The iPad Guy has also been known as the MaconMacGuy for a “good while now” – and sometimes gets asked about running antivirus software for the Mac.
In general, Macs are less susceptible to getting nailed with a true virus. HOWEVER – we have seen a couple of annoyances on Macs laptops, where the laptop owner visited a site that had been infected. The site ran some code that changed the homepage and search engine settings for the affected machine.
There have also been a few instances in the last several months of Mac attacks being seen “in the wild”. They are generally fairly arcane, but they are still “out there”.
So while the Macs are indeed less susceptible to virus attacks than WIndows machine, they are BY NO MEANS invulnerable.
Here’s an article with more info:
https://blog.macsales.com/40166-tech-101-do-macs-need-antivirus-or-anti-malware-software
We’ve had 3 instances of Adware getting into Mac Laptops this month. [Adware is software that runs in teh background that pops up an overwhleming number of ads on each browser page you open.]
Here is a quick list of how to remove it:
- Surf over to https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/mac/ and download the free malware remover from MalWareBytes. Install it.
- Call up “About This Mac” from the Apple Menu. Note what Operating system you are using [10.8 or 10.10.11, etc.]
- Then surf over to http://www.titanium.free.fr/onyx.html
- Download the version of Onyx that is for YOUR system.
- CONTROL-CLICK the program icon, and select “open”
A dialog box will pop up – select Open, then install it.
- Start up Onyx. It will run a disk check.
- Then run the Maintenance scripts, and then the tasks in the “Cleaning” tab.
- Onyx will ask you to restart.
- THEN run MalwareBytes. It should find the adware, and you click to remove it.
This is NOT a comprehensive list, but should be enough to get you started!
Notes, Tips, Hints, & Answers
