Help!! Virus pop-up?

It hasn't. That message is a scam.

(133257)

There is no virus. Get rid of your worthless "anti-virus" or "anti-malware" software, which is far more of a danger to you than a non-existent "virus."

Correct.

(133258)

If it is Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac (formerly Adwaremedic), it is not dangerous to your MBP. Other applications may be.

Ciao.

What A-V is it? Whether or not it's a problem depends on which. Not all A-V is problematic. Even if it's an OK one, it won't make you bullet proof, and thinking that it will will give you a false sense of security. That is where the real danger in any A-V lies. But used with that in mind, it may or may not be somewhat helpful--again, depends entirely on which one it is.

Mac users often ask whether they should install "anti-virus" (AV) or "anti-malware" software. The short answer is "no," but it may give the wrong impression that there is no threat from what are loosely called "viruses." There is a threat.

1. This is a comment on what you should—and should not—do to protect yourself from malicious software ("malware") that circulates on the Internet and gets onto a computer as an unintended consequence of the user's actions.

It does not apply to software, such as keystroke loggers, that may be installed deliberately by an intruder who has hands-on access to the computer, or who has been able to take control of it remotely. That threat is in a different category, and there's no easy way to defend against it. AV software is not intended to, and does not, defend against such attacks.

The comment is long because the issue is complex. The key points are in sections 5 and 11.

OS X now implements three layers of built-in protection specifically against malware, not counting runtime protections such as file quarantine, execute disable, sandboxing, system integrity protection, system library randomization, and address space layout randomization that may also guard against other kinds of exploits.

2. All versions of OS X since 10.6.7 have been able to detect known Mac malware in downloaded files, and to block insecure web plugins. This feature is transparent to the user. Internally Apple calls it "XProtect."

The malware recognition database used by XProtect is automatically updated; however, you shouldn't rely on it, because the attackers are always at least a day ahead of the defenders.

The following caveats apply to XProtect:

☞ It can be bypassed by some third-party networking software, such as BitTorrent clients and Java applets.

☞ It only applies to software downloaded from the network. Software installed from a CD or other media is not checked.

As new versions of OS X are released, it's not clear whether Apple will indefinitely continue to maintain the XProtect database of older versions such as 10.6. The security of obsolete system versions may eventually be degraded. Security updates to the code of obsolete systems will stop being released at some point, and that may leave them open to other kinds of attack besides malware.

3. Starting with OS X 10.7.5, there has been a second layer of built-in malware protection, designated "Gatekeeper" by Apple. By default, applications and Installer packages downloaded from the network will only run if they're digitally signed by a developer with a certificate issued by Apple. Software certified in this way hasn't been checked for security by Apple unless it comes from the App Store, but you can be reasonably sure that it hasn't been modified by anyone other than the developer. His identity is known to Apple, so he could be held legally responsible if he distributed malware. That may not mean much if the developer lives in a country with a weak legal system (see below.)

Gatekeeper doesn't depend on a database of known malware. It has, however, the same limitations as XProtect, and in addition the following:

☞ It can easily be disabled or overridden by the user.

☞ A malware attacker could get control of a code-signing certificate under false pretenses, or could simply ignore the consequences of distributing codesigned malware.

☞ An App Store developer could find a way to bypass Apple's oversight, or the oversight could fail due to human error.

Apple has taken far too long to revoke the codesigning certificates of some known abusers, thereby diluting the value of Gatekeeper and the Developer ID program. Those lapses don't involve App Store products, however.

For the reasons given, App Store products, and—to a lesser extent—other applications recognized by Gatekeeper as signed, are safer than others, but they can't be considered absolutely safe. "Sandboxed" applications may prompt for access to private data, such as your contacts, or for access to the network. Think before granting that access. Sandbox security is based on user input. Never click through any request for authorization without thinking.

4. Starting with OS X 10.8.3, a third layer of protection has been added: a "Malware Removal Tool" (MRT). MRT runs automatically in the background when you update the OS. It checks for, and removes, malware that may have evaded the other protections via a Java exploit (see below.) MRT also runs when you install or update the Apple-supplied Java runtime (but not the Oracle runtime.) Like XProtect, MRT is effective against known threats, but not against unknown ones. It notifies you if it finds malware, but otherwise there's no user interface to MRT.

5. The built-in security features of OS X reduce the risk of malware attack, but they are not, and never will be, complete protection. Malware is a problem of human behavior, not machine behavior, and no technological fix alone is going to solve it. Trusting software to protect you will only make you more vulnerable.

The best defense is always going to be your own intelligence. With the possible exception of Java exploits, all known malware circulating on the Internet that affects a fully-updated installation of OS X 10.6 or later takes the form of so-called "Trojan horses," which can only have an effect if the victim is duped into running them. The threat therefore amounts to a battle of wits between you and Internet criminals. If you're better informed than they think you are, you'll win. That means, in effect, that you always stay within a safe harbor of computing practices. How do you know when you're leaving the safe harbor? Below are some warning signs of danger.

Software from an untrustworthy source

☞ Software with a corporate brand, such as Adobe Flash Player, doesn't come directly from the developer’s website. Do not trust an alert from any website to update Flash, or your browser, or any other software. A genuine alert that Flash is outdated and blocked is shown on this support page. Follow the instructions on the support page in that case. Otherwise, assume that the alert is fake and someone is trying to scam you into installing malware. If you see such alerts on more than one website, ask for instructions.

☞ Software of any kind is distributed via BitTorrent, or Usenet, or on a website that also distributes pirated music or movies.

☞ Rogue websites such as Softonic, Soft32, CNET Download, and SourceForge distribute free applications that have been packaged in a superfluous "installer."

☞ The software is advertised by means of spam or intrusive web ads. Any ad, on any site, that includes a direct link to a download should be ignored.

Software that is plainly illegal or does something illegal

☞ High-priced commercial software such as Photoshop is "cracked" or "free."

☞ An application helps you to infringe copyright, for instance by circumventing the copy protection on commercial software, or saving streamed media for reuse without permission. All "YouTube downloaders" are in this category, though not all are necessarily malicious.

Conditional or unsolicited offers from strangers

☞ A telephone caller or a web page tells you that you have a “virus” and offers to help you remove it. (Some reputable websites did legitimately warn visitors who were infected with the "DNSChanger" malware. That exception to this rule no longer applies.)

☞ A web site offers free content such as video or music, but to use it you must install a “codec,” “plug-in,” "player," "downloader," "extractor," or “certificate” that comes from that same site, or an unknown one.

☞ You win a prize in a contest you never entered.

☞ Someone on a message board such as this one is eager to help you, but only if you download an application of his choosing.

☞ A "FREE WI-FI !!!" network advertises itself in a public place such as an airport, but is not provided by the management.

☞ Anything online that you would expect to pay for is "free."

Unexpected events

☞ A file is downloaded automatically when you visit a web page, with no other action on your part. Delete any such file without opening it.

☞ You open what you think is a document and get an alert that it's "an application downloaded from the Internet." Click Cancel and delete the file. Even if you don't get the alert, you should still delete any file that isn't what you expected it to be.

☞ An application does something you don't expect, such as asking for permission to access your contacts, your location, or the Internet for no obvious reason.

☞ Software is attached to email that you didn't request, even if it comes (or seems to come) from someone you trust.

I don't say that leaving the safe harbor just once will necessarily result in disaster, but making a habit of it will weaken your defenses against malware attack. Any of the above scenarios should, at the very least, make you uncomfortable.

6. Java on the Web (not to be confused with JavaScript, to which it's not related, despite the similarity of the names) is a weak point in the security of any system. Java is, among other things, a platform for running complex applications in a web page. That was always a bad idea, and Java's developers have proven themselves incapable of implementing it without also creating a portal for malware to enter. Past Java exploits are the closest thing there has ever been to a Windows-style virus affecting OS X. Merely loading a page with malicious Java content could be harmful.

Fortunately, client-side Java on the Web is obsolete and mostly extinct. Only a few outmoded sites still use it. Try to hasten the process of extinction by avoiding those sites, if you have a choice. Forget about playing games or other non-essential uses of Java.

Java is not included in OS X 10.7 and later. Discrete Java installers are distributed by Apple and by Oracle (the developer of Java.) Don't use either one unless you need it. Most people don't. If Java is installed, disable it—not JavaScript—in your browsers.

Regardless of version, experience has shown that Java on the Web can't be trusted. If you must use a Java applet for a task on a specific site, enable Java only for that site in Safari. Never enable Java for a public website that carries third-party advertising. Use it only on well-known, login-protected, secure websites without ads. In Safari 6 or later, you'll see a padlock icon in the address bar when visiting a secure site.

7. Another perennial weak point is Adobe Flash Player. Like Java, Flash is in well-deserved decline, but Flash content is still much more widespread than Java content on the Web. If you choose to install the Flash plugin, you can reduce your exposure to Flash by checking the box marked

Stop plug-ins to save power

in Advanced tab of the Safari preferences window, if it's not already checked. Consider also installing a Safari extension such as "ClickToFlash" or "ClickToPlugin." They will prevent Flash content from loading automatically, and will also cause non-Flash video to be substituted for Flash on YouTube and maybe some other sites. I've tested those extensions and found them safe, but you should always do your own research before deciding whether to trust any third-party software.

8. Stay within the safe harbor, and you’ll be as safe from malware as you can practically be. The rest of this comment concerns what you should not do to protect yourself.

Never install any AV or "Internet security" products for the Mac if you have a choice, as they are all worse than useless. If you are required by a (mistaken) institutional policy to install some kind of AV, pick one of the free apps in the Mac App Store—nothing else.

Why shouldn't you use AV products?

☞ To recognize malware, the software depends on a database of known threats, which is always at least a day out of date. This technique is a proven failure, as a major AV software vendor has admitted. Most attacks are "zero-day"—that is, previously unknown. Recognition-based AV does not defend against such attacks, and the enterprise IT industry is coming to the realization that traditional AV software is worthless.

☞ The design is usually predicated on the nonexistent threat that malware may be injected at any time, anywhere in the file system. Malware is downloaded from the network; it doesn't materialize from nowhere. In order to meet that nonexistent threat, commercial AV software modifies or duplicates low-level functions of the operating system, which is a waste of resources and a common cause of instability, bugs, and poor performance.

☞ By modifying the operating system, the software may also create weaknessesthat could be exploited by malware attackers.

☞ Most importantly, a false sense of security is dangerous. That fact pertains to all AV software there will ever be, no matter what else changes.

9. A free AV product from the Mac App Store is harmless as long you don't let it delete or move any files. Ignore any warnings it may give you about "heuristics" or "phishing." Those warnings, if they're not merely false positives, refer to the text of email messages or cached web pages, not to malware.

An AV app is not needed, and can't be relied upon, for protection against OS X malware. It's useful, if at all, only for detecting Windows malware, and even for that use it's not really effective, because new Windows malware is emerging much faster than OS X malware.

Windows malware can't harm you directly (unless, of course, you use Windows.) Just don't pass it on to anyone else. A malicious attachment in email is usually easy to recognize by the name alone. An actual example:

London Terror Moovie.avi [124 spaces] Checked By Norton Antivirus.exe

You don't need software to tell you that's a Windows trojan. Software may be able to tell you which trojan it is, but who cares? In practice, there's no reason to use recognition software unless an organizational policy requires it. Windows malware is so widespread that you should assume it's in every email attachment until proven otherwise. Nevertheless, a free AV product from the App Store may serve a purpose if it satisfies an ill-informed network administrator who says you must have some kind of AV application. An App Store product won't modify the operating system; in fact, it won't do anything unless you run it.

10. It seems to be a common belief that the built-in Application Firewall acts as a barrier to infection, or prevents malware from functioning. It does neither. It blocks inbound connections to certain network services you're running, such as file sharing. It's disabled by default and you should leave it that way if you're behind a router on a private home or office network. Activate it only when you're on an untrusted network, for instance a public Wi-Fi hotspot, where you don't want to provide services. Disable any services you don't use in the Sharing preference pane. All are disabled by default.

11. As a Mac user, you don't have to live in fear that your computer may be infected every time you install software, read email, or visit a web page. But neither can you assume that you will always be safe from exploitation, no matter what you do. Navigating the Internet is like walking the streets of a big city. It can be as safe or as dangerous as you choose to make it. The greatest harm done by AV software is precisely its selling point: it makes people feel safe. They may then feel safe enough to take risks from which the software doesn't protect them. Nothing can lessen the need for safe computing practices.

It's fine. Perhaps you used for the wrong application, but there's nothing wrong with it. It has been used and reviewed very favorably by many high level contributors here. Don't be put off anyone trying to scare you away from it.

Your question brings up the subject of removing adware. This is a general comment on that subject.

Under no circumstances should you ever allow anti-virus software to delete something for you.

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.

Apple's general statements about malware protection are here and here, and here are its instructions for removing the most common types of ad-injection malware. Those statements don't mention any third-party "anti-virus" or "anti-malware" product. Apple's method for removing adware involves only the Finder and a web browser, as stated above.

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.

The Windows/Android anti-malware industry had more than $75 billion in sales in 2014 [source: Gartner, Inc.] Its marketing strategy is to convince people that they're helpless 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 harmful than mere adware. The same can be expected to happen to the Mac platform if its users trust the same industry to protect them, instead of protecting themselves.

You are not helpless, and you don't have to give full control of your computer—and your data—to strangers in order to be rid of adware.

Whether the software damages the system or not, it prompts for your password in order to take full adminstrative control, and connects via the Internet to a server controlled by the developer. The developer's privacy policy, linked directly to the product page, reads in part as follows:

"Without limiting the Privacy Policy, you agree that Malwarebytes may track certain data it obtains from your Computer including data about any malicious software or other threats flagged by the Software, data about your license, data about what version of the Software you are using and what operating conditions it runs under and data concerning your geographic location."

(Emphasis added.) So the developer admits to tracking your location, as well as other unspecified data, and gives itself the legal right to collect any data it chooses. How it uses that right, you don't know. By running the software, you accept these terms.

It's sometimes said that the Malwarebytes product only removes adware rather than malware as such (if there's a difference), and that it therefore shouldn't be stigmatized as anti-malware. The developer's own description does distinguish between adware and malware, and specifically mentions removing malware as a selling point six times. A self-described employee of the developer wrote in an ASC discussion, "Actually, it's also a malware removal app..." (emphasis added.)

The question then is: as a security-conscious computer user, do you want to take such risks when there is no benefit?

<Edited by Host>

As I already said, don't be put off by someone trying to scare you away from using it. Unlike the person attempting that, who has never installed it in order to verify if anything he claims is true, I have tested it, know exactly what it does, what files it installs, and know for a fact that it does not compromise my security or privacy in any way whatsoever.

In addition, it doesn't remove anything it may have found until you tell it to. You, not the program, remain in control.

Linc Davis wrote:

Under no circumstances should you ever allow anti-virus software to delete something for you.

Just to clarify. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac (formerly Adwaremedic) is not a anti-virus application. All it does is scan for adware allowing the user to delete same. Furthermore, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac is faster/easier to use and more comprehensive that the Apple support article that you reference to.

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.

Apple's general statements about malware protection are here and here, and here are its instructions for removing the most common types of ad-injection malware. Those statements don't mention any third-party "anti-virus" or "anti-malware" product. Apple's method for removing adware involves only the Finder and a web browser, as stated above.

None of these statements by Apple that you reference prohibit the use of third party applications to deal with malware or adware. Apple does not now or never has made a policy statement that only their procedures are to be used for malware elimination. It that not true? To suggest otherwise is misleading.

May I also point out that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac has been recommended to end users and used by Apple employees in genius bars and Apple telephone support. As customer representatives, they are speaking for Apple in the execution of their job responsibilities. I can think of no finer endorsement for Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac than that. Do you not agree?

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 are such reports, for example in this ASC thread. Read it and draw your own conclusions. The Windows version of the product has been known to delete essential system files, as the developer itself admitted.

Your premise is based on conjecture not fact so no valid conclusion can be drawn. Your mention of Windows is of no relevance whatsoever. That just obfuscates the topic unnecessarily. Are we not dealing with Macs here? You really should rewrite this portion omitting the useless Windows reference. It reflects poorly on you suggesting confusion on your part and I should think that your analytic abilities are better than that. Do we not owe it to the opriganal poster and others to be accurate and comprehensive in our replies?

Again I am more than willing to assist you in pointing out your errors on this subject in general and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac in particular. I look forward to the next iteration and I trust you will be able to make the appropriate corrections. As it now exists I have to caution the third party reader to approach this post with great caution and skepticism.

Ciao

appleuser9919 wrote:

The software I had cleared adware I had in the past so I thought it was helpful. Can the program actually be a danger?

Any program can theoretically be a danger. Heck, even OS X has been known to destroy user data on rare occasions, when a bug has slipped through testing.

That said, some of the things that Linc is claiming about Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac are outright false, and others are misleading. Despite Linc's claims, there is no evidence that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac has ever damaged the system or user data. Be sure to pay attention to all perspectives, and if you have questions, I'm the original author of AdwareMedic and am now leading development on Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac, so feel free to ask me anything.

Finally, it's important to note that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac probably wouldn't fix the kind of problem you posted about here anyway, since those pop-ups are just scam websites and not actual adware or malware.

You have been told by a "malwarebytes" employee that there is no evidence that the product has ever caused damage. It's up to you—not to me, him, or anyone else—to decide whether this is evidence of such damage:

"I have a (mid 2010) 27" iMac running Yosemite 10.10.5 and Safari 8.0.8. I found malware or adware on my system the other day. I removed it with Maleware Bytes and since then Safari has not worked proper at all. The major thing is the 'Preferences Pane' will not load at all. I am unable to open the Preference in Safari. I have tried resetting Safari as per community instructions, i.e. Shift-Option-Esc, Force Quitting Safari and the relaunching Safari with the Shift key down at the same time. Still no joy whatsoever. I have all the latest software updates including the new Yosemite update 10.10.5 as stated above."

Re: preferences pane will not load

Anyone who contemplates using the "malwarebytes" product is entitled to know about that report, posted by a user of this website, before deciding whether to give that product complete control of his computer.