Malicious Malware

Question

I've been informed that my laptop has a malicious malware from the IT department in my school, the malware "Scans the entire network for phones and vulnerablilites on the phones." is there any way I can find and delete it? I've downloaded Avast Security to try to find it but no luck.

Answer 1

When you have already been infected with the malware, the best solution is to wipe the machine clean, reinstall macOS and restore your own documents and data from backup.

Ensure that you update macOS and your programs to the latest versions immediately after setting up the system to ensure that you do not get malware again.

If you have programs on cloud services such as Dropbox or iCloud, make sure to validate that they do not contain malware before running them on your newly installed computer.

Answer 2

You can download “little snitch” an app that records and monitors all of your system, user and network connections. The process responsible will be shown connecting to your local network. You then can use little snitch to prevent that app from using the network.

Without having more information and details it’s hard to provide a quick solution to remove the malware and prevent reinfection. Finding out when it runs can help a lot. Ask your IT department for a time stamp that you can use to compare with your logs. Built in utility apps like Activity Monitor & Console can help list running programs, list processes and show logs.

You can also turn on your firewall located in your settings. Make sure your operating system is up to date.

Answer 3

I don't think wiping and restoring is a good idea for various reasons:

1. It's overkill.
2. If one of your files in the backup was infected, upon restore, you have the virus/malware again.

The following products have detected malware in the past and I would recommend them:

1. Clean my Mac -> https://cleanmymac.com
2. Sophos AV -> https://home.sophos.com/en-us/download-mac-anti-virus.aspx

Clean my Mac is a godsend and works for a myriad of situations. I have it as part of Setapp, best value your money will ever give you.