"Fake" Apple warnings

Question

Level 1

9 points

"Fake" Apple warnings

When using Safari I have started being switched from the web page that I am visiting to a page that looks like the Apple home page containing a warning that my iMac has been infected and a timer appears for me to take action by clicking a link to possible solutions. The web address of this new page is a combination of numbers and letters and does not contain Apple.inc. and is not a pop-up. I am sure that this is some sort of scam, but cannot seem to stop it happening. I have Sophos antivirus running but this has not found anything. I am thinking of returning the Mac to Factory Settings, hoping that this will cure the problem, but would like a less drastic solution.

Any ideas?

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Dec 13, 2017 2:43 AM

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Answer 1

JimmyCMPIT

Level 7

29,223 points

Dec 13, 2017 5:49 AM in response to YoungBillyT

Stop running Sophos.

AV for Mac is about the worst thing you can run on OS X. If there actually WAS a wild virus at this time for OS X it would probably be less damaging than what AV products for Mac have been found to do on this forum.

Remove Sophos

Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac: How to uninstall - Sophos Community

Keep your Mac up-to-date with OS X and Securities patches directly from Apple, this has been proven to be the single best software defense against exposure to potentially damaging software.

Do not use a Windows solution or mindset for OS X. These are two entirely different OS's in their behavior andsusceptibility to attacks and infiltration. Mac OS does not need 3rd party utilities to keep itself functioning, the findings on this forum have shown repeatedly these products cause far more problems than the purport to fix, AV products for Mac being the worst of offenders.

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Answer 2

Rudegar

Level 10

170,838 points

Dec 13, 2017 5:46 AM in response to YoungBillyT

restoring to factory settings seem a bit drastic to get rid of popups

how do i get rid of malware (spam pop up ads)?

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