how to clean computer of virus and/or malware on imac OS X 10.6.8

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how to clean computer of virus and/or malware on imac OS X 10.6.8

I fell prey to a tech support scammer impersonating an apple technician. I called the 1-800 number and gave him remote access to my computer. I recollect that he had me sign in to my computer to do this. I generally don't sign in to my computer as I am the sole user of the computer. It was clear to me he had access and I could see things happening on my screen and when I started to comment / ask questions he showed me a log which I could recognize with familiar words / terms that matched my use. I gave him no other data. I've used the computer since that occurred but have not used it for any financial transactions.

When I say sign in to my computer I'm thinking there are two ways of doing this. A simple password when there are multiple users and the password that is needed when it is an administrative level decision. The password I had to use was the administrative level decision one and I don't have a password to sign in and out of my computer on a daily basis.

I want to know how to clean out what may have been imported into my computer. On occasion I see the same virus alert that I originally clicked on. It has the Safari icon on it. What do I do to make my computer safe to use again? I'm anxious to do anything other than browse or create a document. If I backup my computer before cleaning it does the virus / malware become part of the backup? Is the virus / malware invade documents either created by myself and / or from downloads from healthy websites, i.e. NYTimes recipes or medical articles?

iMac desktop late 2006, OS X 10.6.8

Procesor 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Due

Memory 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

Thanks for any and all help!

dzrtwynd

Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Nov 17, 2015 4:17 PM

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Answer 1

babowa

Level 9

78,580 points

Nov 17, 2015 11:02 PM in response to dzrtwynd

Since you allowed remote access to your computer, no one knows what might have been installed (if anything), so the only way to make sure that there is nothing going on is to wipe your hard drive and do a fresh install. Malware would be a minor problem; they might have installed something like a key logger which means they'll know whatever you are typing. You cannot use a full backup because everything is copied, but you can manually pick out your personal files, pics, etc. Since you are running 10.6.8, you will need your original install disks to boot from, wipe your drive, and then reinstall a fresh OS copy. You can then run Software Update to update everything to the latest available and then manually copy your files back over from an external hard drive. After you do all of that, you will need to change all your passwords/usernames and also call your banks/credit card companies to warn of possible fraud.

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Answer 2

Nov 17, 2015 10:10 PM in response to dzrtwynd

I did the same thing this afternoon; the scam was search genius, and the tech took control so fast that I didn't have time to read the fine print enabling that. He did exactly what you described.

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Answer 3

dzrtwynd Author

Level 1

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Nov 17, 2015 11:33 PM in response to babowa

I'm confused. You say to wipe the hard drive and do a fresh install and that I can manually pick out personal files. At what point do I pick out my personal files? Are bookmarks, documents that I created or downloaded, and email all personal files? Wouldn't they possibly be compromised? Isn't the hard drive where everything gets saved to which would include my personal files?

I didn't get an original install disk but purchased an install disc which is version 10.6.3. Since this was purchased as an after market disc will it perform what you are telling me to do?

Thank you for your help. My apologies that I really don't get how my computer functions.

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Answer 4

babowa

Level 9

78,580 points

Nov 18, 2015 8:18 AM in response to dzrtwynd

First, you need to get an external hard drive to copy your important files/pics to. Your documents and any photos, etc. should be fine; I don't know if bookmarks would be, but every browser has the option to export the bookmarks which you can then copy to an external hard drive (in a case like this, I'd probably not save them, but start over once I have a fresh install).

Next, you would have to boot from your install disk and then erase your entire hard drive. That means whatever is on the hard drive is deleted/erased - it'll be like a factory fresh hard drive.

Third step: after erasing while booted into the install disk, you then use that installer to reinstall your system. That gives you a like new OS install with nothing else on it. Then use Software Update to update whatever needs updating.

Lastly, copy over your personal files from the external hard drive. Remember: if you do not copy them first to another drive, you will lose them all.

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Answer 5

dzrtwynd Author

Level 1

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Nov 18, 2015 10:45 AM in response to babowa

Much gratitude being sent your direction for your patience and detailed steps. That helped immensely!

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