A
You installed one or more variants of the "VSearch" trojan. Please inactivate them as follows. This procedure will leave a few small files behind, but they have no effect, and trying to remove them all would be a lot more trouble than it's worth.
This malware has many variants. Anyone else finding this comment should not expect it to be applicable.
Back up all data before proceeding.
Step 1
The VSearch variant that you have regenerates itself if you try to delete it while it's running. To remove it, you must first start up in safe mode to disable the malware temporarily.
Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for other instructions.
Step 2
While running in safe mode, load this web page and then triple-click anywhere in the line below to select it:
/Library/LaunchDaemons
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 "LaunchDaemons" will open. Press the key combination command-2 to select list view, if it's not already selected.
There should be a column in the Finder window headed Date Modified. Click that heading twice to sort the contents by date with the newest at the top. Please don't skip this step. Files that belong to an instance of VSearch will have the same modification time to within a few minutes, so they will be clustered together when you sort the folder this way, making them easy to identify.
Step 3
Inside the LaunchDaemons folder, there may be one or more files with a name of this form:
com.apple.something.plist
where something is a random, meaningless string of letters, different in every case.
Note that the name consists of four words separated by periods. Typical examples:
com.apple.builins.plist
com.apple.cereng.plist
com.apple.nysgar.plist
There may also be one or more items with a name of this form:
com.something.plist
Again, something is a random, meaningless string—not necessarily the same one that appears in any of the other file names.
These names consist of three words separated by periods. Typical examples:
com.semifasciaUpd.plist
com.ubuiling.plist
Drag all such items to the Trash. You may be prompted for your administrator login password.
Restart the computer and empty the Trash.
If you're not sure whether a file is part of the malware, order the folder contents by modification date, not by name. The malware files will be clustered together. There could be more than one such cluster. A file dated far in the past is not part of the malware. A file dated right in the middle of an obviously malicious cluster is almost certainly also malicious.
If the files come back after you have deleted them, or if they're replaced by others with similar names, then either you didn't start up in safe mode or you didn't get all of them. Go back to Step 1 and try again.
Step 4
Reset the home page in each of your web 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
If you use the Firefox and/or Chrome web browser, remove any extensions or add-ons that you don't know you need. If in doubt, remove all of them.
Step 5
The malware enables web proxy discovery in the network settings. If you know that the setting was already enabled for a good reason, skip this step. Otherwise you should revert the change.
Open the Network pane in System Preferences. If there is a closed padlock icon in the lower left corner of the window, click it and authenticate to unlock the settings. Click the Advanced button, then select Proxies in the sheet that drops down. Uncheck the box marked Auto Proxy Discovery if it's checked. Click OK, then Apply.
Step 6
This step is optional. Open the Users & Groups pane in System Preferences and click the lock icon to unlock the settings. In the list of users, there may be one or more with random names that were added by the malware. You can delete those users. If you're not sure whether a user is legitimate, don't delete it.
B
You also 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.
Press the key combination command-2 to select list view, if it's not already selected.
There should be a column in the Finder window headed Date Modified. Click that heading to sort the contents by date. This will make related files easy to identify regardless of their names, because they will have the same modification date.
2. Inside the folder you just opened, there may be files with a name of any of these forms:
something.AppRemoval.plist
something.download.plist
something.ltvbit.plist
something.notification.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, and there could be more than value of something. Look for a cluster of files with the same modification date that fit the description.
Lately, the "InstallMac" attacker has been scrambling the strings "AppRemoval," "download," "ltvbit," and "update" in the names of his files. For example, you might see file names such as these, instead of the above:
something.AppVemoral.plist
something.dolnwoad.plist
something.btvlit.plist
something.uadpte.plist
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. You may get a warning that some of the files are locked; delete them anyway.
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.
You may get an alert that the item is locked. Confirm that you want to move 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.
If the Preference window won't open, restart the computer in safe mode. Certain caches maintained by the system will be rebuilt.
6. Reset the search engine and the home page in each of your browsers, if either was changed. In Safari, first load the home page you want, then select
Safari ▹ Preferences... ▹ General
and click
Set to Current Page
C
Until you have more experience as a Mac user, I suggest that you change a setting to allow only Apple updates and software from the App Store to be installed.
Open the Security & Privacy pane in System Preferences and select the General tab. Click the lock icon in the lower left corner and enter your password to unlock the settings. Select the button marked
Mac App Store
and close the preference pane. For information about the effects of the setting, see this support article. You may need to change the setting temporarily to install some third-party software, such as Adobe Flash Player. Be especially careful with that, as malware is often distributed in the form of a fake Flash update. Never follow a link to a Flash update on any web page. Instead, use the built-in updater in the Flash Player preference pane.
The products in the App Store, while they aren't always very good, can at least be considered safe enough to use.
risscarey
Level 1
(8 points)
Eric Root
