Not sure if I have a virus?

[alywag]

Hi,

My partner downloaded DivX from the Internet, not sure if it was from the website or not so I'm thinking that I may have gotten some kind of virus from this..

I have 3 reasons for thinking this.

1) A couple of weeks ago I went to empty my trash and it was full of almost my entire itunes library. I didn't empty it and the next day the songs had disappeared from the trash.

2) My desktop picture changed by itself.

3) Although I thought I deleted DivX from my computer (I did a search of DivX on finder and dragged everything to the trash), notices have come up twice saying there are new updates for DivX...

Either I have some sort of virus/malware or maybe I haven't properly deleted DivX, in which case how do I go about this?

I downloaded Sophos Anti-Virus from the internet and it hasn't picked anything up so I'm not sure what's going on!

Please help! 🙂

 

[maflynn]

There are no viruses out in the wild for OSX, could it be your partner doing this since he downloaded the app?

 

[alywag]

No definitely wasn't him.

 

[benwiggy]

These are not the behaviour of malware. No one writes software to change your desktop picture. Very little malware deletes all your files anymore either.

Typically, malware:
1. uses your processing time as part of a botnet to send spam email, perform DDoS attacks, etc.
2. monitors your activities in order to glean passwords, credit card numbers, or leads you to bogus websites for the same purposes.
3. locks down your system and demands money to release it.

Spotlight does not usually include all the app components and system files unless you specifically tell it to. DivX should come with an uninstaller, I think.

Unless this wasn't really DivX, but something else pretending to be DivX, which your partner installed, then you haven't got malware.

 

[Gregg2]

Did you search in Spotlight for anything with DivX in the name? Find those and delete them.

 

[Tumbleweed666]

This diagram will help you decide if you have a virus

 

[alywag]

Did you search in Spotlight for anything with DivX in the name? Find those and delete them.

No how do I access Spotlight

 

[Weaselboy]

No how do I access Spotlight

That won't work to delete files. You need to search in the Finder.

Open Finder and navigate to Macintosh HD then enter divx as your search term. Then click the little plus just below that and add "system files" and "are included" in the two drop downs like in my screen shot. That will show all files on your system that include the term divx.

Delete those file and restart to make sure everything runs okay. If you have no issues after the reboot, you can empty the files from the trash.

 

[Gregg2]

That won't work to delete files. You need to search in the Finder.

I'm sensing a big clue here that Spotlight may not find the same things as Control-F. Can you explain that further?

 

[benwiggy]

I'm sensing a big clue here that Spotlight may not find the same things as Control-F. Can you explain that further?

Although Spotlight (the technology) is behind both searches, the Spotlight menulet (<Command> <space>) does not show all results.
It tends to only show fairly recent things.

A Finder Search Window will show absolutely everything that matches the criteria.

 

[Weaselboy]

I'm sensing a big clue here that Spotlight may not find the same things as Control-F. Can you explain that further?

Like benwiggy mentioned, it is the same process but the Spotlight interface limits the search to only the categories listed in my screen cap. Everything else (like system files) is not shown to keep the Spotlight results from being all cluttered up.

 

[Sakusha]

To add to this isn't downloading third-party virus protection software can potentially do more harm to your computer rather than 'protecting' it? Especially the virus scanning software, McAfee virus scanning software actually contributed to wiping my old Windows XP desktop clean ... Which it unfortunately. I wouldn't recommend downloading any third party virus protection and virus scanning software in the future, just practice safe computing.

 

[Gregg2]

To add to this isn't downloading third-party virus protection software can potentially do more harm to your computer rather than 'protecting' it?

I've heard of it slowing things down because it uses lots of RAM. I'm sure there are horror stories out there about other damage, but I think they are rare.

 

[GGJstudios]

My partner downloaded DivX from the Internet, not sure if it was from the website or not so I'm thinking that I may have gotten some kind of virus from this..

I downloaded Sophos Anti-Virus from the internet and it hasn't picked anything up so I'm not sure what's going on!

None of your issues point to malware, as others have stated. Your issue with DivX arises from the fact that you did not completely delete it from your system.

The most effective method for complete app removal is manual deletion:

Best way to FULLY DELETE a program​

I recommend avoiding Sophos, as it can actually increase a Mac's vulnerability, as described here and here. 3rd party antivirus apps are not needed to keep a Mac malware-free, as long as the user practices safe computing, as described in the following link.

Mac Virus/Malware FAQ​

If anyone insists on running antivirus for some reason, ClamXav (which is free) is one of the best choices, since it isn't a resource hog, detects both Mac and Windows malware and doesn't run with elevated privileges.