HELP! mac novice needing advice!

[eil18]

Hello,

I am needing some quick advice as I'm really worried!

I've had my mac since October, and I have had little problem with it except for recently.

I NEVER download on my mac, as I am extremely paranoid about unsafe material.

Tonight I was browsing my friends blog, when a pop up started "scanning" my mac for viruses. I realised quickly it was suspicious and forced quit so it would stop. Nothing has happened and I have checked all my folders and applications but nothing is there, so I thought I had nothing to worry about...

I went to clear my cookies and noticed there was something called LivePersonID in there, when I searched it, it said something about a tracking thing..(im sorry im not that much use when it comes to computer talk!)

A few weeks ago, another pop up started downloading a zip file specially for macs when I was browsing a newspaper website. I stopped it before it finished and deleted it straight away.

I know everyone always says there are "NO VIRUSES FOR MACS" but I find this really hard to believe.

I'm so scared theres something watching my every move on my computer!

PLEASE HELP!

(and please try and make it easy for me to read? I don't know anything about codes or computer stuff )

Thank you! x

 

[eil18]

please someone reply

 

[Greenman]

At a guess you've been to a site that tells you that you may have a virus and try's to do a virus scan, ignore it, empty the Cache under Safari, check in finder "the magnifying glass top right" type in "LivePersonID" it will show you every were "LivePersonID' is on your computer if it finds any then you can trace it to which every folder its in and remove it.

I take it you have turned your firewall on, you'll find it at System Preferences/security/firewall

You can clean the cookie out and do a bit for maintenance with a handy free prog called OnyX

It not a lot but it may take some of the worry away for you.

 

[eil18]

Hey!

Thanks for replying.

I did the spotlight magnifying glass search and it only came up with a link to this forum, so Im assuming i don't have a tracker cookie under that name? (obviously because ive mentioned it in the piece i wrote)

If I haven't downloaded anything and entered my details then I'm safe from "viruses" and things like that right?

 

[eil18]

Right I just downloaded and ran the OnyX application

And after scanning it came up with

what does this mean?
and if i do what it needs me to, will this clear my hard drive/the stuff on my mac?
I have alot of important work on here!

thanks again

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

Ok, there are a couple of things going on here ... I just visited the website:

http://solutions.liveperson.com/​

Then I looked in Safari Prefs ~> Security ~> Show Cookies and did a search there using the search field in the upper right of the window, for LivePersonID. I saw there were 8 cookies there called LivePersonID. Basically you can just delete them if you want ... they usually remember some basic log-in details that you may or may not have allowed if you were surfing at the website.

I would strongly advise you also go into Safari Prefs ~> General

Make sure the "Open 'safe' files after downloading" box doesn't have a tick in it. This will safeguard your Mac in the event that something is downloading without your consent. It's good that you were quick enough to terminate the download ...

As Greenman pointed out, never allow a website to scan your mac for viruses ... those links can never be trusted.

As far as I know ... there are no viruses for Mac OS X but there are some nasties that can take over your web browser but they usually only find their way onto your mac through you clicking on a box that pops up telling you that some app is out of date and you should click here to download the latest version. Usually it's Flip4Mac that's used as a con to get you to download stuff that interferes with your web browsing capabilities. I've only known this to happen to people who surf porn sites.

With regards to your OnyX querie ... it's asking you to start up your Mac using the original install disc that came with your Mac ... pop the disc in and restart your Mac and hold down the C key just on hearing the startup chime.

Then just go through the Language Selection and then you will see some menu items ... I think it's either Tools or Utilities ... just pull down the menu and you'll see Disc Utility. Once it launches select the First Aid tab, then your Macs HD in the left column and click on Repair Disc.

Then restart your Mac. OnyX is a good tool to use to keep your Mac in tip top shape. You need to run it from an Admin acct and I should point out now that you should have 2 accounts on your mac ... one that is a Standard acct for every day use and the other is an Admin acct for important installations etc and for running OnyX. This is good housekeeping practise.

 

[Greenman]

What more can I say Spawn Dooley has covered it all I think

 

[eil18]

Okay, I've read this 2 times now, and I'm going to read it a third to make sure I understand it all!

I never ever download anything anyway so I know I'm safe there. And I never fall for those stupid adverts claiming to be helpful for your computer, and I am a girl, so porn is never an option haha

I'm pretty sure I have 2 accounts on my mac, but I'll check to make sure.

And this wont wipe my computer doing this?! it will just sort any issues right?

Thank you so much for all your help so far you guys!
x

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

Having another Standard account is actually a good thing ... often when an issue arises one of the first troubleshooting steps you will be asked about is ... did you log into another account to see if the issue is replicated there?

This helps to determine if the issue is System wide or only User specific.

So, just make sure you have an Admin acct and that you use a Standard acct for everyday use ... then if you need to check on an issue you can either use the 2nd Standard acct OR just create one on the spot ... it's not impo.

Booting from your Startup Disc and running Disc Utility to repair your Macs HD is safe to do and Disc Utility will not alter your Home acct contents.

OnyX is safe to use too and while running, you shouldn't be using your Mac at the same time. I use the Cleaning & Maintenance tabs and there are a couple of restarts needed. Your Mac may seem to take forever to get to the login screen but that's ok ... the next time you reboot your Mac will be back to normal'

Another useful tool that OnyX provides is to allow you to create a little message at the Login screen. For example: This computer belongs to xxxx email address xxxx mobile no. xxxxx