In the last few days while using Safari I'm seeing a pop up emerge from the upper right side of my MBP screen. It stays for about 4 seconds then recedes right and disappears. It warns me that my Cloud or gmail or computer is under threat. The left side of the message has a System Preferences symbol. What is this and how do I kill it off?
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An apparent virus of some sort
- Thread starter loophole52
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That's what's known as a 'notification'. Just like you might get notifications from Messages or Mail that a new message has arrived. So, it's a notification from the system settings app. If you click on it while it's showing it should take you to the system settings and maybe show you what's going on. You might just open system settings and might see a warning or a 'red badge' on one of the sections that could tell you more. It might just be a setting that macOS wants you to be aware of could potentially be a risk.
Maybe have a look in Security/privacy section of system settings.
Stop receiving notifications from a website
https://support.apple.com/guide/safari/sfri40734/mac
Turn off notifications for an app or website on Mac
https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/mchl39cc046c/mac
https://support.apple.com/guide/safari/sfri40734/mac
Turn off notifications for an app or website on Mac
https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/mchl39cc046c/mac
Thanks.I was concerned that clicking on it could launch the virus. So that's not a concern?
No. IMO, it would be extremely unlikely to happen. MacOS is very safe, and viruses was never a big concern in macs ever. It's most likely macOS notifying you of something like a setting that might make you vulnerable in some way. A good thing.
IDK. At least what you describe with a virus is unheard of in macs. You shouldn't worry. Just keep an eye open for abnormalities and don't click on suspicious links.
My wife gets these from time to time. They come from randomly clicking OK on popups and effectively giving an 'advertiser' privileges to send you notifications.
I would recommend using an ad blocker also. They will generally weed out the popups and ads that generate these types of notifications. There are plenty of options. Currently I use AdBlock. It's about as easy as it gets. They do promote their VPN service heavily within the app/plugin, but it is not necessary. There are plenty of other options, some heavily customizable and some very effective at other aspects of web safety, but AdBlock does a remarkably good job of stripping ads from the sites I use.
I would recommend using an ad blocker also. They will generally weed out the popups and ads that generate these types of notifications. There are plenty of options. Currently I use AdBlock. It's about as easy as it gets. They do promote their VPN service heavily within the app/plugin, but it is not necessary. There are plenty of other options, some heavily customizable and some very effective at other aspects of web safety, but AdBlock does a remarkably good job of stripping ads from the sites I use.
So I clicked on it and it took me to a website called gogyniticia.com
I was directed to click on a button to "scan" my computer for viruses. It looked like a scam to me so I got the hell out.
Well then, I apparently misled you and everyone by saying there's nothing to worry about. I'm really sorry about that. Doesn't mean it's a virus, though. Meson's advice in post #6 seems solid.
You did the right thing. Never download and install software that you did not actively seek out from a trusted source.
If you ever feel a need to scan your machine for something, Malwarebytes has been around a long time and is trusted by many.
I don't use Windows machines often, but I've seen the same thing happen to Windows users. The solution was the same, kill off the website notifications and it stops. In my opinion, there is no reason that a website change is so critical that it needs to update me via an alert.
If you choose not to use an ad blocker, you can always go to the Website pane in Safari's Settings and uncheck the "Allow websites to ask for permission to send notifications" checkbox. This should also reduce the risk of these alerts happening again.
Hey Loophole52 - Some other things to try: You can completely re-set Safari clear the Cache History and Cookies under Safari Preferences. Also check your downloads folder to see if there is anything in there you don't recognize. You can also set Mail to not automatically download remote content, this stops the possibility of inadvertently downloading malicious code or an executable hidden in junk or spam e-Mail. There is a button within mail to download remote content once you are aware of the sender. Oh and yeah, as you already found out Do not Click on any Links or Dire Warning boxes that you do not recorgnise...
Here is the most relevant advice. Clearing cache or cookies will not unsubscribe you from website notifications.
Another way to get virus-like notifications is by accidentally subscribing to a calendar feed from a malicious website. Your calendar will fill with events that will contain a link to a website. You can remove the calendar from your Calendar app.
So likely at some point, you were on some borderline shady website and it prompted you
Can "abcdef.com send you Notifications?" "Allow" | "Block"
And allow was clicked.
So as others have said, not a virus in itself, just permission given to a website to spam you.
If you go to Safari -> Settings -> Websites -> Notifications
You'll see what websites have been allowed to send you notifications, just switch them to deny (assuming I have diagnosed your problem correctly).
Can "abcdef.com send you Notifications?" "Allow" | "Block"
And allow was clicked.
So as others have said, not a virus in itself, just permission given to a website to spam you.
If you go to Safari -> Settings -> Websites -> Notifications
You'll see what websites have been allowed to send you notifications, just switch them to deny (assuming I have diagnosed your problem correctly).
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I've seen that on IOS. I presumed too that might be the case on macOS, but I haven't seen examples so far.
Unsubscribe from a calendar on macOS
https://support.apple.com/guide/calendar/icl1022/mac
Unsubscribe from a calendar on iOS
https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/iph3d1110d4/ios