Internet AntiVirus PRO on my iMac

[Flattail]

OK, I'm not the most cautious web browser in the world and from time to time have found myself connected to sites that were probably a bad choice. I haven't had any problems in the past year until this morning. My SO was emailing someone and several error messages popped up regarding System Errors and an Internet Antivirus Pro warning, which of course wanted them to download the program, I assume. It was not downloaded. The mouse cursor would still move, but you couldn't click on anything on the screen. So a hard force quit was done, and the modem was shut off.

Turned the Mac back on, ran a Intego VirusBarrier check, all was OK. I then googled "Internet Antivirus PRO" and it sounds as if it is a major piece of malware/spware/trojan....something bad that is very difficult to remove(from a PC...that is-there even is a YouTube video showing you how to go about the removal process on Windows). I can find NOTHING on this "program" being on a Mac. Should I be concerned? Is it as easy as going into my downloads folder and deleting anything with an .'.exe' in it, or is it more complicated. Any help would be appreciated. I also have an external hard drive hooked up to my Mac, if that matters. I really don't want to be spreading the "love" to my Windows friends either, if I can help it. Thanks.

 

[r.j.s]

No, it's a Windows program and cannot run on your Mac.

 

[Tallest Skil]

You really don't want to run it, anyway. It would be absolutely useless.

 

[Flattail]

Am I going to have things continuing to pop-up? Is there anything I should be deleting?

 

[r.j.s]

No, that was a spam popup meant to trick users into installing crapware. Stay off of shady sites and you wont have to deal with it.

 

[GimmeSlack12]

Am I going to have things continuing to pop-up? Is there anything I should be deleting?

If you're using Safari turn off pop-ups (File menu).
If you're using Firefox get Ad-Blocker.

You have nothing to worry about. Seriously. You're being spooked because you're used to PC's. You no longer have to be spooked you're on a Mac.
Go to shady sites, download pron, use P2P, get weird Torrents, click on spam email (just not with your normal email acct.), play flash games, download more pron, and you will still have NOTHING to worry about (except maybe spam email from clogging your inbox). You're safe.

 

[Flattail]

Thanks, RJS, but that's so hard to do sometimes

Thanks all!

 

[Consultant]

THERE ARE NO VIRUSES on OSX.

Since there are no viruses, anti-virus cannot determine what is a virus at this time.

Giz Explains: Why OS X Shrugs Off Viruses Better Than Windows
http://i.gizmodo.com/5101337/giz-explains-why-os-x-shrugs-off-viruses-better-than-windows

The Mac Malware Myth
http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2009/01/29/the-mac-malware-myth/

The Unavoidable Malware Myth
http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2008/...-apple-wont-inherit-microsofts-malware-crown/

Road to Mac OS X Snow Leopard: 64-bit security
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/01/16/road_to_mac_os_x_snow_leopard_64_bit_security.html

 

[Flattail]

If you're using Safari turn off pop-ups (File menu).
If you're using Firefox get Ad-Blocker.

You have nothing to worry about. Seriously. You're being spooked because you're used to PC's. You no longer have to be spooked you're on a Mac.
Go to shady sites, download pron, use P2P, get weird Torrents, click on spam email (just not with your normal email acct.), play flash games, download more pron, and you will still have NOTHING to worry about (except maybe spam email from clogging your inbox). You're safe.

That's the answer I was hoping for!

 

[Tallest Skil]

That's the answer I was hoping for!

Just don't install anything that asks for your password without knowing EXACTLY where it came from. There are trojans.

 

[ravenvii]

Just don't install anything that asks for your password without knowing EXACTLY where it came from. There are trojans.

Yep, and remember: viruses does not equal trojans. Trojans are programs you, yourself, run with your own free will. They often pretend to be something else so that you'd be tricked into running it.

Just use common sense and don't run anything you don't explicitly download and don't know exactly what it is/does.

 

[Flattail]

Just don't install anything that asks for your password without knowing EXACTLY where it came from. There are trojans.

OK, got it. One question though? If this trojan/malware/whatever it is, is so bad on a PC and harmless on a Mac, why did it still freeze up my machine? I read another person's thread on here regarding a similar trojan/malware thing that froze his Mac up as well, but apparently was harmless to OSX

 

[Flattail]

Yep, and remember: viruses does not equal trojans. Trojans are programs you, yourself, run with your own free will. They often pretend to be something else so that you'd be tricked into running it.

Just use common sense and don't run anything you don't explicitly download and don't know exactly what it is/does.

Say I downloaded a torrent, that may have turned out to be something other than what it said it was (I don't know for sure-as it never completed the download-I only got about 5% of it or 666mb to be exact), is it possible when I went to play it that is how my machine encountered this rogue "Internet AntiVirus PRO"?

 

[Jethryn Freyman]

OK, got it. One question though? If this trojan/malware/whatever it is, is so bad on a PC and harmless on a Mac, why did it still freeze up my machine? I read another person's thread on here regarding a similar trojan/malware thing that froze his Mac up as well, but apparently was harmless to OSX

It froze up because of something unrelated.

 

[Jethryn Freyman]

Say I downloaded a torrent, that may have turned out to be something other than what it said it was (I don't know for sure-as it never completed the download-I only got about 5% of it or 666mb to be exact), is it possible when I went to play it that is how my machine encountered this rogue "Internet AntiVirus PRO"?

If you haven't downloaded it, it won't work. Opening specially crafted Quicktime movies can force a browser to open and go to a specific URL, at least in past versions.

 

[Flattail]

It did freeze up at EXACTLY the same time this pop-up occurred. And I do have Pop-up blocker on.