Help! Is this a virus?

[JoyceYee]

Hi friends,
I've never had a problem with my MacPro since I got it 6 years ago... and then I let my 8 year old in on the fun. Sigh.

I now get these weird little green circles and highlighted, underlined words whenever I'm on the web. If I click on it, it takes me to advertising. How do I make it go away?

Attaching a screen shot. So appreciate your assistance!
- not very tech savvy, Joyce.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

Looks like you have a third-party toolbar or Safari Extension installed.

Go to:

-Safari > Preferences > Extensions
-Turn Extensions OFF
-Quit Safari and relaunch Safari

If issue is resolved, then you need to uninstall any Safari Extensions that are toolbars or adware. If the issue persists, let us know and we can go from there.

Also, I see you have MacKeeper installed by the icon in the menu bar. Definitely uninstall that as it causes far more problems than it solves...and can actually be the culprit causing you current issue.

C

 

[honestone]

Yeah, I've heard bad things about MacKeeper. Here are detailed instructions for completely removing MacKeeper and all related files:

http://www.macexpertguide.com/2012/11/16/how-to-uninstall-mackeeper-from-your-mac/

 

[Twitch]

Hi there. I wanted to know if this is a possible virus. I was on a not so reputable site and my screen started to flicker.

Then it crashed and restarted. The same thing happened immediately. I restarted in safe mode and there was some flickering. But at least it didn't crash. There is now flickering in the chrome browser. But not outside that window.


I don't have a time machine backup. Should I just back up all my files on a external and format the computer?

 

[honestone]

So, does the flickering only happen when you use a browser? If so, try another browser, like Firefox.

You also need to first find out if there are any "problematic" files on your machine. One good (and free) virus program is ClamXAv. You can get it from here:

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

Also, did you completely remove MacKeeper?

Before making any kind of backup, you need to get your system as clean as possible. That is why you should run ClamXAV, and completely get rid of MacKeeper.

Let us know the results of doing that first, and then we can help you regarding a backup. If you do need to start with a backup, that process will be somewhat involved, but dooable. It will involve 1) making sure your external drive is "OK", 2) re-partitioning your external drive, 3) insuring that you have a "pure" version of the OS you are running under, 4) downloading the excellent (and free) backup/cloning software SuperDuper!, 5) using SuperDuper! to make a bootable backup of your current system to the "new" partition on the external drive, and 6) insuring that you have all your third party applications (and any updates to any software) "neatly" contained in folders. That will make it easier when you install all those applications after erasing and formatting your internal drive, and then installing the OS.

It is important that you let us know the exact model of your machine, and also what OS you are using. If you are using Snow Leopard (OS 10.6), you will need the original Snow Leopard DVD (and, of course, a working Super Drive) for this project. If, though, you are using Mavericks (OS 10.9), you should have that on a file, which can be used to install it onto your machine.