Two questions in one! Clean and upgrade!

africano said:

Recently I was visiting some dodgy websites....trying to find games for my samsung galaxy S4 (I used to have an iphone 3gs but decided to change and now I have some dodgy sites that keep popping up and downloading what I believe is a virus although discguised as MXPLAYER...which automatically starts to download.

How can I make sure my Mac Book Pro has no viruses or issues and how can I clean it and clean safari?

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You can run ClamXAV, which is free, to scan your system, but you don't have a virus. Macs are not immune to malware, but no true viruses exist in the wild that can run on Mac OS X, and there never have been any since it was released over 12 years ago. The only malware in the wild that can affect Mac OS X is a handful of trojans, which can be easily avoided by practicing safe computing (see below). 3rd party antivirus apps are not necessary to keep a Mac malware-free, as long as a user practices safe computing, as described in the following link.Read the What security steps should I take? section of the Mac Virus/Malware FAQ for tips on practicing safe computing.

africano said:

Second question is I have very limited internet where I live but as I am going on Holiday I can use it all up before I go.....I want to use it to upgrade to NEW OS for MAC, its free right?

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Yes, it's free. Make sure your model is supported by Mavericks.

africano said:

I know backup is smart...but it will take ages to back up my machine right?

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Yes, a backup is always a good idea, whether upgrading or not. No, it won't take ages. You can use Time Machine, which is built in to OS X. I prefer Carbon Copy Cloner, which can make bootable clones of your drive.

africano said:

Hi,

Recently I was visiting some dodgy websites....trying to find games for my samsung galaxy S4 (I used to have an iphone 3gs but decided to change and now I have some dodgy sites that keep popping up and downloading what I believe is a virus although discguised as MXPLAYER...which automatically starts to download.

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I would be more concerned about malware on your phone instead of the Mac. Lots of Android malware out there and if you're getting apps from non-vetted stores, expect to get something bad.