Concerned my Mac has a virus/Trojan, do I need to be?

The_Ink_Goddess

The_Ink_Goddess

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Stupidly clicked on something weird on my Macbook Air (a bad Etsy copy, I think). It was weird but nothing else happened. Then, yesterday, as I booted up, I got a really quick flash of what looked like a black blank screen with green and red squiggles over it (?). I rebooted to see if the same thing happened because it came on and went so quickly, I couldn't really tell what it was or anything. It didn't. Then I lost my work under weird circumstances; I guessed I must've just clicked something weird because it flashed IMMEDIATELY back to my login screen with no warning, except maybe one click of my mouse.I went to get in Temp Files okay, though. Now my VPN keeps flashing between 'connected' for a couple of seconds after I connect it, then flicking straight back to disconnected. These kind of weird things have happened before but not all together.

I'm paranoid because I'm going back to university on Monday and have got no time to take it to the Apple Store for a couple of days. This is ALL that happened and I hope it's just me being neurotic. But does this sound suspicious to you guys, and what should I do about it if you think so?
 
VeryBigBeard

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Start by running a basic virus and malware check, preferably from a USB drive. Spybot, Panda, I think AVG and Anti-Malwarebytes, and various others all do this. Sometimes you have to download the full program first (preferably on a different computer) and then save the USB version to a flash drive. If you can't get one, your university will have a tech support desk and they will have one.

Ideally, run 2-3 of those. One virus scanner does not always clear it up.

If it persists after that, take it to someone who can offer advanced help. Others may chime in here. My ability really only extends to the basics.

In future, have a couple of those above programs installed and run scans periodically.
 

AW Admin

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VeryBigBeard said:
Start by running a basic virus and malware check, preferably from a USB drive. Spybot, Panda, I think AVG and Anti-Malwarebytes, and various others all do this. Sometimes you have to download the full program first (preferably on a different computer) and then save the USB version to a flash drive. If you can't get one, your university will have a tech support desk and they will have one.

Ideally, run 2-3 of those. One virus scanner does not always clear it up.

If it persists after that, take it to someone who can offer advanced help. Others may chime in here. My ability really only extends to the basics.

In future, have a couple of those above programs installed and run scans periodically.
Click to expand...

You realize that most of these actually don't work on a Mac? Malware Bytes bought the one that does work.

http://www.adwaremedic.com/index.php
 
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VeryBigBeard

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Ha, nope. :)

I'm primarily Windows. Wondered about that right after I posted it. Thought they must have Mac versions but now I realize they don't.

ETA: There are, however, antivirus softwares that run on Mac. Search them out on Google. Get one, run that. It's worth a try.

ETA2: I notice Panda does have a Mac antivirus, but it's paid. :( A quick glance at Google is bringing up Avast! and Avira a lot as good options on review sites. Avast! yells pirate-like things at you a lot, or it has in the past, and I tend to dislike it on this account (it's also slowish). But for a first, basic pass the main thing is to scan with a couple different options so you catch anything that slips through one.
 
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The_Ink_Goddess said:
Stupidly clicked on something weird on my Macbook Air (a bad Etsy copy, I think). It was weird but nothing else happened. Then, yesterday, as I booted up, I got a really quick flash of what looked like a black blank screen with green and red squiggles over it (?). I rebooted to see if the same thing happened because it came on and went so quickly, I couldn't really tell what it was or anything. It didn't. Then I lost my work under weird circumstances; I guessed I must've just clicked something weird because it flashed IMMEDIATELY back to my login screen with no warning, except maybe one click of my mouse.I went to get in Temp Files okay, though. Now my VPN keeps flashing between 'connected' for a couple of seconds after I connect it, then flicking straight back to disconnected. These kind of weird things have happened before but not all together.

I'm paranoid because I'm going back to university on Monday and have got no time to take it to the Apple Store for a couple of days. This is ALL that happened and I hope it's just me being neurotic. But does this sound suspicious to you guys, and what should I do about it if you think so?
Click to expand...

That actually sounds like a hardware problem to me, not malware.

There's not a lot of malware that affects OS X but just in case:

See these two pieces:

http://www.macworld.com/article/2921479/when-adware-attacks-and-how-to-defeat-it.html

http://www.macworld.com/article/2923022/checking-your-mac-for-viruses-wait-what.html

Which use these apps:

http://www.adwaremedic.com/index.php

http://www.clamxav.com/index.html

And consider using one of the Anti-virus malware apps.

Sophos is free:

https://secure2.sophos.com/en-us/pr...or-mac-home-edition-legacy/free-download.aspx

After scanning your mac (Use a thumb drive to scan your mac), if the problem persists, create a new User account (via System Preferences) and see if the problem exists there as well.
 
VeryBigBeard

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Unfortunately, hardware is probably going to be harder/costlier to fix so that's why I suggested a virus scan first. While malware is unlikely with Mac, it's a slim possibility that's easier to fix than dead or dying motherboard, which is what random crashes and intermittent video usually suggests, or it has been in my experience.

Then again, if it isn't already glaringly obvious, AW Admin knows way more than I do about these things. I use both Windows and Mac, but I know more troubleshooting on Windows (which has the tendency to need it more) and even then I'm pretty limited. Just lucky enough to room with one of the better Windows support folks for awhile. (He loved Mac. He just wasn't allowed to say so publicly.)
 
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