AVG won't delete Trojan Zbot.IDW

Question

AVG won't delete Trojan Zbot.IDW

I went to update my AVG and there were 3 Trojan horses - 2 deleted no problem - but Trojan Zbot.IDW will not erase and is held in quarantine in the AVG. In the process of trying to erase this final Trojan horse, a sign with a lock appeared (looking like our trustworthy Mac signs), requesting the password "to make changes" and I entered the password. (Maybe this was a stupid move on my part?) I haven't done any online banking since this happened, terrified my accounts will be compromised/emptied.

There was no option but to contact AVG, which I did, but their system to ask a question is aggravating and finally, very annoyed, I forwarded a short sharp note to them. Surprisingly, at nearly midnight, I received a reply, so I wrote back immediately. - It's now past noon the next day and no answer from AVG. My AVG ap is free, but as I pointed out to them my word of mouth advertising, i.e., "it's a good program for a Mac" (this will change if they don't smarten up soon) is a type of payment.

My basic reaction to what's happened is that this is a set-up by AVG to get you to purchase their product and I am unable to afford it and why I took the trouble to highlight that word of mouth advertising is similar to payment. (As is negative verbal advertising).

The situation is as follows:

1. I cannot connect to AVG

2. Forced into a screen to create AVG MyAccount - please connect to a Zen Network - with a login

Can anyone Mac tell me if my computer's at risk from my possibly dumbo move in paragraph 1 here?

AVG insists you can't just put their Icon in our Mac trash and get rid of it; you must use their de-installer, whatever. Is that true? But if I un-install the AVG what happens to the Trojan horse it's holding?

I'm about ready to move to BitDefender. Any thoughts there? I'm kind of sorry Thomas Reed has gone to be part of that Malware company. He was such a help. However, I've also been given some superb advice here and grateful to anyone who might take the time to answer my questions.

Mac mini, OS X Mavericks (10.9.3), This happened without my knowledge.

Posted on Sep 18, 2015 11:12 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,484 points

Sep 18, 2015 3:38 PM in response to Mini Mac User

First uninstall any antivirus, cleaning or other third party utilities installed on your computer. They are all worthless (as you are finding out), there are no viruses for OS X. There is a small amount of malware for OS X however they are all very easily avoided by:

Never use a torrent to download anything.
Keep OS X up-to-date
If you get a call, e-mail, ad or pop-up advising your computer has been compromised these are all SCAMs.

As for removing your Trojan please carefully read Viruses, Trojans, Malware - and other aspects of Internet Security for advice.

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Answer 2

Sep 18, 2015 12:52 PM in response to rkaufmann87

The material recommended re Trojans, etc., is more a preventative theme and I certainly try to be careful to avoid suspicious sites, etc. This is why I wonder about the AVG installation as mentioned in my question - are they trying to force a user to use paid AVG is worthy of consideration.

The key issue is that the Trojan inside the AVG is not mobilized and if I uninstall the AVG, will it release the Trojan into my computer system? In other words, the AVG captured the Trojan Zbot. I realize you can’t speak for AVG, but I don’t want to risk releasing the Trojan so I’m afraid to uninstall if it won’t take the Trojan with it when I uninstall. But if you know whether uninstalling AVG will release the Trojan, or eliminate it, could you please let me know?

Sorry, I sent you an e-mail with this same reply query because when I came to this site originally I don't think the reply button was showing...or I'm so upset I missed it! Thanks again. I realize how valuable your time is.

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Answer 3

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Sep 18, 2015 3:33 PM in response to Mini Mac User

You don't need to remove the "trojan," which is either nothing at all or Windows malware that can't affect you. You need to remove the scam "anti-virus" software, which is worse than the imaginary "viruses" would be if they really existed, which they don't.

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Answer 4

Sep 18, 2015 3:37 PM in response to Linc Davis

I was very anxious that I would mess up my Mac via this Trojan.

Linc, you're the best! Thank you so much. 🙂

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