How to remove "Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses" pop-up scam

Q. How can I get rid of unwanted Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses popup on my web-browser?

The full text of the pop-up is:

ATTENTION!
Your Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses and Your system is damaged.
You must clean the system from viruses, as quick as possible!
Do not ignore this warning!

A. “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” pop-up is a fake alert that designed to force you into downloading and installing potentially unwanted software or malware. If you are constantly getting “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” popups on your Apple Mac then it indicate that your computer and/or web-browser is already affected with adware (sometimes called ‘ad-supported’ software) or PUP (potentially unwanted program).

What is adware? Adware delivers unwanted advertisements on your browser. Some of these advertisements are scams or fake ads made to trick you. Even the harmless ads can become really irritating. Adware can be installed unintentionally and without you knowing about it, when you open email attachments, install free free applications.

The worst is, adware can be used to collect your browsing history and personal information, including passwords and credit card numbers. In the future, your confidential info can be used for marketing purposes.

Do not panic because we have got the solution. Here’s a instructions on how to get rid of adware and remove “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” pop ups from the Firefox, Safari and Chrome and other internet browsers.

Remove “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” popups (removal instructions)

There present several free adware removal tools. Also it is possible to get rid of “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” popups manually. But we suggest to combine all these ways below into the one removal algorithm. Follow the steps of the instructions. Some of the steps will require you to reboot your MAC or close this web page. So, read this tutorial carefully, then bookmark or print it for later reference.

To remove “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” pop-up, perform the steps below:

How to manually remove “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” scam
“Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” pop up automatic removal
- Automatically delete “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” pop ups with MalwareBytes AntiMalware
How to Stop “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” pop-ups
How to avoid installation of “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” popups
To sum up

How to manually remove “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” scam

The following instructions is a step-by-step guide, which will help you manually get rid of “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” pop-ups from the Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Safari. If you do not want to delete adware in the manually due to the fact that you are not skilled at computer, then you can run free removal tools listed below.

Delete adware through the Finder

We suggest that you begin the Apple Mac cleaning process by checking the list of installed applications and delete all unknown or questionable apps. This is a very important step, as mentioned above, very often the malicious software such as adware and browser hijacker infections may be bundled with free software. Delete the unwanted apps can remove the undesired ads or web-browser redirect.

Make sure you have closed all web browsers and other apps. Next, delete any unrequested and suspicious applications from MAC system using the Finder.

Open Finder and click “Applications”.

Look around the entire list of applications installed on your Apple Mac. Most likely, one of them is the adware responsible for redirecting your browser to the “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” site. Select the suspicious program or the program that name is not familiar to you and delete it.

Drag the questionable application from the Applications folder to the Trash.

Most important, don’t forget, choose Finder -> Empty Trash.

Get rid of “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” from Mozilla Firefox by resetting internet browser settings

If the Firefox settings such as search engine by default, home page and newtab have been modified by the adware software, then resetting it to the default state can help. However, your saved passwords and bookmarks will not be changed, deleted or cleared.

Click the Menu button (looks like three horizontal lines), and press the blue Help icon located at the bottom of the drop down menu as displayed on the image below.

A small menu will appear, click the “Troubleshooting Information”. On this page, click “Refresh Firefox” button like below.

Follow the onscreen procedure to restore your Mozilla Firefox browser settings to their default values.

Remove “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” pop ups from Google Chrome

If you have adware problem or the Google Chrome is running slow, then reset Chrome settings can help you. In the steps below we will show you a way to reset your Chrome settings to original state without reinstall. This will also help to delete “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” pop ups from your browser.

First open the Google Chrome. Next, press the button in the form of three horizontal dots ().

It will show the Google Chrome menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions. Carefully browse through the list of installed plugins. If the list has the extension signed with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following steps: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.

Open the Chrome menu once again. Further, click the option named “Settings”.

The browser will open the settings screen. Another solution to show the Chrome’s settings – type chrome://settings in the internet browser adress bar and press Enter

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the “Advanced” link. Now scroll down until the “Reset” section is visible, as shown in the figure below and click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.

The Google Chrome will open the confirmation prompt as shown on the image below.

You need to confirm your action, click the “Reset” button. The browser will start the task of cleaning. When it is complete, the browser’s settings including start page, newtab and search provider back to the values which have been when the Chrome was first installed on your MAC.

Get rid of “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” popups from Safari

The Safari reset is great if your browser is hijacked or you have unwanted addo-ons or toolbars on your browser, which installed by an malicious software.

Click Safari menu and select “Preferences”.

It will open the Safari Preferences window. Next, click the “Extensions” tab. Look for unknown and suspicious add-ons on left panel, select it, then click the “Uninstall” button. Most important to remove all unknown add-ons from Safari.

Once complete, click “General” tab. Change the “Default Search Engine” to Google.

Find the “Homepage” and type into textfield “https://www.google.com”.

“Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” pop up automatic removal

Manual removal steps does not always help to completely get rid of the adware software, as it is not easy to identify and delete components of adware and all malicious files from hard disk. Therefore, it’s recommended that you use malware removal utility to completely delete “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” off your internet browser. Several free malicious software removal tools are currently available that can be used against the adware software. The optimum solution would be to run MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM).

Automatically delete “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” pop ups with MalwareBytes AntiMalware

Manual “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” pop-ups removal requires some computer skills. Some files that created by the adware can be not fully removed. We recommend that use the MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) that are fully free your computer of adware software. Moreover, this free tool will allow you to remove browser hijacker, malware, PUPs and toolbars that your computer may be infected too.

Download MalwareBytes Anti-Malware on your computer from the link below.

Malwarebytes Anti-malware (Mac)
18288 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: September 10, 2020

When the downloading process is complete, run it and follow the prompts. Press the “Scan” button . MalwareBytes Free utility will begin scanning the whole computer to find out adware software that responsible for web-browser redirect to the unwanted “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” site. This process can take quite a while, so please be patient. When a threat is detected, the count of the security threats will change accordingly. You may get rid of items (move to Quarantine) by simply press “Remove Selected Items” button.

The MalwareBytes is a free program that you can use to remove all detected folders, files, malicious services and so on.

How to Stop “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” pop-ups

It’s important to run ad blocking apps like AdGuard to protect your MAC system from harmful web sites. Most security experts says that it’s okay to block ads. You should do so just to stay safe! And, of course, the AdGuard can to block “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” and other unwanted web pages.

AdGuard can be downloaded from the following link.

AdGuard for Mac download
3131 downloads
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: January 17, 2018
When the downloading process is finished, launch the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
After the install is done, click “Skip” to close the installation application and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will allow you get to know AdGuard better.
In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you launch your MAC system, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop unwanted ads, block “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” scam, as well as other harmful or misleading pages.

How to avoid installation of “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” popups

It’s very important to pay attention to additional checkboxes during the install of free programs to avoid installing of potentially unwanted programs, adware, hijackers or other undesired apps. Never install the third-party apps that the program wants to setup with it. Inattentive free software download can result in installation of unwanted program like this adware software that causes a lot of intrusive “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” popup.

To sum up

After completing the steps outlined above, your MAC should be clean from this adware and other malicious software. The Safari, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome will no longer show intrusive “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” web-page when you surf the World Wide Web. Unfortunately, if the steps does not help you, then you have caught a new adware software, and then the best way – ask for help.

Please create a new question by using the “Ask Question” button in the Questions and Answers. Try to give us some details about your problems, so we can try to help you more accurately. Wait for one of our trained “Security Team” or Site Administrator to provide you with knowledgeable assistance tailored to your problem with the undesired “Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses” pop ups.