do i have a virus

[davegreb]

Hi,

I went to a website and got a pop up from pc-anti-virus-scan.com and a splash page asking to check for viruses.

Does that I mean I have something on my mac, virus, malware, spyware??

Is there any way to check?

Thanks
Dave

 

[Tallest Skil]

You have nothing. There are no viruses for OS X. It's a pop-up. Turn on Pop-up Blocker.

 

[Turmoil]

No. you don't have a virus. You had a pop-up add trying to sell you something.

 

[Tallest Skil]

No. you don't have a virus. You had a pop-up add trying to GIVE YOU a virus, but it wouldn't have worked, anyway, since you're on a Mac.

Fixed, because that's really what those "scans" do.

 

[old-wiz]

the bogus scans are written for windows and do nothing on a Mac. They try to sell you useless programs that do nothing and often include viruses themselves. don't worry about it. If you remember the website that you were on, it's one to avoid.

 

[willjax]

There are no viruses for OS X.

Thats not quite true is it??

I thought that there are viruses for OS X, there just aren't many because most people who create viruses want to attack the masses, therefore creating the vast majority for windows

 

[avihappy]

Thats not quite true is it??

I thought that there are viruses for OS X, there just aren't many because most people who create viruses want to attack the masses, therefore creating the vast majority for windows

That is true and there are a few small trojans out for the Mac (however they cannot install themselves automatically, you have to run them first), but there is not one legitimate Antivirus vendor that will advertise to you by displaying a random popup ad telling you that you have a virus.

 

[Tallest Skil]

Thats not quite true is it??

I thought that there are viruses for OS X, there just aren't many because most people who create viruses want to attack the masses, therefore creating the vast majority for windows

There are trojans, but there aren't any viruses.

 

[r.j.s]

Thats not quite true is it??

Actually, it is. There is not one self-replicating virus live in the wild.

There are a few trojans, but in order for them to work, you must cough up your admin password.

 

[monke]

No you don't have a virus.

Have you ever won $1,000,000 dollars off of any of those pop ups?

 

[nippyjun]

What browser are you using?

 

[jon08]

Actually, it is. There is not one self-replicating virus live in the wild.

There are a few trojans, but in order for them to work, you must cough up your admin password.

What if you don't have a password? The admin window would still pop up asking you to confirm, right?

 

[r.j.s]

What if you don't have a password? The admin window would still pop up asking you to confirm, right?

Correct.

 

[Slothapotamus]

Hi,

I went to a website and got a pop up from pc-anti-virus-scan.com and a splash page asking to check for viruses.

Does that I mean I have something on my mac, virus, malware, spyware??

Is there any way to check?

Thanks
Dave

What the others are saying basically. If you had been on a Windows machine then yes, you would likely have downloaded some form of malware had you run the fake scan. Thankfully crap like this doesn't execute on Mac OS (or Linux) so you're safe.

If you're paranoid (and you should be on the internet to be honest) then I'd consider using Firefox and getting the Adblock+ addon. (I'm presuming you use Safari). Adblock+ basically stops adverts from loading on the websites you visit; websites will load faster, and you don't run the risk of downloading malware from bogus adverts (which, aside from dodgy e-mail attachments, is where most of today's viruses come from).

 

[davegreb]

What browser are you using?

I'm using firefox 3.05

 

[r.j.s]

... had you run the fake scan ...

Often, on Windows, you don't even need to do that. It will go ahead and download the virus/adware/crapware/malware all on its own.

 

[avihappy]

Often, on Windows, you don't even need to do that. It will go ahead and download the virus/adware/crapware/malware all on its own.

Actually, despite the common perception, self installing malware has become less of an issue on windows (especially with Vista). Though the main security hole now is the fact that the users develops a tendency to mindlessly click "Allow" in the UAC prompts. And no, I'm not an Windows fanboy, I still hate it because it is bad to me in other ways and I avoid it when I can.