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Need a virus scanner for Mac (I've dreaded this day...)

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TijmenDal

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 15, 2010
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So,

I'm not much of a gamer, but today my account got hacked (somehow...). Not a huge deal, but I'd rather had it didn't happen. The thing I dislike more about the hacking, is that I feel my other accounts/files might be in jeopardy as well. I mean, a game is a game and just that. No connection to the real world.
I was wondering how I can find out if there's indeed a virus or something on my Mac and how I can get rid of it.
I've never had ANY similar problems nor do I download suspicious stuff or anything.

Can anybody point me in the right direction? Thanks.
 
GGJstudios

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
TijmenDal said:
I'm not much of a gamer, but today my account got hacked (somehow...).
Click to expand...
Having your account hacked likely has nothing to do with your computer. Email and other online accounts are hacked regardless of what computer you have, what OS you run, or even if you don't own a computer. Change your passwords to something long and complex, including special characters, numbers and upper and lower case letters.
TijmenDal said:
I was wondering how I can find out if there's indeed a virus or something on my Mac and how I can get rid of it.
Click to expand...
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 10 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.
 
K

Kissaragi

macrumors 68020
Nov 16, 2006
2,340
370
Someone guessed/hacked your password and accessed your account that way, you don't have a virus.

You should really be focusing on changing to more secure passwords. Something like 1password is an excellent app to generate and store unique and secure passwords for every service you use
 
T

TijmenDal

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 15, 2010
32
0
Thanks for the reasuring words everyone. Hopefully you're all right (I don't doubt it ;) )
I've changed my passwords. I really should start changing them every now and then...
 
GGJstudios

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
2012Tony2012 said:
Run Magician as it checks for all known malware, and you will be fine :D
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I would not recommend this app, or any such app being sold by some guy out of his apartment. You don't need such apps for malware protection, and you don't need such apps for "maintenance". It's a useless app at best and potentially problematic. It's not worth risking your Mac.
 
2012Tony2012

2012Tony2012

macrumors 6502a
Dec 2, 2012
741
3
GGJstudios said:
I would not recommend this app, or any such app being sold by some guy out of his apartment. You don't need such apps for malware protection, and you don't need such apps for "maintenance". It's a useless app at best and potentially problematic. It's not worth risking your Mac.
Click to expand...

What apartment? What evidence do you have to backup it being risky?

What can Magician do to compromise security?

I have Apps such as Ccleaner, iBoostup, Iceclean and Magician installed, and ClamX says my system is CLEAN! So are you saying ClamX guys are all wrong and ignorant and you are right? And why hasn't Apple released an security update to alarm us against Apps such as Magician if its as bad as you claim?

You seem like an Alarmist and Conspiracist, with no hard evidence to back it up, just words.

So are you saying it's too risky to have ccleaner installed too?

And what about Onyx, do you tell people that is risky too and should be removed?
 
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gnasher729

gnasher729

Suspended
Nov 25, 2005
17,980
5,565
2012Tony2012 said:
What apartment? What evidence do you have to backup it being risky?

What can Magician do to compromise security?

I have Apps such as Ccleaner, iBoostup, Iceclean and Magician installed, and ClamX says my system is CLEAN! So are you saying ClamX guys are all wrong and ignorant and you are right? And why hasn't Apple released an security update to alarm us against Apps such as Magician if its as bad as you claim?

You seem like an Alarmist and Conspiracist, with no hard evidence to back it up, just words.

So are you saying it's too risky to have ccleaner installed too?

And what about Onyx, do you tell people that is risky too and should be removed?
Click to expand...

You should get a PC. Then you can defrag your hard drive all day, check for viruses as much as you like, clean up your computer whenever you feel the urge. If that's what makes you happy.
 
2012Tony2012

2012Tony2012

macrumors 6502a
Dec 2, 2012
741
3
gnasher729 said:
You should get a PC. Then you can defrag your hard drive all day, check for viruses as much as you like, clean up your computer whenever you feel the urge. If that's what makes you happy.
Click to expand...

Your whole post is misleading, contains lies and false acusations and is completely based on errenous assumptions!

Firstly I never defrag the Mac, as that's not needed. You are going of topic because you obviously have a lack of acceptance for those who do things differerently to you.

Secondly, I do not check for virus, and if you read all my posts on this forum you will know I never recommend someone doing that all day long.

However, there are malware and virus on the Mac, not in today's "wild", yet they do exist and someone should check their Mac at least once, and then be careful what Apps they install.

gnasher72, I strongly recommend you retract your false accusations, which seem based on human emotionalism rather than on logic, reason or fact.
 
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2012Tony2012

2012Tony2012

macrumors 6502a
Dec 2, 2012
741
3
Thank you GGJstudios, I trust your information, and have removed Magician from my Mac. DO you recommend a complete reinstall, or removing it will be ok? I removed Iceclean and iBoostup as well and only have Onyx left.
 
GGJstudios

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
2012Tony2012 said:
Sorry I meant, is it best to reinstall Mac completely, or will the remove steps completely remove Magician, or can it leave behind any malware or nasty files?
Click to expand...
No, it's fine to just remove it. You can reinstall OS X if you want, but I doubt it's necessary.
 
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