(Newswire.net — July 11, 2021) — When choosing what computer to buy, it’s tempting to pick Mac after hearing the adage that Macs don’t get viruses. While this statement is somewhat true (the Mac OS has been around less time than Windows’s OS and has a smaller user base, making it a less frequent target of hacks), Macs are far from immune to computer viruses. So how can you keep your Mac running as intended?
Well, we’re glad you asked. With our complete guide on how to check your Mac for viruses, you’ll be able to stomp out threats before they grow out of control! So without further ado, let’s get right into things.
Want to Know How to Check Your Mac For Viruses? Know the Signs
One of the best ways to check your Mac for viruses is noting when the warning signs that your computer got infected are popping up. For example, if the Internet speed or processing speed on your computer took a major nosedive, this could be due to your network getting slammed with a DDOS attack or that a virus is using up processing power. Getting hit with a bunch of ads out of nowhere (especially when you’re not using a web browser) is a sign that someone snuck an adware program onto your computer.
You should also check both your browsers and social media/email accounts. Changes to your browser page you didn’t make can happen from hackers trying to force you to virus-filled spam sites. If you see a lot of spam messages sent to your contacts from your email or Facebook account, then you need to run an anti-viral scan and change your passwords pronto.
Make sure to beware of security pop-ups too. If you have a trusted security program running (like McAfee) these make sense but otherwise are the bait that will redirect you to a web address or file designation with a host of viruses.
Finally, make sure that you can access all of your files with little to no difficulty. Ransomware viruses will lock your files out in exchange for payment, which means you can’t access stuff like your financial info until you cough up some cash or kick the virus out.
CleanMyMac X and Anti-Viral Software
That said, the best defense against viruses on your Mac is grabbing an anti-viral software you can trust. For example, let’s say a bad link hits you with the Automator virus. You can remove it from Mac by using CleanMyMac X, an antiviral software that’s built to handle viruses targeted at Mac OS.
This software also grants you the ability to clean out junk files and optimize your system performance. It does so by giving you a rundown of all open applications and their CPU usage, letting you shut down unused apps to give your computer a power boost. The software will even remove residual data from old versions of Mac OS to help clear up memory space on your Mac.
What’s more, CleanMyMac X also looks for viruses built to attack different OS’s outside of Apple’s design (like Windows or Linux). While they’ll sit dormant on your computer, they can jump onto any computer of a different OS that links up to yours. Clearing them out ensures that you keep your other devices safe from computer viruses as well.
Taking the Manual Approach
Of course, sometimes antiviral software can’t catch everything. If this is the case, you’ll want to do a manual check for viruses. One way to do so is by opening Finder on your Mac and checking the Applications list. If you see any apps that look suspicious or you don’t remember putting them on there, drop them straight in the trash can.
If you can’t remove the application without shutting it off first, take a detour to your Activity Monitor application (you can find it in the “Utilities” subfolder in Applications). From there, you can force quit applications that are viruses in disguise, opening them up to get deleted.
If that doesn’t kick the virus out, try pressing SHIFT+CMD+G in Finder. When a search bar pops up, enter ~/Library/LaunchAgents, /Library/LaunchAgents, and /Library/LaunchDaemons. Once that’s done, kick out any file you see that looks suspicious.
In certain cases, wiping files from your downloads folder could also do the trick. After all, this is where most viruses you would get from stuff as untrusted software or applications go. Looking in your web browser preferences at your extensions is also helpful, as you can uninstall untrustworthy extensions from that menu.
Make sure to go to System Preferences and check out the Users and Groups option too. Here, you can see which applications boot up when you log in, which is a helpful way to weed out viruses.
Prevention is Key
Finally, one of the best steps to kicking viruses out of your computer is ensuring they can’t get there in the first place. For example, create a backup user profile for your Mac in the event your main one gets compromised. Since some viruses latch on to a specific user profile you can use the backup to remove the virus from your computer without alerting it that you’re on.
You should also update your firewall whenever possible and try to stick with the latest OS, as Apple puts the latest virus blockers and patches into these. You can set up these updates to happen automatically when a new one comes out too, so you don’t have to constantly check the App Store to see if there’s an update.
Limiting your Mac to only accept downloads from trusted sources (like the Apple Store) will also reduce your chance of getting a computer virus.
You Ain’t Afraid of No Viruses
And there you have it! Now that you have this complete guide on how to check your Mac for viruses, you’re free to use your computer without the worry of cyberattacks! And if you want more tips and tricks for keeping your computer virus-free, make sure to check out the other articles on our blog!