tkosi

Q: Malware?

My computer was being remotely controlled by a company claiming my computer was hacked?  I have gotten rid of them, but do I need to run any antivirus or malware software to make sure my computer is ok?

MacBook Pro

Posted on Jan 19, 2015 3:06 PM

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Q: Malware?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Jan 19, 2015 3:08 PM in response to tkosi
    Level 10 (271,392 points)
    Desktops
    Jan 19, 2015 3:08 PM in response to tkosi

    No. That was not malware or a virus. It was simply Internet scamming.

     

    Helpful Links Regarding Malware Problems

     

    If you are having an immediate problem with ads popping up see The Safe Mac » Adware Removal Guide and AdwareMedic.

     

    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

      About file quarantine in OS X

     

    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 everything targeting the Mac.

    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.

  • by tkosi,

    tkosi tkosi Jan 19, 2015 3:13 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 19, 2015 3:13 PM in response to Kappy

    Thank You!  The popups have disappeared.  We were just worried that someone could take our private info.  Hopefully, that is not the case

  • by MadMacs0,

    MadMacs0 MadMacs0 Jan 19, 2015 6:47 PM in response to tkosi
    Level 5 (4,791 points)
    Jan 19, 2015 6:47 PM in response to tkosi

    tkosi wrote:

     

    do I need to run any antivirus or malware software to make sure my computer is ok?

    I guess I'm not clear on exactly what happened to you. Did you give access to that company?

     

    It might help if you think they may have installed malware when they accessed your machine, but in general, A-V software won't identify spyware as malware since it's usually commercial or hack software that has legitimate uses (e.g. parental control). The only one that specializes in that sort of thing is MacScan and it's currently terrible at detecting other types of malware.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jan 19, 2015 8:12 PM in response to tkosi
    Level 10 (208,000 points)
    Applications
    Jan 19, 2015 8:12 PM in response to tkosi
    My computer was being remotely controlled

    What does that mean exactly?

  • by thomas_r.,

    thomas_r. thomas_r. Jan 20, 2015 4:48 AM in response to tkosi
    Level 7 (30,924 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 20, 2015 4:48 AM in response to tkosi

    tkosi wrote:

     

    My computer was being remotely controlled by a company claiming my computer was hacked?

     

    If you gave remote access to some online company that claimed that your computer had been hacked or infected with a virus, you got scammed. The people who had remote access to your computer were scammers, and thus your computer should be considered compromised. There is no way to fix this other than to erase the hard drive and erase everything from scratch. No anti-virus software is capable of detecting all possible malicious changes that might have been made to your system.

     

    For more information, see:

     

    Tech support scam pop-ups

    How to reinstall Mac OS X from scratch

     

    (Fair disclosure: I may receive compensation from links to my sites, TheSafeMac.com and AdwareMedic.com, in the form of buttons allowing for donations. Donations are not required to use my site or software.)