The Safe Mac

Search results for: “adware”

  • What are the threats?

    Classes of Malware It is very important to understand that there are, by my definition, two different kinds of malware. One is the virus: malware that is capable of infecting a machine without user interaction. Some people further divide such malware, referring to viruses (programs that must attach to other programs) and worms (programs that…

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  • Tech support scam pop-ups

    The internet has been awash with all manner scams for a long time. The variety boggles the imagination, ranging from Nigerian princes wanting to pay strangers exorbitant sums for help moving some money, to Facebook posts asking if it’s really you in this photo, to “one weird trick” for just about anything you might want to do.…

  • Ongoing MacKeeper fraud

    Controversy about MacKeeper has been around almost as long as MacKeeper has existed. It is one of the most aggressively-marketed products in the Mac world, and there are numerous accusations that it isn’t useful or even that it is fraudulent. At the same time, you will find a number of positive reviews out there. How…

  • How to uninstall software

    Okay, I’ll admit that Windows has a leg up on Mac OS X in one area: uninstalling software. On Windows this is easy (in theory) for anyone to do through the control panel. Mac OS X, however, does not provide any systemwide features for software removal. As a result, there are many myths and uncertainties…

  • How to manage a hacked wireless router

    There have been a lot of cases of wireless routers being hacked or infected with malware recently. With news of the malware known as the “Moon” that has been infecting a number of LinkSys routers (one of the most popular brands) and a report that one gang of hackers is in control of more than 300,000 wireless routers,…

  • Time to re-evaluate safety of Mac OS X

    My Mac Malware Guide has, for some time, made the claim that a properly up-to-date Mac OS X system cannot be infected by any known malware. This was true at one point, with some provisos, when that text was originally written. However, recent cases of malware that has failed to be blocked by the XProtect anti-malware system…