I have an iMac running 10.6.8, 2.93 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 8 Gb 1067 mHz DDR3.
I think my Mac may be infected with Swissfist. What is the best way to make sure I have removed it?
I followed the instructions on removing it that I found when I Googled "Swissfist.app up to the point that it said to download
Malwarebytes Anti-malware for Mac; then I chose not to download anything until I researched further.
iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)
Thank you so much! I didn't find any of the files/folders that were mentioned, so I'm guessing that I caught it before it could infect my hard drive. Thank you again! --sherry
Your welcome. In almost all cases malware for OS X has to been downloaded by a user. In other words it's almost intentional. To avoid any malware please follow these simple rules of thumb:
Swissfist is a variant of the Genieo malware. Malwarebytes will remove that, but if you're actually running OS X 10.6.8, you can't use that. (Honestly, you really shouldn't be using that system online anymore... it's got known security vulnerabilities that haven't been fixed and aren't going to be fixed, and it's still in very common use, which means it's a potentially good target for hackers.)
Unfortunately, Apple's removal instructions are woefully behind the times and contain no references to this variant of Genieo.
The easiest way to remove this is going to be to download EasyFind, then use it to search your hard drive for anything with "swissfist" in the name. Delete anything that is found.
http://www.devontechnologies.com/products/freeware.html
Thomas Reed
Director of Mac Offerings, Malwarebytes
I found the following method for cleaning out the malware causing our problem with Safari. It worked perfectly for me. My 2012 mini is now clean! Here's a link to the page:
And the following is the method used:
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mrlprl
Oct 15, 2015 6:50 PM
Re: what is Swiftfist in applications? in response to bryanfromdunedin
Yes, a real nuisance. A bunch of malware installed somehow, and I had to do some serious fiddling to get rid of it. Crossrider was part of it, along with flashmail (?) and MacKeeper, so check for these, too. Annoying and intrusive.
How to delete Flashmail adware trojan from SwissFist
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Currently ClamXav is designed to prevent adware from taking hold in the first place rather than focussing on removal, but we’re currently working on a solution for that and hope to have it available relatively soon.
In the meantime, I’ve included some manual removal instructions.
You may wish to print out these instructions before you get started.
Copy the following line
~/Library/LaunchAgents
In the Desktop/Finder, select the Go menu at the top of the screen and choose “Go to Folder…”
Press command-V to paste in the line you just copied. Press return and a folder named “LaunchAgents” will open.
Inside the folder you just opened, you should find some files with a name like
Swissfist.AppRemoval.plist
Swissfist.download.plist
Swissfist.ltvbit.plist
Swissfist.update.plist
com.WebShoppers.agent.plist
Drag all the files to the trash and empty the trash. Restart your computer.
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It’s vital that you restart your computer after deleting the files.
Copy the following line:
~/Library/Application Support
Again, in the Desktop/Finder, select the Go menu at the top of the screen and choose “Go to Folder…”
Press command-V to paste in the line you just copied. Press return and a folder named “Application Support” will open.
Drag Swissfist to the trash.
Don’t move the Application Support folder or anything else you find in there.
Go back to the Go menu and select Applications. Again, drag Swissfist to the trash as well. If you can’t because the system says the application is still running, select “Force Quit” from the Apple Menu and force quit the application in question, then try deleting it again.
Restart your computer again.
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Now, holding down the SHIFT key (bottom left of your keyboard, just above the ctrl or fn key) launch Safari. Go to the Safari menu -> Preferences -> Extensions and remove SwissFist (and possibly one called Ultimate something), or any that you don’t recognise.
Go to the Search tab in Safari Preferences and reselect your desired search engine (in some versions of Safari this may be in the General tab). Do the same to reset your Home Page.
Do the same thing in Firefox or Chrome.
•••• {Note: I also found a WebShopper app in Applications>Utilities folder that had to be removed.} ••••
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How do I get rid of Swissfist?
