How to avoid or remove Mac Defender malware in Mac OS X v10.6 or earlier Learn how to avoid or remove Mac Defender malware in Mac OS X v10.6 or earlier. A phishing scam has targeted Mac users by redirecting them from legitimate websites to fake websites which tell them that their computer is infected with a virus. Beneath its deceptively simple design lies a powerful virus cleaner that works in real-time to detect and remove not only Mac-specific viruses and spyware, but PC and mobile threats, too. So AVG AntiVirus not only helps protect all that’s important on your Mac, it also prevents you from infecting. Nov 14, 2017 The standard scanner that checks for malware on your system and removes it is free. Anyone can manually initiate a scan and remove malware with Malwarebytes for Mac without spending a penny. The Malwarebytes Premium features that will monitor your Mac for malware and spyware, prevent infections before they occur, and automatically download. Malwarebytes for Mac scans and removes viruses, adware, ransomware, and other Mac malware, so you are protected and your Mac keeps running like a Mac. Get a free one-time online virus scan, or a free 30-day trial with unlimited virus scans from ESET. Our online virus scanner will help you identify and remove malware. Stay protected with ESET software.
How to remove 'apple.com-scan[.]live' from Mac?What is 'apple.com-scan[.]live'?
apple.com-scan[.]live is a scam website designed to trick people into downloading a potentially unwanted application (PUA) called Cleanup-My Mac. The site displays a fake virus alert stating that the Mac computer is infected with some viruses that should be removed immediately. This website (or apps promoted though it) should not be trusted. Typically, apple.com-scan[.]live is visited when people are redirected to it by PUAs already installed on their systems. These apps usually feed users with advertisements and gather information relating to their browsing habits.
apple.com-scan[.]live first displays a pop-up window stating that it has detected a trojan virus (e.tre456_worm_osx) and urges visitors to begin the repair process immediately. When this pop-up is closed, the website itself encourages visitors to scan their systems by clicking the 'Scan Now' button. It then states that the system is infected with three viruses that it has detected: two malware infections and one phishing/spyware computer infection that can cause data and financial loss. To avoid any possible damage, users are encouraged to scan their systems within five minutes. When the 'Scan Now' button is clicked, it starts to run a fake virus scan. When finished, it displays scan results stating that it has detected the Tapsnake, CronDNS, and Dubfishicv viruses. The apple.com-scan[.]live website encourages people to download the Advanced Mac Cleaner application by clicking the 'REMOVE VIRUSES NOW' button, however, this actually leads to download of Cleanup-My Mac. Note that apple.com-scan[.]live and apps promoted should not be trusted.
Generally, installed PUAs also serve users with various intrusive advertisements such as pop-ups, banners, coupons, surveys, and others. Once clicked, these ads open dubious, potentially malicious websites or run scripts designed to download and install other unwanted applications. In summary, clicking ads displayed by PUAs (or on dubious pages) can lead to unwanted installations or even computer infections. PUAs can also perform data tracking when installed. They gather information relating to browsing habits such as IP addresses, geolocations, entered search queries, ULRs of visited sites, and so on. Developers share the details with other parties - potentially, cyber criminals. These misuse the data to generate revenue. If installed, PUAs cause problems with privacy, browsing safety, and can even lead to identity theft.
![]()
There are many untrustworthy, scam websites similar to apple.com-scan[.]live that are designed to trick people into downloading and installing unwanted applications. Some examples are 'Apple.com-repair[.]live', 'Your Mac is heavily damaged! (33.2%)', and 'Mac OS X Is Infected (4) By Viruses'. Do not to trust these pages or to download the software that they are designed to promote.
How did potentially unwanted applications install on my computer?
PUAs can be installed through clicked intrusive ads (that are capable of executing particular scripts), however, they are also downloaded and installed together with other, regular software. This happens when developers use a deceptive marketing method called 'bundling'. They do not disclose information about bundled/additionally-included programs and hide them in 'Custom', 'Advanced', or other similar settings of the download or installation set-ups. Furthermore, people often cause unwanted installations and downloads when they leave available setup settings unchanged.
How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?
Avoid downloading software (especially if it is free) from unofficial or untrustworthy websites, using torrents, eMule or other Peer-to-Peer networks, or third party downloaders. Download using official sources (websites) and direct links. Do not leave available 'Custom', 'Advanced', and other similar options of the download/installation setup unchecked. Avoid clicking ads displayed on dubious pages, since they often lead to adult dating, pornography, gambling, and other, similar untrustworthy websites. If redirects happen without clicking ads, or ads appear continually, check all extensions, add-ons, and plug-ins installed on the browser and programs on the computer. Remove any unwanted/suspicious applications immediately. If your computer is already infected with PUAs, we recommend running a scan withCombo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate them.
Screenshot of apple.com-scan[.]live website pop-up error:
Text presented in apple.com-scan[.]live pop-up window:
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED
We have detected a trojan virus (e.tre456_worm_osx) on your Mac. Press OK to begin the repair process.
Screenshot of the apple.com-scan[.]live website encouraging users to download the Advanced Mac Cleaner application. In fact, the 'REMOVE VIRUSES NOW' button leads to download of the Cleanup-My Mac app:
Text presented in this page:
DOWNLOAD REQUIRED
Your Mac is heavily damaged! (33.2%) Please download the Advanced Mac Cleaner application to remove 3 Viruses from your Mac. VIRUS INFORMATION Virus Name: Tapsnake; CronDNS; Dubfishicv Risk: HIGH Infected Files: /os/apps/hidden/os-component/X/snake.icv; /os/local/conf/keyboard/retype.icv... REMOVE VIRUSES NOW VIRUS REMOVAL Application: Advanced Mac Cleaner Rating: 9.9/10 Price: Free
Screenshot of Cleanup-My Mac unwanted application:
Quick menu:
Video showing how to remove potentially unwanted applications promoted using 'apple.com-scan[.]live' pop-up scam:
Potentially unwanted applications removal:
Remove potentially unwanted applications from your 'Applications' folder:
Click the Finder icon. In the Finder window, select 'Applications'. In the applications folder, look for 'MPlayerX', 'NicePlayer', or other suspicious applications and drag them to the Trash. After removing the potentially unwanted application(s) that cause online ads, scan your Mac for any remaining unwanted components.
Free scanner checks if your computer is infected. To remove malware, you have to purchase the full version of Combo Cleaner.
Remove 'apple.com-scan.live' virus related files and folders:
Click the Finder icon, from the menu bar. Choose Go, and click Go to Folder...
Check for adware-generated files in the /Library/LaunchAgents folder:
In the Go to Folder... bar, type: /Library/LaunchAgents
In the “LaunchAgents” folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by adware - “installmac.AppRemoval.plist”, “myppes.download.plist”, “mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist”, “kuklorest.update.plist”, etc. Adware commonly installs several files with the same string. Check Mac For Virus Free
Check for adware generated files in the /Library/Application Support folder:
In the Go to Folder... bar, type: /Library/Application Support
In the “Application Support” folder, look for any recently-added suspicious folders. For example, “MplayerX” or “NicePlayer”, and move these folders to the Trash.
Check for adware-generated files in the ~/Library/LaunchAgents folder:
In the Go to Folder bar, type: ~/Library/LaunchAgents
In the “LaunchAgents” folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by adware - “installmac.AppRemoval.plist”, “myppes.download.plist”, “mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist”, “kuklorest.update.plist”, etc. Adware commonly installs several files with the same string.
Check for adware-generated files in the /Library/LaunchDaemons folder:
In the Go to Folder... bar, type: /Library/LaunchDaemons In the “LaunchDaemons” folder, look for recently-added suspicious files. For example “com.aoudad.net-preferences.plist”, “com.myppes.net-preferences.plist”, 'com.kuklorest.net-preferences.plist”, “com.avickUpd.plist”, etc., and move them to the Trash.
Scan your Mac with Combo Cleaner:
If you have followed all the steps in the correct order you Mac should be clean of infections. To be sure your system is not infected run a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus. Download it HERE. After downloading the file double click combocleaner.dmg installer, in the opened window drag and drop Combo Cleaner icon on top of the Applications icon. Now open your launchpad and click on the Combo Cleaner icon. Wait until Combo Cleaner updates it's virus definition database and click 'Start Combo Scan' button.
Combo Cleaner will scan your Mac for malware infections. If the antivirus scan displays 'no threats found' - this means that you can continue with the removal guide, otherwise it's recommended to remove any found infections before continuing.
After removing files and folders generated by the adware, continue to remove rogue extensions from your Internet browsers.
'Apple.com-scan.live' virus removal from Internet browsers:Remove malicious extensions from Safari:
Remove 'apple.com-scan.live' virus related Safari extensions:
Open Safari browser, from the menu bar, select 'Safari' and click 'Preferences...'.
In the preferences window, select 'Extensions' and look for any recently-installed suspicious extensions. When located, click the 'Uninstall' button next to it/them. Note that you can safely uninstall all extensions from your Safari browser - none are crucial for normal browser operation.
Remove malicious plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox:
Remove 'apple.com-scan.live' virus related Mozilla Firefox add-ons:
Open your Mozilla Firefox browser. At the top right corner of the screen, click the 'Open Menu' (three horizontal lines) button. From the opened menu, choose 'Add-ons'.
Choose the 'Extensions' tab and look for any recently-installed suspicious add-ons. When located, click the 'Remove' button next to it/them. Note that you can safely uninstall all extensions from your Mozilla Firefox browser - none are crucial for normal browser operation.
Run Virus Scan On Mac
Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:
Remove 'apple.com-scan.live' virus related Google Chrome add-ons:
Open Google Chrome and click the 'Chrome menu' (three horizontal lines) button located in the top-right corner of the browser window. From the drop-down menu, choose 'More Tools' and select 'Extensions'.
In the 'Extensions' window, look for any recently-installed suspicious add-ons. When located, click the 'Trash' button next to it/them. Note that you can safely uninstall all extensions from your Google Chrome browser - none are crucial for normal browser operation.
A phishing scam has targeted Mac users by redirecting them from legitimate websites to fake websites which tell them that their computer is infected with a virus. The user is then offered Mac Defender 'anti-virus' software to solve the issue.
This “anti-virus” software is malware (i.e. malicious software). Its ultimate goal is to get the user's credit card information which may be used for fraudulent purposes. The most common names for this malware are MacDefender, MacProtector and MacSecurity. Free Mac Virus Scan
Apple released a free software update (Security Update 2011-003) that will automatically find and remove Mac Defender malware and its known variants.
The Resolution section below also provides step-by-step instructions on how to avoid or manually remove this malware. Resolution
How to avoid installing this malware
If any notifications about viruses or security software appear, quit Safari or any other browser that you are using. If a normal attempt at quitting the browser doesn’t work, then Force Quit the browser.
In some cases, your browser may automatically download and launch the installer for this malicious software. If this happens, cancel the installation process; do not enter your administrator password. Delete the installer immediately using the steps below.
How to remove this malware
If the malware has been installed, we recommend the following actions:
Removal steps
Malware also installs a login item in your account in System Preferences. Removal of the login item is not necessary, but you can remove it by following the steps below.
How To Scan Macbook For Viruses
Use the steps in the “How to avoid installing this malware” section above to remove the installer from the download location.
How To Scan For Virus On Mac Pro
Note: Apple provides security updates for the Mac exclusively through Software Update and the Apple Support Downloads site. User should exercise caution any time they are asked to enter sensitive personal information online.
Comments are closed.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2020
Categories |