[duvel]

I know, I know. Macs don't have viruses (yet). But then how do you explain what's been happening? I have 3 Macs at home that have the same ISP provider (Cox cable). In the last couple of weeks, every web site I go to (Macworld, BBC News, etc) has 2 or 3 ads about vimax pills, that are touted as increasing your penis size. These are not pop-ups. We're talking offensive ads imbedded in the front page of the newspaper, with changing graphics! This doesn't happen with the Mac at work, so I first thought my ISP was responsible. But several people with the same provider have not had that problem. Furthermore, my iPhone's browser doesn't have that problem either when I use WiFi at home.

The Macs in question run OS10.4 and OS10.5. My default browser is Firefox, but the problem also occurs with Safari. I think I'll run a virus scan on the computers, but if anybody has an idea about what is going on, I sure could use help.

[rab777hp]

You probably have a trojan. Download an app such as intego's NetBarrier to eliminate (Intego gives you a 30 day trial- enought time to eliminate the offending trojan)

[Mycroft_Holmes_MW]

Some ads nowadays are linked to your past search or visit history from sites like google or amazon.


Try clearing your cookies. Or better yet, eliminate most ads entirely by using an ad blocking extension with your web browser (like AdBlock Plus in Firefox).

[duvel]

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll try them. I did a virus scan with Norton, but nothing turned up.

[duvel]

For those following this discussion: I tried NetBarrier, but it didn't seem to catch anything. Nor did clearing cookies. The ad blocking extension AdBlock Plus does work, but only after much work. Different ads from the same company have to be cleared out of every corner of each page. Earlier, I reported on a virus scan that turned out negative.

I would still very much like to understand what is happening. Whether you call it malware, virus, trojan, or whatever your favorite diagnosis is, something bad is happening to my Macs. Lofty claims that macs don't get viruses no longer carry much weight with me.

[rab777hp]

try clearing your cache, or doing some general cleaning with Onyx (http://www.titanium.free.fr)

[Chris Breen]

duvel said:

I tried NetBarrier, but it didn't seem to catch anything.

>Lofty claims that macs don't get viruses no longer carry much weight with me.

You understand that these two statements contradict each other?

NetBarrier tells you it's not a problem. No malware, spyware, or viruses have been found on the Mac yet you still believe they exist?

Why?

So, how about setting up a different user account on one of those Macs and seeing what happens.

[mdawson]

Quote

duvel wrote:

>

Quote

I would still very much like to understand what is happening. Whether you call it malware, virus, trojan, or whatever your favorite diagnosis is, something bad is happening to my Macs. Lofty claims that macs don't get viruses no longer carry much weight with me.

A dramatic difference exists between a lofty claim and a statement of fact. Like far too many new posters on these boards you are quick to rebuke the platform over an anomaly you are experiencing.

It is obvious from your original post that the problem you are facing is by no means universal and highly unlikely to be the result of malicious software. It is more likely, as MycroftHolmesMW has indicated, that your computers have been intentionally, or unintentionally, targeted in some fashion. Also, the problem you described would be indicative of adware and not a virus.

So the question is have you or someone in your family downloaded and installed software from a dubious source? The backdoor method of covert downloading, installation and execution of software is highly improbable on a Mac, so if there is adware at work it would 1) be the first instance in OS X and 2) be the result of someone with access to your Macs downloading, or uploading, the software, having administrator access to install the adware and finding a way to have it execute without your knowledge or consent.

I would also have to ask if your home network is secure?

[duvel]

[quote name='Chris Breen']
>

duvel said:

> I tried NetBarrier, but it didn't seem to catch anything. > Lofty claims that macs don't get viruses no longer carry much weight with me.You understand that these two statements contradict each other?

NetBarrier tells you it's not a problem. No malware, spyware, or viruses have been found on the Mac yet you still believe they exist?

I do not see any contradiction in those statements. New viruses are being created all the time, and anti-virus software will not detect them until it's updated. Furthermore, most software will detect a particular type of problem, not all of them. So the fact that NetBarrier and Norton didn't find anything is not in itself proof that the machine is not infected (although it turns out the machine is clean, see below).

In any case, my apologies for venting my frustration online. I certainly am not blaming my problem on the Mac OS as one poster suggested, and if you read my posts, I think you'll agree. I've been using Macs for a quarter century almost, and would not switch to anything else.

More importantly, I've made some progress toward identifying the problem: one of the Macs is a laptop, so I took it to work and tried it out there. Guess what? No offensive ads from vimax! It would seem that the Macs have been cleared of suspicion, and that the culprit is either my ISP or home network, which to me, is even more baffling: my home "network" is just a cable modem, and a Wi-Fi router for the laptop. The Macs are not networked in the sense that they don't talk to each other. Yet they all exhibit the same behavior. There's also a Windows machine belonging to my son, but he says he hasn't had that problem.

In short, I still don't understand what's going on.

[rab777hp]

First off all, you are wrong about viruses- I could go on an explanantion for pages on why you are wrong or mislead, but take my word for it (chris- back me up here).

Second, how can your macs be on the same network- yet not networked? Now THAT is a contradiction.

[dcpics]

Have you tried doing something as simple as turning off your cable modem and wi-fi router for a minute or two and then restarting to set a new IP address, etc. with your ISP?

Perhaps getting a new IP license from your ISP would help stop something that may be targeting a particular address.

Long shot, but you never know.

[rab777hp]

Except for the fact that his win laptop doesn't show it- unless this is a specifically mac targeted script (unlikely- since the very vast majoritiy of the time you'll get a PC so mac scripts are a waste of time- which is why know one bothers writing viruses for Mac OS X) then it would be sent to all hosts on the network.

[duvel]

rab777hp said:

First off all, you are wrong about viruses- I could go on an explanantion for pages on why you are wrong or mislead, but take my word for it (chris- back me up here).

Second, how can your macs be on the same network- yet not networked? Now THAT is a contradiction.

I would be the first to admit that I'm pretty much clueless about what is going on here, as well as ignorant about viruses in general. This is the reason I turned to this forum. I'm hoping to learn something. It looks as though it's not going to happen unfortunately, since I keep being berated instead for stating apparent contradictions.

So once again, let me try and clarify: When I say the macs are on the same network, I only mean they are connected to the same router which in turn is connected to the cable modem. They are NOT networked in that they don't appear as icons on each others' desktops. Perhaps they could be, but right now, my priority is finding out how I can stop crappy ads popping up on my machine.

And by the way, to comment on a later post of yours, the laptop is not a win. I never claimed it was. My son's windows computer is a desktop.

[rab777hp]

When hosts are on the same network, then they are networked, and you can connect to each host from another.