A
Back up all data before making any changes.
In the folder arranged as shown in the first screenshot, please delete these items:
#3 through #6 ("Flashmall")
#2 and #7 ("ZipCloud")
In the second folder:
None
Restart the computer.
Uninstall any Safari extensions you don't know you need. If in doubt, remove all of them. None is needed for normal operation.
Reset the Safari home page, if it was changed. You may need to do the same in the other browsers.
From the Applications folder (not shown in the screenshots), delete items with any of the following names:
Flashmall
InstallMac
mediaDownloader
WebTools
ZipCloud
Open your home folder by clicking the house icon with your name in the sidebar of a Finder window. If there is a subfolder named "Applications" (different from the main Applications folder), remove anything in it that you don't recognize.
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—self-contained 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 (optional)
You installed the "Flashmall" trojan. Take the steps below to disable it.
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.
Back up all data before continuing.
1. 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. You won't see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return. A folder named "LaunchAgents" will open.
2. Inside the folder you just opened, there may be files with a name beginning in any of the following ways:
com.crossrider
com.extensions
com.flashmall
com.Installer.completer
com.webhelper
com.webtools
flashmall
UpdateDownloader
WebSocketServerApp
Move any such files to the Trash and close the Finder window. Log out or restart the computer. The trojan will now be inactive, but there are a few more components of it that should be cleaned up.
3. Do as in Step 1 with this line:
~/Library/Application Support
A folder named "Application Support" will open. Inside it there may be subfolders with any of these names:
IM.Installer
webHelperApp
WebTools
If so, move those subfolders—not the "Application Support" folder—to the Trash.
4. Open this folder in the same way as above:
~/Library/ScriptingAdditions
and remove an item named
BrowserHelper.osax
if present.
5. Open this folder:
~/Library
Look for subfolders with either of these names:
flashmall
WebTools
and move them to the Trash, if present. Don't remove the subfolder named "WebKit".
6. Open the Applications folder. Move to the Trash items with any of these names:
Flashmall
mediaDownloader
WebTools
Important: You can't delete applications by trying to drag them from the Dock or the LaunchPad. Open the Applications folder in the Finder.
7. Open this folder in the same way as above:
~/Applications
This is not the usual Applications folder, but a different one inside your home folder. Look for an application with a name like this:
flashmall
and move it to the Trash, if present. Also remove anything else in that folder that you don't recognize.
Empty the Trash.
8. From the Safari menu bar, select
Safari ▹ Preferences... ▹ Extensions
Uninstall all extensions you don't know you need, including one called "GoldenBoy," if it's present. If in doubt, remove all of them. None is required for normal operation. Do the equivalent in the Chrome and Firefox browsers, if you use either of those.
C (optional)
"ZipCloud," sometimes named "JustCloud," is a cloud-storage service with a doubtful reputation. The OS X client is sometimes distributed along with malware. Although ZipCloud may not be malicious itself, it should be suspected by virtue of the company it keeps.
To remove ZipCloud, start by backing up all data (not with ZipCloud itself, of course.)
Quit the "ZipCloud" or "JustCloud" application, if it's running, and drag it from the Applications folder to the Trash. Don't try to empty yet.
Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:
~/Library/LaunchAgents
Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select
Services ▹ Open
from the contextual menu.* A folder named "LaunchAgents" should open.
In the folder, there may be one or more files with a name beginning as follows:
com.jdibackup.
Move all such files to the Trash.
Log out or restart the computer and empty the Trash.
*If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. 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.
