slowing down and spyware

[zephonic]

My aging '07 iMac has slowed down noticeably over the last few days. Shutdown takes almost 30 secs whereas it used to be near-instant until recently. Start-up times have increased as well.

General responsiveness seems a notch below average, but that may be suggestion.

I ran the trial version of MacScan which told me there are two instances of spyware on my machine, but it does not tell me whether it removed/quarantined them.

Are these things related? Could anybody point me towards the solution?

PS I checked Activity Monitor just after boot-up, but it might as well be Chinese for me. One thing I did notice is that there's a WesternDigital Drive Manager active, even though no WD drive is connected and I uninstalled the software a while back (because it really sucks). How can I make sure stuff does not remain on my system after I have ostensibly removed it?

All advice is welcome. Thanks in advance.

 

[GGJstudios]

I ran the trial version of MacScan which told me there are two instances of spyware on my machine, but it does not tell me whether it removed/quarantined them.

Chances are very high that the spyware detected was Windows spyware, that can't run on your Mac. Did it tell you the name of the spyware found?

Mac Virus/Malware Info​

PS I checked Activity Monitor just after boot-up, but it might as well be Chinese for me.

In Activity Monitor, make sure you have selected "All processes" and not just "My processes". Then post a screen shot of your AM window here.

Taking Screenshots in Mac OS X​

I uninstalled the software a while back (because it really sucks). How can I make sure stuff does not remain on my system after I have ostensibly removed it?

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

Best way to FULLY DELETE a program​

 

[munkery]

Those Western Digital drives that come with their own management software are a nightmare. I found the best thing to do was go through the initial set up of the drive without setting up any features, such as backup. Then, once that is complete, use "Disk Utility" to format the drive as Mac OS extended journaled so that it can be used more efficiently, specifically, with Time Machine.

If I remember correctly, it is very frustrating to remove that software. You also have to use the management software to turn off the partition that contains the software/driver installer disk image on the external drive before you can reformat the external drive.

GGJstudios suggestion to remove that software is probably the best solution.

 

[zephonic]

Thanks for the tips, I'll check it out and report back.

 

[zephonic]

Screen shots Activitiy Monitor on start-up:

Thanks.

 

[mjsmke]

I had the same issue with WD drives. I had an external 2TB and couldnt delete the software. Even after formatting. I took the drive out of the external housing and the software dissapered. So it must have been part of the firmware of the case.

 

[GGJstudios]

Screen shots Activitiy Monitor on start-up:
Thanks.

I'd kill the two WDDriveManager processes, then use the method I posted for app removal to delete them from your system.