carefully for your answers. MalWare is a complicated deal sometimes and requires as much data as possible to address. You can do it the expert way or you own way. You could try to DIY or run AdwareMedic but others here HAVE AdwareMedic installed have run the test and posted the results indicating that AdwareMedic does not clean this.

Further indication that AdwareMedic does not do the job is that the App's author has a HowTo page on FlashMall (aka many other names) > http://www.thesafemac.com/arg-buca-apps/

ÇÇÇ

ChitlinsCC wrote:

You could try to DIY or run AdwareMedic but others here HAVE AdwareMedic installed have run the test and posted the results indicating that AdwareMedic does not clean this.

That is not correct. It should remove Flashmall - certainly, I'm not aware of a variant of Flashmall that it doesn't remove - and if it doesn't, I can certainly help to identify what hasn't been removed.

Further indication that AdwareMedic does not do the job is that the App's author has a HowTo page on FlashMall (aka many other names) > http://www.thesafemac.com/arg-buca-apps/

That does not mean that AdwareMedic doesn't handle it. I maintain the manual removal instructions in parallel with AdwareMedic, to give people a choice. Those who want to do it manually may do so using that page. Those who want to run an app to remove it can use AdwareMedic.

My mistake thomas... I misinterpreted the etrecheck results on one respondent (AdWareMedic present - ASSUMED it had been run 😊 and therefore since issue persisted... well you see my folly) in addition to my ignorance of your perfect plan of giving folks a choice. I will refrain from drawing conclusions in future. My humblest of apologies. - ÇÇÇ

Thank you so much everyone, especially Linc & Thomas. AdwareMedic worked like a charm (so far, so good!) : http://www.adwaremedic.com/index.php Only took 43 seconds. Much Gratitude sent your way!!

You have a variant or an incomplete installation of "Crossrider." Instructions for removing are already in this thread.

You also have "ZipCloud," which is some sort of cloud-storage service with a doubtful reputation. The OS X client is sometimes distributed along with malware. Although ZipCloud may not be malicious itself, it should be deemed suspect by virtue of the company it keeps.

To remove ZipCloud, start by backing up all data (not with ZipCloud itself, of course.)

Quit the application, if it's running, and drag it from the Applications folder to the Trash.

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

~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.jdibackup.ZipCloud.autostart.plist

Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select

Services ▹ Reveal in Finder (or just Reveal)

from the contextual menu.* A folder should open with a file selected. Move the selected file to the Trash.

In the same folder, there may also be a file named

com.jdibackup.ZipCloud.notify.plist

Move that to the Trash as well.

Log out or restart the computer and empty the Trash.

*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.

I tried manually removing the malware. It seemed successful at first but then it reoccured. I downloaded BitDefender's free malware tool and it removed one. Then I downloaded and activated their full product, Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac . When I ran a scan with that it detected and removed another! It is somewhat expensive ($60 for three licenses) and has to be renewed annually but it removed all the malware. Since I never did figure out how I got infected in the first place, it seemed prudent to get something that in addition to detecting and removing malware would also safeguard me from a new instance of malware. The day I got hit, I responded to two "customer surveys" that appeared to be from websites I frequent and trust. They offered "free gifts" but required a small handling/shipping charge. I declined because it didn't seem worth the trouble. In hindsight, I suspect that I almost fell victim to a sophisticated phishing attempt. If I had paid for the shipping/handling with my credit card, it would more than likely have been compromised.

Hi,

I so appreciate your help but this did not get rid of the problem. I followed all the steps and got rid of all offending agents, etc. Emptied trash, rebooted. It was still there. I uninstalled chrome but found it lurking in Firefox. Seems not to be in Safari, so far. In Firefox, I seem to have isolated it and disabled it in the add-ons. It reads as disabled: flashmall1.1 0.95.8. I can't seem to figure out how to get the thing manually removed from the add ons and so far the browser seems to be virus free. But I fear it is lurking in other places on the computer. I have not yet re-installed chrome.

Any more suggestions?

Thanks,

WConquest

Hi Wendy. I tried all of the above, as you did. I still had those little nasties continue to pop up. I finally installed AdBlock (recommended by Apple Care folks). It worked. I have had no trouble at all ever since. Good luck!

You have adware installed. See my Adware Removal Guide for help getting rid of it.

You also have MacKeeper installed, which is junk and should never be used. See Ongoing MacKeeper fraud.

(Fair disclosure: I may receive compensation from links to my sites, TheSafeMac.com and AdwareMedic.com.)