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Helpful answers
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Dec 16, 2015 12:12 PM in response to Thisguyjasonby stedman1,Please review the options below to determine which method is best to deal with the Adware installed on your computer.
The Easy, safe, effective method: https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/mac/
If you are comfortable doing manual file removals, use the Apple support document below.
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203987
Also, read the articles below to better understand why it has happened and be more prepared for the next time there is an issue on your computer. https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-7471
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Dec 16, 2015 12:35 PM in response to Thisguyjasonby Linc Davis,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.
You installed one or more variants of the "InstallMac" trojan. Please take the steps below to disable it.
The criminal behind this attack tries to make the malware hard to remove by varying the names of the files it installs. 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 may not 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 of any of these forms:
gUpdater.plist
something.AppRemoval.plist
something.download.plist
something.ltvbit.plist
something.update.plist
Here something is usually a meaningless string, such as any of the following:
Epolife
InstallMac
Javeview
Kuklorest
Manroling
Otwexplain
These are examples, not a complete list. The string could be anything. The point is that the same string will usually appear in the name of three or four files.
You could have more than one copy of the malware, with different values of something.
Move all such items to the Trash. If there are any other files with a name that begins with something, move those to the Trash also. After you've done that, there may not be anything left in the LaunchAgents folder; in that case, you can delete the folder, but otherwise don't delete it. Other files in the folder are not necessarily malicious (though they could be, if you also installed some other kind of malware.)
Log out or restart the computer. The trojan should now be inactive.
3. This step is optional. Open the following folder as in Step 1:
~/Library/Application Support
and move to the Trash any subfolders with the name something that you found in Step 2.
Don't move the Application Support folder or anything else inside it.
4. Open the Applications folder. If there is an item named something, or "Zip Devil," or with any of the other names listed in Step 2, drag it to the Trash.
If in doubt, press the key combination option-command-4 to arrange the apps by date added. Look at the apps that have been added since you first noticed the problem. If there is one you don't recognize, drag it to the Trash.
Empty the Trash.
If you get an alert that the application is in use, force it to quit.
5. From the Safari menu bar, select
Safari ▹ Preferences... ▹ Extensions
Uninstall all extensions you don't know you need. 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.
6. Reset the home page in each of your browsers, if it was changed. In Safari, first load the home page you want, then select
Safari ▹ Preferences... ▹ General
and click
Set to Current Page
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Dec 17, 2015 8:59 AM in response to Linc Davisby Thisguyjason,Thank You Linc for your help. I followed all the steps above. Fingers crossed that helps. I'll be working on my computer all day today so i will make sure to give you an update in the next few days. Thanks again for your assistance.
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Feb 8, 2016 10:50 AM in response to Thisguyjasonby bbren43,I just wanted to add to this... I had the same issue. I did what you suggested. Browsing through some other folders under ~Library I found some more info on APPNIB.
~Library/Caches/com.nibrahim.AppNIB
I removed the folder.
Also found some more files under this:
~Library/Preferences/
com.Mainorne.global.settings
com.Mainorne
com.Mainorne.settings
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Sep 14, 2016 3:32 AM in response to Linc Davisby Bonnie_T,Thank you very much Linc. It was really useful. I was able to remove all the adware installed in my mac which was running it out of memory. And I have 16Gb!!!!
Thank you for writting it. I could not solve it without your help.
