I picked up Malware on my 09 iBook. How do I kill it!?

You may have to try one of the more manual removal methods since that OS X

version pre-dates a few better and available methods; however to identify the

item and then see what it takes to remove it from the suggested tested methods

is usually good for a start. Then try again if there are leftover unfinished parts...

•Adware Removal Guide -

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

Note: within the above, is this Identification page, that will help in manual removal:

http://www.thesafemac.com/arg-identification/ read through the page for best effect.

With an old browser, you may still be able to go into the Extensions (in Safari) to see

if any of the parts that affect the newer version are hiding there. You almost have to

go and install (by accident, or by bait-n-switch) to get several of the common ones.

More names of possible adware or malware items to look for in your browser extension

may include some shown in this Apple Support article, intended for later OS X + Safari:

•Remove unwanted adware that displays pop-up ads and graphics on your Mac - Apple Support

There is a chance your computer may have an older version of MacKeeper or some other

untoward badware that is counterproductive, slows the computer terribly, & adds no value;

if so then the means to remove it may vary. I've no experience in those; and have avoided

the temptation to click on any "free download" cleanmymac, mackeeper, or other garbage.

Of course, it would usually go without saying "do not download or install their offer, do not

call any toll-free number (that may not be one) nor accept offers, scams, to fix your Mac!"

Later, you may be able to find a less unsecure browser, to try. The better choice would

require your computer to be running Tiger 10.4.11 or 10.5.8; that's TenFourFox browser.

http://www.floodgap.com/software/tenfourfox/ - has info, it's not for 10.3.9 though.

Hopefully this helps. It takes time.

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

I would normally suggest exactly what K Shaffer did. However, I just want to confirm... is this actually on an iBook G4 running Mac OS X 10.3.9? Your profile says so, but your subject suggests it's an "09 iBook," which does not exist. The iBook G4 series was made back in 1999-2000. What computer and system are you actually using? Go to the Apple menu and choose About This Mac to obtain that information.

If you are using Mac OS X 10.3.9 on an old G4 Mac, it's extremely unlikely that any current adware would be able to run on that.

VWarner, I hope that you don't mind me posting this but I think you'll see that its similar. I accidentally ended up on a site that told me that KOOBFACE was on my mini. He then proceeded to try to sell me a pkg which I said no to and hung up. He had remotely accessed my mini (I gave him permission). I then felt very nervous because he had been on the computer and I was afraid that he may have put something on it.

I then called AVG because I have a subscription with them because I run Parellels on my MAC. They told me to use AVG for the mac to checked the computer. for any malware. He then told me that if I wanted to check and remove any malware for an older mac I should do it from an updated computer and put the IBook in target mode to scan the specific hard drive.

I did this, was able to detect the malware, then remove it. My only problem now is that the IBook now won't boot up.

I thought that during the boot cycle if I held down cmd and S it would start in safe mode but i was wrong. I then tried alt-cmd and p r all together during boot waited for the second chimes then released them. That was supposed to reboot the computer. That still didn't work. I find it hard to believe that putting the computer into target mode caused this.

I still think that the idea of putting it into target mode was the right thing to do but I'm stumped as to why I can't get the computer to start.

If you gave a scammer remote access to your computer, anti-virus software is not going to be able to guarantee you a clean system. The scammer could have easily done something that anti-virus software wouldn't detect. Your system should be considered compromised, and you should erase the hard drive and reinstall everything from scratch. Documents should be restored from backups manually, not via some kind of automated tool (such as Migration Assistant), so as not to transfer any kind of settings files or the like.

Thanks Thomas, I agree with you but my problem is that I don't know how to start it. I have no idea as to where the disks are. I was thinking of putting it back into target mode then maybe using the disk utilt to see it I can repair any damage just to get it up and running. What do you think?

Disk Utility is unlikely to help, and definitely will not assist in any way with any problems that might have been caused by the scammers' access.

Further, I suspect that whatever you did to remove "malware" from the machine probably went astray and badly damaged the system. Most likely, some important system files were removed in error. So, either way, you're going to need to reinstall the system.

As to how that is done, the same question I asked vwarner applies... is this actually an old iBook, or is it newer? If it's a newer machine, be aware that they haven't shipped with disks at all for some time, and reinstalling the system works differently now.

The IBook is about 12 years old. I believe when I got that system I did get disks but where they are now, I have no idea. I've had two other laptops since then.

Stiobhard Cassel wrote:

The IBook is about 12 years old. I believe when I got that system I did get disks but where they are now, I have no idea. I've had two other laptops since then.

Yup, you'll definitely need disks for that, then. Unfortunately, in the machine's current condition, you're not going to be able to get it working again without those disks, unless you have a complete "clone" backup of that computer, including all system files, that you could somehow clone back onto its hard drive, perhaps via target disk mode if that is working at this point. You may be able to order new disks from Apple, except that I'm not sure that they'll still have available stock of disks that old. You may need to turn to eBay.

Thanks Thomas. The Ebay site is actually a good idea. Thanks for your thoughts on this.