Malware again

What is malware?  It is short for “malicious software” and is a broad term that encompasses everything from annoying ad pop-ups to full scale viruses (that generally do not attack Macs).

Most commonly, and with a spike in frequency lately, Macs can get infected with spyware and adware that are generally limited to taking over your browser, re-directing your online surfing.  The purpose of these pieces of software is to re-direct you to a site that is trying to extract money or information from you.  The good news is that these are pretty easy to eliminate on your Mac without resorting to a full anti-virus software suite that will slow your Mac to a crawl (like McAfee, Norton, etc.).

Some of these infections are easy to eliminate, others are difficult.  Here are some steps to easily eliminate some infections:

1. Quit your browser.

2. Open System Preferences and look for a preference labeled “Profiles”.  You may not have it.  If you do not, skip to the next step. If you do, open it and remove all profiles using the ‘-‘ sign at the bottom of the list.  When the last one is removed, Profiles will disappear.

3. Also in System Preferences click Users & Groups.  In there, along the top click the Login Items tab.  Apps listed here automatically open when you log into your Mac.  Delete any apps you do not recognize or want using the ‘-‘ sign at the bottom of the list.

4. Download, install and run software from malwarebytes.com.  Just use their free software, no need to upgrade to the paid version that runs all the time.

5. Restart your Mac.  After restarting, open Finder (using the icon in the Dock), then navigate to the Applications folder in the left pane.  Drag any apps to the trash that you do not want.  For example, Mac Protect , Clean my Mac, Mackeeper, etc.

6. Open Safari while holding the Shift key and go to Safari > Preferences > Extensions (tab).  Uninstall any extensions there you do not recognize.  If you use Chrome or another browser, simply Google how to remove extensions in those browsers.

That should get rid of most of the infections.  If there are more infections that you can’t get rid of, that is where I come in :).