computer infected with malware/adware (was: Ads for certain words)

[FQ]

Hi all,

Some words are being made into links for adverts and it is getting really annoying. I have added some screenshots below. Is this happening to anyone else and how can I make it stop? It also randomly shows adds at the top of the page to. Also it is hard to open thumbnails as it try to show me an advert there to.

Cheers!

(Sorry Mods. This is meant to be in general discussion. Can you please move it? Thanks!)

 

[Hyphen]

This doesn't appear to be something that's originating within the Forum. It's certainly not something I see, and neither does the HTML generated by the Forum contain links in those locations you have highlighted (I checked the actual thread).

Most likely is a rogue ad on the forum inserting some JavaScript into your browser which looks for common words and renders its own adverts for that. Disabling JavaScript (if Safari lets you do that) might be a quick way to see if this is the case. If it looks like this is happening, trying to identify the rogue ad's network and letting the forum staff know would be a good longer-term solution.

I would suggest you have a quick check for any adware/malware plugin which may have made its way into your browser or OS. These things are much more common on Windows and IE, but Mac/Safari aren't infallible.

Also not impossible (if not that likely) is that these are being inserted by your ISP on-the-fly. British ISPs have been known to cosy up to adware networks in the past (Phorm anyone?) but do seem to have behaved themselves of late.

 

[Qwerty133]

You've downloaded some rogue software, if it's what I think it is, unfortunately I don't have a clue with removing software on macs, or what it's likely to be called.
also imagine that your having a lot of ads for dodgy retailers, appear whenever you go near a site such as Amazon or eBay or searching in Google.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Ok done some research and its definately rogue software, cinema pro is a well known piece of adware according to google. It looks like it will have come bundled with some other software, have you downloaded a game or programme to open a non standard file format recently by any chance?
This link may be helpful in removing it, http://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-mac-os-x-virus/ but be careful before downloading any software, as I don't know if the site is genuine (can't be bothered to check)

 

[Searle]

Yeah it's definitely nothing to do with the forum. If it's started happeningly recently, then go to system restore and attempt to restore to a date earlier than when it started happening. All your data up until that point however may be lost, so remember to back up anything vital.

 

[eastwestdivide]

Apple discussions on a similar problem here:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6413205
and on MacRumors here:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1724907

it does sound like malware of some kind.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

If that's "Strong Signal Ads" you have it's very bad news I'm afraid; you'll need to get every trace of it removed FAST.

 

[Murph]

Beware of the virus removal blog linked above. I've not looked at it, but the URL looks slightly familiar (in a very negative way), and I'd give it an 80% chance of being a search spam site designed to sell you yet more crapware. The latest "business model" used by these scum is to get you first to install entirely unnecessary crap billed as something like a free download manager or media player, then sell you yet more crap to clean it up. Do NOT trust that virus removal blog at face value.

Do trust discussions.apple.com, macrumours.com, and other known good sites, just not the random unknown ones claiming to help you, as it's very easy to end up installing more crap instead of solving the problem.

 

[FQ]

Thanks everyone. It seems to have gone away overnight. Hopefully it won't come back!

 

[Murph]

Thanks everyone. It seems to have gone away overnight. Hopefully it won't come back!

That seems highly unlikely, that it went away without any active intervention. It is most likely temporarily crashed, dormant, or has lost connection to scum-HQ. You really do need to check in detail what's going on, as your system's integrity and security are both potentially compromised right now.

 

[FQ]

Dad did do something to the system and it went away overnight. I will get him to check it agin though.

 

[yorkie]

I'd re-format the computer (ie, re-install the operating system from scratch) if I were you!

 

[PermitToTravel]

If you'd like someone to give you an opinion on whether it's still there, fishquinn, please could you install Hijack This (http://sourceforge.net/projects/hjt/files/latest/download), run a scan, and paste the log here?

 

[FQ]

Dad says that we will try some of these if it comes back again. Thanks for all of your help guys!

 

[pompeyfan]

Maybe worth mentioning that I use my iPhone to view this forum, and I keep getting redirected to the App Store to download various stuff. I thought apples were less likely to suffer virus' etc?

 

[Crossover]

Ah, there goes the idea that Mac users are free from such things that often plague us Windows users!

 

[yorkie]

I thought apples were less likely to suffer virus' etc?

Most viruses are made to target the most popular systems. As Apple increase their market share, the number of viruses targeted at Apple devices will increase too.

 

[Hyphen]

I thought apples were less likely to suffer virus' etc?

Historically, it's been more of a case of 'security by obscurity'* in that malware makers have tended not to bother with the MacOS/iOS platform as the returns on labour spent crafting nasties was too low (too few users of the platform). Echoing other comments, that's increasingly not the case any longer.

Until a few years ago, it could be argued that Mac OS had a much better security model (based on Unix/BSD) than Windows did. However, with the introduction of UAC (and other concepts) in Vista this brought Windows onto a fairly level playing field.

I run Linux on all my machines (except for a work laptop) and Android (Linux based) on my phone - but it's dangerous to think I'm somehow 'less likely' to be infected with something, and keeping up with security updates is just as important regardless of the platform.

* Security by obscurity is well known for being a very bad thing to rely on. Apple don't tend to, but such a negligent attitude by its users could lead to infection or vulnerability.