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Bogus Apple Support Pop Up's

I've been hacked. My Safari browser locks up with Bogus Apple Support pop up's asking me to call to clean a virus off my computer. How can I clean thyself my computer?

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on Jun 23, 2015 10:02 PM

Reply
9 replies

Jun 23, 2015 10:04 PM in response to jrsng

You have not been hacked.

Helpful Links Regarding Malware Problems


If you are having an immediate problem with ads popping up see The Safe Mac » Adware Removal Guide, remove adware that displays pop-up ads and graphics on your Mac, and AdwareMedic. If you require anti-virus protection Thomas Reed recommends using ClamXAV. (Thank you to Thomas Reed for this recommendation.) You might consider adding this Safari extensions: Adblock Plus 1.8.9.


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.


The following comes from user stevejobsfan0123. I have made minor changes to adapt to this presentation.


Fix Some Browser Pop-ups That Take Over Safari.


Common pop-ups include a message saying the government has seized your computer and you must pay to have it released (often called "Moneypak"), or a phony message saying that your computer has been infected, and you need to call a tech support number (sometimes claiming to be Apple) to get it resolved. First, understand that these pop-ups are not caused by a virus and your computer has not been affected. This "hijack" is limited to your web browser. Also understand that these messages are scams, so do not pay any money, call the listed number, or provide any personal information. This article will outline the solution to dismiss the pop-up.


Quit Safari


Usually, these pop-ups will not go away by either clicking "OK" or "Cancel." Furthermore, several menus in the menu bar may become disabled and show in gray, including the option to quit Safari. You will likely have to force quit Safari. To do this, press Command + option + esc, select Safari, and press Force Quit.


Relaunch Safari


If you relaunch Safari, the page will reopen. To prevent this from happening, hold down the 'Shift' key while opening Safari. This will prevent windows from the last time Safari was running from reopening.


This will not work in all cases. The shift key must be held at the right time, and in some cases, even if done correctly, the window reappears. In these circumstances, after force quitting Safari, turn off Wi-Fi or disconnect Ethernet, depending on how you connect to the Internet. Then relaunch Safari normally. It will try to reload the malicious webpage, but without a connection, it won't be able to. Navigate away from that page by entering a different URL, i.e. www.apple.com, and trying to load it. Now you can reconnect to the Internet, and the page you entered will appear rather than the malicious one.

Jun 23, 2015 10:24 PM in response to jrsng

Nobody here would ever recommend the use of McAfee. There's a good chance that there is nothing that needs to be removed at all, but if there is then as Kappy has already recommended, AdwareMedic will identify and optionally remove all currently known forms of Adware. It was developed by one of the Forum's foremost Malware experts and a colleague of mine, but there is no need to take our word for it. Search the Forum for hundreds of happy users. He also operates TheSafeMac web site (also referenced by Kappy) where you can find manual removal instructions if you know what you have been infected with.

Jun 23, 2015 10:24 PM in response to jrsng

Read what I provided and visit the links provided.


Quit Safari


Usually, these pop-ups will not go away by either clicking "OK" or "Cancel." Furthermore, several menus in the menu bar may become disabled and show in gray, including the option to quit Safari. You will likely have to force quit Safari. To do this, press Command + option + esc, select Safari, and press Force Quit.


Relaunch Safari


If you relaunch Safari, the page will reopen. To prevent this from happening, hold down the 'Shift' key while opening Safari. This will prevent windows from the last time Safari was running from reopening.


This will not work in all cases. The shift key must be held at the right time, and in some cases, even if done correctly, the window reappears. In these circumstances, after force quitting Safari, turn off Wi-Fi or disconnect Ethernet, depending on how you connect to the Internet. Then relaunch Safari normally. It will try to reload the malicious webpage, but without a connection, it won't be able to. Navigate away from that page by entering a different URL, i.e. www.apple.com, and trying to load it. Now you can reconnect to the Internet, and the page you entered will appear rather than the malicious one.

Jun 23, 2015 11:59 PM in response to jrsng

jrsng wrote:


This is starting to remind me of the days when I had a PC.

I'm sure it does. Adware has been a fact of life on PC's for a very long time, but only started to show up on Macs within the last couple of years. Not malicious, but it sure is annoying. Apple held off on doing anything about it until February of this year and there is more planned for future OS X releases.

Bogus Apple Support Pop Up's

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