System Alert

[David Nummela]

I just received a system alert that said suspicious activity of intrusions detected which is trying to redirect you to an attack site. Error Code: PFXQ0451 Anyone familiar with this? It gives a phone number of 1-844-849-8994 for Network and Security support. Is this a legit apple support?

 

[honestone]

Whenever I see a phone number I am not familiar with, I google it. Here are the results of just such a google search on that number:

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=1-844-849-8994

As you can see, it is a "bogus" number.

Also, when I googled the error code you provided, got nothing at all.

Now, to try and solve your issue, I would suggest downloading two free products to get rid of the message. The first one is called "AdwareMedic", and you can get it from here:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/52105/adwaremedic

I have successfully used it, and also some other folks here have had similar success.

The second one is the free Virus detection/removal program called "ClamXav". You can get that from here:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/15850/clamxav

Run AdwareMedic first, and see if that gets rid of the offending "alert". Whether it does or not, it is a good idea to run ClamXav every so often.

Let is know if any of this helps you.

 

[DGray0819]

I just received a system alert that said suspicious activity of intrusions detected which is trying to redirect you to an attack site. Error Code: PFXQ0451 Anyone familiar with this? It gives a phone number of 1-844-849-8994 for Network and Security support. Is this a legit apple support?

Hi, i have the same error on my mac. Only seems to be affecting the safari application. I cannot access the internet at all. Everything else works though. Is this the same for you?

 

[honestone]

Hi, i have the same error on my mac. Only seems to be affecting the safari application. I cannot access the internet at all. Everything else works though. Is this the same for you?

It would be helpful if the original poster tried my suggestions (especially with installing AdwareMedic) and let us know what happened.

By the way, do you have the same issue with another browser? Try Firefox and/or Google Chrome. You can get them from here:

Firefox: http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/10700/firefox

Chrome: http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/32956/google-chrome

 

[DGray0819]

That is a good idea...
But, I can't get past the fault to access the internet at all. The fault has essentially locked me out of the internet through the browser.

 

[honestone]

Try resetting your router and modem. Your ISP should have a procedure as to what order you do that in. For my ISP (Comcast), here are the steps if one does not have XFinity Voice (I do)):

To power cycle your modem:

1. Shut down your computer.
2. Unplug the cable modem from the electrical outlet.
3. Wait 10 seconds, then plug the cable modem back into the electrical outlet.
4. Unplug your router from the electrical outlet.
5. Plug your router back in.
6. Wait 30 seconds, then turn your computer back on.

For me, the procedure (regarding resetting the "modem") is somewhat different.

In any event, those first 6 steps are typical in terms of resetting your modem and router.

If that does not help, and you still can't connect, you might need to call your ISP for further assistance. (Maybe some other folks will "chime" in and offer additional advice).

 

[DGray0819]

Try resetting your router and modem. Your ISP should have a procedure as to what order you do that in. For my ISP (Comcast), here are the steps if one does not have XFinity Voice (I do)):

To power cycle your modem:

1. Shut down your computer.
2. Unplug the cable modem from the electrical outlet.
3. Wait 10 seconds, then plug the cable modem back into the electrical outlet.
4. Unplug your router from the electrical outlet.
5. Plug your router back in.
6. Wait 30 seconds, then turn your computer back on.

For me, the procedure (regarding resetting the "modem") is somewhat different.

In any event, those first 6 steps are typical in terms of resetting your modem and router.

If that does not help, and you still can't connect, you might need to call your ISP for further assistance. (Maybe some other folks will "chime" in and offer additional advice).

 

[DGray0819]

Thank you. I will try this.
My concern is that I have been hit by some virus.
I hope not...

 

[honestone]

Then, you should download AdwareMedic and ClamXav, like I stated earlier.

 

[beezer]

thanks for the suggestions re adwaremedic and clamxav, but neither worked. The weird thing is there is no info on this. Usually when you have a problem - virus or otherwise - there are lots of pages with info as thousands of other people are dealing with the same issue.
Anyone got any other ideas?

 

[honestone]

When you say "System Alert", is that occurring while you are using Safari? The reason I ask is that when I googled "Error Code: PFXQ0451", one of the links that came up talked about a user getting the Error Code S1L457. The way he solved it was to do the following:

Safari ▹ Preferences... ▹ Privacy ▹Remove All Website Data

That worked, in that instance.

 

[beezer]

It was in Chrome. I fired safari up to look for solutions. Really strange that there aren't more sites with info on it. It's not a system alert - just a pop up box wityh a bogus message and error code that wont go away. Only cure I have found so far is to wait until the page stopped responding and I got the "kill page" prompt.

 

[honestone]

It was in Chrome. I fired safari up to look for solutions. Really strange that there aren't more sites with info on it. It's not a system alert - just a pop up box wityh a bogus message and error code that wont go away. Only cure I have found so far is to wait until the page stopped responding and I got the "kill page" prompt.

I actually got a strange virus alert (had to do with Bit Coin, which I have NEVER used) on Sunday while going through my disk maintenance/repairs/backup processing for my Mac Book Air (did not happen with my Mac Mini), and I used the free virus software from Sophos to remove it. I also re-installed Chrome, and earlier this morning, removed some suspicious cookies (some of those were "connected" with Bit Coin in "some" way). Maybe you should look at those cookies in Chrome.