Virus causing pop up

Click here and follow the instructions, or if there’s a type of adware not covered by them on the computer, these ones. If you'd rather not remove it manually, you can instead run MalwareBytes for Mac.

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Are you still on the hotel wifi now? If so, it's probably just a bad wifi network that is injecting ads.

If you aren't, did you download and install anything right before the problem started? If so, what, and where did you find it?

Don't use any kind of "anti-virus" or "anti-malware" product on a Mac. There is never a need for it, and relying on it for protection makes you more vulnerable to attack, not less.

This easy procedure will detect any kind of ad-injection malware that I know of. Deactivating the malware is a separate, and even easier, procedure that doesn't involve downloading anything.

Some legitimate software is ad-supported and may display ads in its own windows or in a web browser while it's running. That's not malware and it may not show up.

Step 1

Please triple-click the line below on this page to select it, then copy the text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C:

~/Library/LaunchAgents

In the Finder, select

Go ▹ Go to Folder...

from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. Press return. Either a folder named "LaunchAgents" will open, or you'll get a notice that the folder can't be found. If the folder isn't found, go to the next step.

If the folder does open, press the key combination command-2 to select list view, if it's not already selected. There should be a column in the Finder window headed Date Modified. Click that heading twice to sort the contents by date with the newest at the top. If necessary, enlarge the window so that all of the contents are showing.

Follow the instructions in this support article under the heading "Take a screenshot of a window." An image file with a name beginning in "Screen Shot" should be saved to the Desktop. Open the screenshot and make sure it's readable. If not, capture a smaller part of the screen showing only what needs to be shown.

Start a reply to this message. Drag the image file into the editing window to upload it. You can also include text in the reply.

Leave the folder open for now.

Step 2

Do as in Step 1 with this line:

/Library/LaunchAgents

The folder that may open will have the same name, but is not the same, as the one in Step 1. As in that step, the folder may not exist.

Step 3

Repeat with this line:

/Library/LaunchDaemons

This time the folder will be named "LaunchDaemons."

Step 4

Open the Safari preferences window and select the Extensions tab. If any extensions are listed, post a screenshot. If there are no extensions, or if you can't launch Safari, skip this step.

Step 5

If you use the Firefox or Chrome browser, open its extension list and do as in Step 4.

Does that mean that you're still on the hotel wifi, or are you back at home?

If the latter, did the problem occur while you were at the hotel, or has it only started happening since you've been home?

The problem is easy to solve.

Linc Davis wrote:

The problem is easy to solve.

I agree. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac. will take care of the problem:

http://www.adwaremedic.com/index.php

Quick, fast, easy download and very comprehensive and efficient.

Ciao.

Pilot615 wrote:

I only noticed it when I went to use it at my house and now it's driving me crazy

If you really haven't installed anything at all just before this problem started, and you only noticed it once you got to your home network, it probably isn't adware. Your home network may have been hacked while you were gone. Does the problem disappear if you take your computer to another network, then reappear as soon as you're back at home? If so, that's a sure sign of a compromised network. In this case, see:

How can I troubleshoot my wireless router or modem with my Mac?

(Fair disclosure: I am affiliated with Malwarebytes, whose site I am linking to above.)

The only tools that anyone needs to detect and remove adware are the Finder and a web browser, both of which you already have. Anyone who has enough computer skill to install adware can just as well remove it without using anything else.

Under no circumstances should you ever allow anti-virus software to delete something for you. Never allow anti-virus software to remove files from your computer.

Apple doesn't endorse any third-party "anti-virus" or "anti-malware" product. Here and here are its general statements about malware protection, and here are its instructions for removing the most common types of ad-injection malware. None of those support pages mentions anti-malware products. An Apple employee who recommends such a product is speaking only for himself or herself, not for the company. See this thread for an example of what the results can be.

You become infected with malware by downloading unknown software without doing research to determine whether it's safe. If you keep making that mistake, the same, and worse, will keep happening, and no anti-malware will rescue you. Your own intelligence and caution are the only reliable defense.

As a Mac user, I'm concerned about attempts by the Windows/Android anti-malware industry to move in on our platform. The truth is that relying on anti-malware makes us less safe from malware attack, not more, because it can't possibly defend against every threat, and if we have a false sense of security, we may take risks from which it doesn't protect us.

The Windows/Android anti-malware industry had more than $75 billion in sales in 2014 [source: Gartner, Inc.]. Its marketing strategy is to make people feel that they're defenseless against malware attack unless they use its products. But with all that anti-malware, the Windows and Android platforms are still infested with malware—most of it far more dangerous than mere adware. The same thing can be expected to happen to the Mac platform if its users depend on the same industry to protect them, instead of protecting themselves.

These are generalities. Regarding the "malwarebytes" product in particular, you may be told that there are no reports that is has caused damage. In fact, there is such a report by ASC user LizardMBP in this thread. Others may tell you what they make of that report. I suggest you draw your own conclusions.

You can also search this site for thousands of other comments on all kinds of anti-malware by ASC members other than myself. Below are a few examples, all quoted from different discussions.

I am unaware of any completely harmless Mac anti-virus software. They are all made by Windows software developers who know nothing about Macs. At best, they will slow your machine down and could easily corrupt important file[s] and/or databases.

There will always be threats to your information security associated with using any Internet - connected communications tool... Assuming that any product will protect you from those threats is a hazardous attitude...

Antivirus software does more damage to Macs that the malware does.

We spend far more time here on the support forums cleaning up problems with antivirus software than we do cleaning up problems with viruses.

The only malicious software is the anti-virus or "clean up" software itself.

If you'd like to see links to the quoted discussions, ask.

Linc Davis wrote:

As a Mac user, I'm concerned about attempts by the Windows/Android anti-malware industry to move in on our platform.

That is a moot point because MalwareBytes for Mac is a repackaging of AdwareMedic, which has always been Mac only software.

These are generalities. Regarding the "malwarebytes" product in particular, you may be told that there are no reports that is has caused damage. In fact, there is such a report by ASC user LizardMBP in this thread. Others may tell you what they make of that report. I suggest you draw your own conclusions.

What I make of that report, and as Thomas has pointed out to you in another thread, is that the user is making false claims, and the moderators have agreed with that as they removed the discussion that the user started. There aren't many different conclusions you can draw from that.

Linc Davis wrote:

Regarding the "malwarebytes" product in particular, you may be told that there are no reports that is has caused damage. In fact, there is such a report by ASC user LizardMBP in this thread. Others may tell you what they make of that report. I suggest you draw your own conclusions.

It should be noted that the discussion that LizardMBP started, at your request on that thread, was filled with demonstrably false claims, and has since been removed by the moderators. Draw your own conclusions from that.

You can also search this site for thousands of other comments on all kinds of anti-malware by ASC members other than myself. Below are a few examples, all quoted from different discussions.

I see that you have changed the quotes you are including, presumably so that I will no longer be able to say that you're taking my own words out of context. However, you're still taking other people's words out of context. Without that context, we have no way of knowing the full meaning of the quote in context. Further, some of the quotes you have used were quite old, many years in some cases. Again, without the context, we have no way of knowing how outdated those quotes are. We also have no idea who said them, and whether or not they are a reliable source of information.

This is non-information, and should be treated as such.

Linc Davis wrote:

The only tools that anyone needs to detect and remove adware are the Finder and a web browser, both of which you already have. Anyone who has enough computer skill to install adware can just as well remove it without using anything else

The problem with this statement is that there are situations where third party applications are more efficient and comprehensive than what is offered by Apple. I know that yo be factual because I have experienced it.

Apple doesn't endorse any third-party "anti-virus" or "anti-malware" product.

What you omit is that Apple does not prohibit or discourage the use of third party applications to be used for problem solving. It does not now nor has it in the past. The implication that a user should not use a third party application is a false one.

An Apple employee who recommends such a product is speaking only for himself or herself, not for the company. See this thread for an example of what the results can be.

How untrue this statement is. Any employee whose job is to communicate with a company's customers is speaking for the corporation because that is their job. These include the persons who staff the telephone support service or the genius' dressed in their Apple T shirts at an Apple genius bar. When they recommend Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac, they are speaking for Apple and many of them have made that recommendation.

Your attempt to set a premise that non Apple approaches to solving malware and adware problems is at variance with Apple corporate policy is a spurious one. What you are doing is a disservice to the third party reader who may be a neophyte in these situations and may not understand the nuances and differences involved. I suggest that you include all the elements involved in your argument, not simply ones that may support your narrow agenda.

Ciao,