HT202225: How to avoid or remove Mac Defender malware in Mac OS X v10.6 or earlier

Learn about How to avoid or remove Mac Defender malware in Mac OS X v10.6 or earlier
joanfrommississauga

Q: how to i stop this website to open http://mackeeperapp3.mackeeper.com/landings/123.1/?affid=mzb_216.11596752.14396 88851.2.mzb

Posted on Aug 15, 2015 6:36 PM

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Q: how to i stop this website to open http://mackeeperapp3.mackeeper.com/landings/123.1/?affid=mzb_216.11596752.14396 88851.2.mzb

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  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Aug 15, 2015 10:05 PM in response to joanfrommississauga
    Level 10 (207,963 points)
    Applications
    Aug 15, 2015 10:05 PM in response to joanfrommississauga

    You may have installed ad-injection malware ("adware").

    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 adware that I know of. Deactivating it 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.

    If none of your web browsers is working well enough to carry out these instructions, restart the computer in safe mode. That will disable the malware temporarily.

    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. Please don't skip this step.

    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.

  • by joanfrommississauga,Helpful

    joanfrommississauga joanfrommississauga Aug 16, 2015 4:22 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 16, 2015 4:22 AM in response to Linc Davis

    Screen Shot 2015-08-16 at 7.17.56 AM.png

     

    Screen Shot 2015-08-16 at 7.20.52 AM.png

    the extensions in the finder I deleted it a few days ago thinking it will solve the problem but I still have this problem.

     

    thank you for replying to my question.

     

    Joan

  • by Linc Davis,Solvedanswer

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Aug 16, 2015 6:54 AM in response to joanfrommississauga
    Level 10 (207,963 points)
    Applications
    Aug 16, 2015 6:54 AM in response to joanfrommississauga

    A

    Back up all data before making any changes.

    In the folder arranged as shown in the first screenshot, please delete these items:

              #3 and #4 ("VSearch")

    In the second folder:

              #1 ("VSearch")

    You may be prompted for your password.

    Restart the computer.

    Reset the Safari home page, if it was changed. You may need to do the same in other browsers.

    These steps will permanently inactivate the malware, as long as you never reinstall it. A few small files may remain in hidden folders, but they have no effect.

    The instructions above apply only to you. I'm including more general—and complete—removal instructions below for the benefit of others who may find this discussion. You can skip the remaining steps, but you should read them.

    B

    You installed one or more variants of the "VSearch" ad-injection malware. Follow Apple Support's instructions to remove it.

    If you have trouble following those instructions, see below.

    Malware is always changing to get around the defenses against it. This procedure works as of now, as far as I know. It may not work in the future. Anyone finding this comment a few days or more after it was posted should look for a more recent discussion, or start a new one.

    The VSearch malware tries to hide itself by varying the names of the files it installs. To remove it, you must first identify the naming pattern.

    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/LaunchDaemons

    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.

    A folder named "LaunchDaemons" may open. Look inside it for two files with names of the form

              com.something.daemon.plist

    and

               com.something.helper.plist

    Here something is a variable string of characters, which can be different in each VSearch infection. So far it has always been an alphanumeric string without punctuation, such as "cloud," "dot," "highway," "submarine," or "trusteddownloads." Sometimes it's a meaningless string such as "e8dec5ae7fc75c28" rather than a word. Sometimes the string is "apple," and then you must be especially careful not to delete the wrong files, because many built-in OS X files have similar names.

    You could have more than one copy of the malware, with different values of something.

    If you find these files, leave the LaunchDaemons folder open, and open the following folder in the same way:

    /Library/LaunchAgents

    In this folder, there may be a file named

              com.something.agent.plist

    where the string something is the same as before.

    If you feel confident that you've identified the above files, back up all data, then drag just those three files—nothing else—to the Trash. You may be prompted for your administrator login password. Close the Finder windows and restart the computer.

    Don't delete the "LaunchAgents" or "LaunchDaemons" folder or anything else inside either one.

    The malware is now permanently inactivated, as long as you never reinstall it. You can stop here if you like, or you can remove two remaining components for the sake of completeness.

    Open this folder:

    /Library/Application Support

    If it has a subfolder named just

               something

    where something is the same string you saw before, drag that subfolder to the Trash and close the window.

    Don't delete the "Application Support" folder or anything else inside it.

    Finally, in this folder:

    /System/Library/Frameworks

    there may be an item named exactly

                v.framework

    or else an item named

                something.framework

    Again, something is the same string as before.

    This item is actually a folder, though it has a different icon than usual. Drag it to the Trash and close the window.

    Don't delete the "Frameworks" folder or anything else inside it.

    If you didn't find the files or you're not sure about the identification, post what you found.

    If in doubt, or if you have no backups, change nothing at all.

    The trouble may have started when you downloaded and ran an application called "MPlayerX." That's the name of a legitimate free movie player, but the name is also used fraudulently to distribute VSearch. If there is an item with that name in the Applications folder, delete it. I don't recommend that you install the genuine "MPlayerX," because it's hosted on the rogue "SourceForge" website and is bundled with other malware.

    This trojan is often found on illegal websites that traffic in pirated content such as movies. If you, or anyone else who uses the computer, visit such sites and follow prompts to install software, you can expect more of the same, and worse, to follow. Never install any software that you downloaded from a bittorrent, or that was downloaded by someone else from an unknown source.

    In the Security & Privacy pane of System Preferences, select the General tab. The radio button marked Anywhere  should not be selected. If it is, click the lock icon to unlock the settings, then select one of the other buttons. After that, don't ignore a warning that you are about to run or install an application from an unknown developer.

    Then, still in System Preferences, open the App Store or Software Update pane and check the box marked

              Install system data files and security updates (OS X 10.10 or later)

    or

              Download updates automatically (OS X 10.9 or earlier)

    if it's not already checked.

  • by joanfrommississauga,

    joanfrommississauga joanfrommississauga Aug 16, 2015 11:33 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 16, 2015 11:33 AM in response to Linc Davis

    thank you very much for your help. Very much appreciated!