VIRUS & MALWARE REMOVAL

Malware is designed to evoke this response. In this state, you can’t think clearly and you make bad decisions.

The first thing to do is calm down. That frozen screen or threatening email you are looking at is an illusion. No-one has gotten into your computer, but criminals are attempting to hack the weakest component in this scenario. And that’s you.

TYPES OF ATTACKS

Although attacks are becoming more sophisticated, criminals still rely on a number of relatively simple techniques that continue to provide them with a steady stream of income.

It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with them… to avoid becoming a victim.

Browser Hijacking

When Malware takes over Safari, Chrome or Firefox the screen generally freezes and you are presented with a flashing warning that . . .  ‘Your Data Will Be Erased’ or ‘The F.B.I. Will Be Contacted’ or some other nonsense. No matter how many times you close and open your browser that flashing warning stays in the middle of the screen.

The thing is, this isn’t a warning… it’s just a web page with a piece of animation running in a loop.

Every time you close and re-open your browser this web page comes back, because browsers remember the pages you were on and reload them for your convenience. 

This is pretty simple to fix – Force Quit your browser. Then hold down the Shift key and double click on the browser icon in the dock. This keystroke command tells a browser to open with a single fresh window . . .  and the problem is gone.

The second type of browser hijack replaces your search engine. It looks like Google . . .  but you’re actually using a foreign search agent that shows you only what it wants you to see.

‘WeKnow’, ‘Chumsearch’, ‘Safe Finder’, ‘Searchme’ and ‘SearchMine’ are common forms of this malware.

It’s becoming increasingly sophisticated and can be extremely difficult to remove.

Adware

Adware is an infection that comes in many forms. The two most common are pop-ups and the loading of unwanted browser pages showing items for sale.

The hackers sell advertising to companies because, believe it or not, some folks actually buy this crap.

Phishing Emails

Phishing emails attempt to elicit information from you with some form of plea. They generally include:

A sob story

• ‘The delivery of your order was canceled’
• ‘Due to a recent attack on our database’
• ‘We wanted to make you aware of unauthorized access to your card data’
• ‘My funds are trapped due to a civil war in my country’.

A request for information

• ‘Please fill out this form’
• ‘You should update your details now’
• ‘Please confirm your account’
• ‘Contact the F.B.I., S.S.N. or F.D.A. using this form’

A punishment or reward within a limited time frame

• ‘You have 48 hours after reading this letter…’
• ‘If we do not hear from you within 7 days…’
• ‘The money will be sent directly to your bank account’
• ‘You are eligible to claim a tax refund’

It may look good, but if you go down that road it will always end up costing you money.

Ransom Emails

These are scary… but don’t let fear cause you to follow the instructions.

The email generally states that the writer has video of you in a compromising position and that a copy will be sent to everyone in your address book unless you pay a certain amount of money within a limited time period. Generally, these idiots spell badly, have terrible grammar, and insist on being paid in Bitcoin.

The thing to remember here is that millions of these emails are sent out every day. Only a few people have to pay for the enterprise to be profitable.

Actually assembling footage of you, compressing it and sending it to all your contacts would require a great deal of time and generally speaking… criminals are lazy.

So… don’t worry.

Adobe Flash Clickbait

When you come across a page/pop-up that requests you to install Adobe Flash . . . Don’t do it.

 Adobe Flash no longer exists, yet this remains one of the most common ways to deliver Malware. 

OUR ADVICE

When you browse the internet, don’t click on anything that tells you to click on it.

If you receive a strange email, trash it. Banks, credit card companies, stores, etc will never email asking for information.

No legitimate institution will ask to be paid in Bitcoin

If you think you should click on something in an email . . . don’t click on it.

Install any Mac updates as soon as they are available. Just don’t the mistake of upgrading your entire operating system unless you know what you are doing. A macOS upgrade will say something like ‘Upgrade to macOS Sonoma’.

Use the free version of MalwareBytes For Mac to scan your computer and eliminate threats.

Just remember, the best anti-virus software in the world won’t protect you . . .  if you are the weakest link.