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Security Protection on Mac. How?

T

Tissue Paper

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 18, 2012
176
6
I found myself in this situation several times now, when I would be browsing something or looking for information and upon opening a particular site, my computer gets pesky ads and then my screen and cursor freeze. Sometimes more things happen to trigger my alarm. At that moment, I immediately turn off my computer and then on. I wish there's a reliable app I can use to scan for viruses in these moments that could put my mind at ease a bit. I have Malewarebytes Premium installed, but the scan takes literally 2 seconds, I wonder if it's actually doing something? What do you do in these situations? Is there a better app you recommend?

Thank you for taking the time to read this.
 
Here are some suggestions for managing privacy and security on your computer:

Level 1 (foundation)
  • Anti-virus (I use Sophos)
  • Anti-malware (I use Malwarebytes)
  • Firefox browser with ad blocking and Javascript blocking add-ons (I use AdBlock Plus and NoScript) for general web browsing. I keep Safari relatively stock and only use it with a very small number of trusted websites.
Level 2 (good to have if you don't mind the convenience vs. security tradeoffs)
  • Little Snitch (monitor outgoing Internet connections, essentially a reverse firewall)
  • RansomWhere (anti-ransomware monitor)
  • SilentKnight (utility for easily checking Apple's own security measures in macOS for updates)
 
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Tissue Paper said:
I found myself in this situation several times now, when I would be browsing something or looking for information and upon opening a particular site, my computer gets pesky ads and then my screen and cursor freeze. Sometimes more things happen to trigger my alarm. At that moment, I immediately turn off my computer and then on. I wish there's a reliable app I can use to scan for viruses in these moments that could put my mind at ease a bit. I have Malewarebytes Premium installed, but the scan takes literally 2 seconds, I wonder if it's actually doing something? What do you do in these situations? Is there a better app you recommend?

Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Click to expand...
Go to your browser cache and clear it all. This may resolve your issue.
 
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Install the latest updates/patches to OS and Browser. Consider using an adblocker such as ublock or a preconfigured browser like Brave. Use secure DNS Quad9 or Nextdns.io are my top two. Finally run a malware scan with Malwarebytes the free version the free version is mre than enough for occasional use and scans.
 
Madhatter32 said:
Go to your browser cache and clear it all. This may resolve your issue.
Click to expand...
If I do that will I lose all my saved credentials, such as passwords?

So a malware software is different from a virus? I only use Malewarebytes Premium and I also have 1Block. Is the latter good?
 
Tissue Paper said:
So a malware software is different from a virus? I only use Malewarebytes Premium and I also have 1Block. Is the latter good?
Click to expand...
1Block is good. As to the former, there really is no need to install (much less pay) for third party Malware app. MacOS has built-in Malware protection etc.

Protecting against malware in macOS

On devices with macOS, malware defenses are structured using the followingApp Store, or Gatekeeper combined with Notarization, and XProtect.
support.apple.com

I do agree with @KaliYoni about the app "SilentKnight, which helps to make sure your Mac is up to date on the latest firmware and security updates.
 
You can scan websites before you ever go to them by either adding the VirusTotal extension on Firefox or go directly to VirusTotal.com and paste the URL.
 
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Anybody who believes they are a target for malware or doesn't want a single point of failure should use both Apple's built-in protection and another anti-malware application.

For example, macOS didn't provide protection against this threat:
labs.sentinelone.com

Massive New AdLoad Campaign Goes Entirely Undetected By Apple's XProtect - SentinelLabs

Learn how to detect the latest variant of this widespread adware and browser hijacker, its infection pattern and indicators of compromise.
labs.sentinelone.com labs.sentinelone.com
 
Last edited:
Tissue Paper said:
If I do that will I lose all my saved credentials, such as passwords?
Click to expand...
Yes. You'll have to reenter them again ... but think of it as an opportunity to revisit and change your passwords if necessary, which many security minded people say you should do periodically anyway.
 
OP wrote:
"I found myself in this situation several times now, when I would be browsing something or looking for information and upon opening a particular site, my computer gets pesky ads and then my screen and cursor freeze."

If these are "known dodgy" sites, well... don't go to them.

Otherwise, I'll offer a trick that I use when encountering a website that is literally "filled up with crapola".

TURN OFF javascript and just reload the page.
Now... you can see "the text" of the page without all the crud that would need javascript to run.

There are components of the page you won't see after doing this, such as popups, videos, slideshows, etc.
But you'll still be able to read the basic text of the page (and most times, that's all I really wanted to see anyway).

You need to open Safari's preferences.
Go to the "advanced" pane.
Put a check into "show develop menu in menu bar" (at the bottom).

Now (when a page is filled with "crapola"), just go to the "Develop" menu and choose "disable javascript".
Next, type "command-R" to RELOAD the page WITHOUT javascript running.

I used the keyboard pref pane to set up an application key command for Safari -- "command-J" -- that toggles javascript on and off.

So now, I just hit "command-J" and then "command-R" to reload a page without javascript in less than a second.

By the way, this also works with all those "news sites" that would otherwise force you to "subscribe" to them.
Get rid of javascript, and you can still see the articles.

Give this a try.
I predict that it will solve many of the problems you're having.
 
Apple_Robert said:
1Block is good. As to the former, there really is no need to install (much less pay) for third party Malware app. MacOS has built-in Malware protection etc.

Protecting against malware in macOS

On devices with macOS, malware defenses are structured using the followingApp Store, or Gatekeeper combined with Notarization, and XProtect.
support.apple.com

I do agree with @KaliYoni about the app "SilentKnight, which helps to make sure your Mac is up to date on the latest firmware and security updates.
Click to expand...

Hi again. I wanted to ask you a couple of things. Your reply goes in line with what I was reading online about how I should just rely on my Mac's security softwares and not install anything unless it's something my computer can't do.

So with that in mind, do I need anything else to install other than what Apple has installed in my computer?

The incident happened when I clicked on an image I was trying to look at while curating content for a blog post, so there's no way for me to check the validity of every link I click on. In this case IF something happened where my computer froze like that one time, what would you do? Just restart the computer?

And can you please explain to me what SilentKnight does exactly? I'm not that versed!

Thank you so much. I found our reply really helpful.
 
Fishrrman said:
OP wrote:
"I found myself in this situation several times now, when I would be browsing something or looking for information and upon opening a particular site, my computer gets pesky ads and then my screen and cursor freeze."

If these are "known dodgy" sites, well... don't go to them.

Otherwise, I'll offer a trick that I use when encountering a website that is literally "filled up with crapola".

TURN OFF javascript and just reload the page.
Now... you can see "the text" of the page without all the crud that would need javascript to run.

There are components of the page you won't see after doing this, such as popups, videos, slideshows, etc.
But you'll still be able to read the basic text of the page (and most times, that's all I really wanted to see anyway).

You need to open Safari's preferences.
Go to the "advanced" pane.
Put a check into "show develop menu in menu bar" (at the bottom).

Now (when a page is filled with "crapola"), just go to the "Develop" menu and choose "disable javascript".
Next, type "command-R" to RELOAD the page WITHOUT javascript running.

I used the keyboard pref pane to set up an application key command for Safari -- "command-J" -- that toggles javascript on and off.

So now, I just hit "command-J" and then "command-R" to reload a page without javascript in less than a second.

By the way, this also works with all those "news sites" that would otherwise force you to "subscribe" to them.
Get rid of javascript, and you can still see the articles.

Give this a try.
I predict that it will solve many of the problems you're having.
Click to expand...
That's really smart, but I was looking for an image to curate for a blog post when the incident happened lol. Not text.
The tip is very useful for news sites though!
 
There is a way of checking links before you click on them as I mentioned. To repeat, you will need a browser such as Firefox that allows extensions. The add-on is called VirusTotal. Right-click on the link and select Virus Total and the option scan selected link. If you are using a browser that does not allow extensions then you can copy that link and go to the VirusTotal.com website and scan it that way.
 
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U-sWYGE_f1T said:
There is a way of checking links before you click on them as I mentioned. To repeat, you will need a browser such as Firefox that allows extensions. The add-on is called VirusTotal. Right-click on the link and select Virus Total and the option scan selected link. If you are using a browser that does not allow extensions then you can copy that link and go to the VirusTotal.com website and scan it that way.
Click to expand...
Another option is a DNS service that refuses to resolve known bad links. Quad9 and Nextdns are solid options
 
There are indications Apple may be ending support of two anti-malware components of macOS, XProtect and MRT, that are critical parts of pre-Monterey OS's:

"If I were still reliant on Big Sur or any previous version of macOS, I think I’d use that time to try out some third-party protection, just in case these key players in my malware defences weren’t going to be the same any more. Without them, Apple’s three layers start looking alarmingly empty."
eclecticlight.co

Last Week on My Mac: Are malware defences changing again?

The last time Apple paused updates to XProtect and MRT, it changed the way certificate revocations were checked, and introduced notarization.
eclecticlight.co eclecticlight.co
 
Screenshot 2021-11-30 at 22.22.22.png

I just got 3 viruses on my Mac.
 
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