Q: malware in my mac

More than likely, you installed adware along with something else you recently installed. Do not believe anything related to MacKeeper, which is one of the sleaziest companies around. This besides the fact it's impossible for any software of any kind to know what's on a remote computer through a web browser. Any such claim is a flat out lie.

Download and run MalwareBytes for Mac. It may not find your particular adware (they change constantly to avoid detection), but will at least be a start.

Also try running this program and then copy and paste the output in a reply. The program was created by Etresoft, a frequent contributor.  Please use copy and paste as screen shots can be hard to read. On the screen with Options, please open Options and check the bottom 2 boxes before running. Click “Share Report” button in the toolbar, select “Copy to Clipboard” and then paste into a reply. This will show what is running on your computer. No personal information is shown.

Etrecheck – System Information

Will this program itself put in malware since its free? Kinda crazy to download something thats not an apple approved product.

If you're referring to MacKeeper, it's not downright malware, but it can cause harm and reduce performance of your Mac. It's a notorious scam program that will claim your computer is infected, and push their paid services to remove the infection.

Whether an program is free or not, and whether it's "approved" by Apple or not, has no bearing on whether the program is or contains malware.

well the question i was asking is this malwarebytes for mac a good program to use or will it, in itself put more malware on my computer that i wouldn't have already had before running.

No, MalwareBytes for Mac will not do that. It was originally a script written by forum user Thomas Reed. That advanced to AdwareMedic. The folks at MalwareBytes were so impressed with his work, they hired him and changed the name to brand it as company product. It's still free (donation ware), will find all known Mac adware and offer to remove it.

It's used by the Apple Geniuses at Apple's stores, and is regularly recommended by Apple's phone support.

Oh, that wasn't clear from your last post. No, Malwarebytes will not put malware on your Mac. No knowledgeable contributor would be recommending it here if it did.

Malwarebytes for Mac, formerly AdwareMedic, was in fact developed by another long-time contributor to these forums and is safe.

You're welcome.

Hello Krazirob,

MalwareBytes for Mac is an Apple approved product, as much as such things exist. MalwareBytes for Mac has an Apple Developer ID. If you make sure to have basic Gatekeeper security turned on, then only software that has a valid Apple Developer ID can be installed. Unfortunately, I see more and more people with Gatekeeper turned off entirely. Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General > Allow apps downloaded from: > Mac App Store and identified developers

To be honest, Apple does very little testing for Developer ID apps. There is no guarantee of suitability or quality. But there is a guarantee that if the app is discovered to be malware, Apple can disable it so that it can no longer be installed.

Aside from that, software recommendations you see here on Apple Support Communities, including the ones you've seen in this thread, are generally safe. There are Apple moderators that will remove truly malicious posts. There may be company shills from time to time, but thankfully they are pretty rare. (Technically speaking, I guess I am one of those).

But outside of Apple Support Communities, I'm afraid it is the wild west. Malware has finally arrived on the Mac. If you aren't already a security expert, don't believe anything you see on the internet. Without exaggeration, most Google results regarding how to uninstall adware, malware, or "potentially unwanted programs" are actually scams promoting said "potentially unwanted programs".

etresoft wrote: But outside of Apple Support Communities, I'm afraid it is the wild west. Malware has finally arrived on the Mac.

There has always been malware, of one kind or another, for OSX. What etresoft is referring to a current epidemic of adware, which is not, strictly speaking, malware. From what I read (no personal experience), there is very little true malware for OSX around now.

See this user tip which may be helpful for avoiding the inadvertent installation of adware.

How to install adware

In addition to that, Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition, is supposed to catch adware on the fly. I run Sophos, but can't say how effective it is at catching adware before it can be installed, since I know how to stay away from adware and have never put Sophos to the test on this. When it has apparently missed adware, it's not unusual for someone to put up the link to Malwarebytes for Mac on the Sophos discussion board.

Although it's still in beta, the latest iteration of Sophos (9.5, but which will automatically update to 9.5.2 once it's installed) consumes fewer resources and seems to run faster (I've been running it for a number of months now with no problems--have run Sophos for some years with no problems, even before it claimed to detect adware.) I don't know of any other program that claims to catch adware on the fly. It is available at

http://www.sophos.com/Pages/DownloadRedirect.aspx?downloadKey={8579BC43-753D-48D 0-8C74-60593FEB7097}

I run the locally managed Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition, but I'm no longer finding any way to download that, which would be the v.9.4.2 non-beta. Instead there is Sophos Home, which is managed from the cloud. I understand that both versions will eventually merge at some point, but that the locally managed one offers more user control. I believe that getting the 9.5 should bring in the "classic" locally managed version, but haven't tried that link in some time.

Malwarebytes for Mac is still the best and most reliable out there to scan for and remove adware (plus ordinary malware.) But it won't prevent it, as Sophos claims it can.

Krazirob wrote:

 

Will this program itself put in malware since its free? Kinda crazy to download something thats not an apple approved product.

Even though I'm in charge of the product in question, nonetheless I applaud your suspicion. Keep it up and you'll probably never have to worry about malware or adware on your Mac!

It's always a good idea to check out software before downloading it, and make sure it's legit. There's a lot of crap software out there these days. Worse, there's a lot of formerly-good software that is now bundling adware.

Keep in mind that not everything that could be considered "Apple approved" is good, either. We detect a number of apps that can still be found in the App Store as unwanted programs. There's some seriously crappy junk in there.

Thomas Reed

Director of Mac Offerings, Malwarebytes

WZZZ wrote:

 

See this user tip which may be helpful for avoiding the inadvertent installation of adware.

 

How to install adware

 

What if the user goes looking for a "legitimate" version of MPlayerX? What will that user find? Trick question - the answer is adware. If you don't believe me, then consider the words of MPlayerX's developer (http://blog.mplayerx.org/blog/2015/04/16/some-progress-on-mplayerx/):

Zongyao Qu wrote:

 

MPlayerX will start to utilize the installer to fulfil monetization. I knew it may bring many negative comments, but honestly it is the best way to keep the developer motivated. For anyone who cares about this, please check the installer and make sure only install MPX, then it should be no difference with the old way.

When it comes to adware and malware, don't believe everything you see on the internet. Most of it is false. Do your own research.