Buzz
Eliminating Malware on Mac: A Comprehensive Guide
Once malware infiltrates your Mac, it begins displaying a barrage of ads on browsers like Safari, Firefox, and Chrome, while cluttering your Library folder with meaningless files. Your device slows down significantly.
Malware perpetrators do little beyond slowing down your Mac, executing non-Admin programs,... Here are some effective methods to remove Malware from your Mac.
Method 1: Update System Software
This is the initial step to troubleshoot Mac issues. The cause may be due to users not installing security updates or software updates, leading to situations where attackers can gather user data.
Step 1: Click on the Apple menu icon at the top corner of the screen.
Step 2: Select App Store to open the Mac App Store.
Step 3: Click on the Updates tab at the top corner of the Mac App Store window.
Step 4: Install all relevant updates (you will need to enter your Apple ID and Mac password).
If your device is running macOS Sierra, you can skip this step by enabling Automatic Install in System Preferences, which will automatically download the latest updates available in the background.
Step 1: Open the Mac App Store, then click on App Store located in the top-left corner of the menu.
Step 2: Select Preferences.
Method 2: Checking and fixing hard drive errors
If software updates are unavailable, try the next solution: checking the hard drive. With Apple's Internet Recovery partition, repairing hard drive errors has become simpler than ever.
Step 1: Restart your Mac.
Step 2: During the restart process, press and hold the Command + R key combination.
Step 3: Once the restart is complete, you'll see the Internet Recovery Partition on your screen. Here, select Disk Utility.
Step 4: Click on Continue.
Step 5: On Disk Utility, select the First Aid button.
Step 6: Click on Run to execute it.
Mac will run a check on the hard drive to determine if there are any errors. If found, it will automatically repair them. You can also conveniently and quickly repair the hard drive using fsck on macOS.
Method 3: Resetting NVRAM/PRAM and SMC
If applying the above 2 methods, updating apps, and repairing the hard drive are unsuccessful, sometimes clearing the cache memory can help your Mac run smoother. To reset NVRAM (or PRAM on older Macs), restart your Mac, then press and hold the Command + Option + P + R key combination for at least 20 seconds.
After resetting NVRAM, you'll be prompted to reconfigure some system settings (such as sound and timezone) stored in that cache memory. Resetting SMC is a bit more complex, Apple advises users to only apply this solution to address issues, problems after applying all solutions but unsuccessful.
If using a laptop:
Step 1: Turn off your Mac and plug in the power cord.
Step 2: Restart your Mac by pressing the Power button along with the Shift + Control + Option key combination.
Step 3: Release the keys, then press the Power button to restart your computer.
If using a desktop:
Step 1: Turn off your Mac.
Step 2: Unplug the power cord and wait for about 20 seconds.
Step 3: Plug the power cord back in and wait for about 5 - 10 seconds.
Step 4: Restart your Mac by pressing the Power button.
Partitioning the drive (or erase)
After trying all solutions but unsuccessful, it's likely that the hard drive is damaged. The last resort is to partition the drive or erase that partition.
- Note;:
- To partition a drive, your drive must have enough free space, at least 30GB. If there's not enough free space, you can back up the corrupted drive to a USB drive.
Steps to create a partition on Mac:
Step 1: Open Finder from the dock.
Step 2: Select Applications.
Step 3: Scroll down and open the Utilities folder.
Step 4: Double-click to open Disk Utility.
Step 5: Select your hard drive from the Disk Utility window. It's usually the first drive listed in the menu, often named Fusion or Macintosh HD.
Step 6: Click on the Partition tab.
Step 7: Click on the (+) button.
Step 8: Adjust the partition size as desired by dragging the slider. Free space being used is marked in green.
Step 9: Name the new partition.
Step 10: Click on Apply.
Disk Utility will check the drive and make the changes, this process may take a few minutes. Once complete, close the Disk Utility window and return to the main Internet Recovery menu.
Step 1: Click on Reinstall macOS.
Step 2: Click on Continue.
Step 3: Click on Agree to agree to Apple's terms.
Step 4: Select the New Mac drive as the drive you want to install macOS on.
Step 5: Click on Install.
Step 6: Your Mac will download the new operating system copy from the App Store and install it. The process can be fast or slow depending on the Internet connection speed on your Mac, it may take about 1 hour or longer if the network connection is slow.
Step 7: Your Mac will automatically restart into the new partition after the software is downloaded, then proceed with the operating system installation.
After completing the setup of the new hard drive, the next step is to move your files. The old hard drive partition will appear next to the current active partition, similar to an external drive so you can retrieve any files from it.
Step 1: Open the Finder window.
Step 2: In the Devices section in the sidebar, find the old Macintosh HD drive.
Step 3: Copy any files you want from the old hard drive to the new computer.
- Note;:
- If you want to copy applications, the best advice for you is to download applications from the Mac App Store or other application websites. After downloading the applications, you just need to follow the instructions to install them.
A piece of advice for you is to store old hard drive partitions for at least a few months, then you can delete these old partitions to use new ones and free up space on the device.
Above, Mytour just guided you on how to remove malware on Mac. By installing safe and reliable antivirus software, and only downloading and installing application software from trusted sources to protect your computer from Malware. Wish you success!
