Repairing, Restoring, or Reinstalling Mac OS X Software

• A Bot To Repair Mac Os X
• A Bot To Repair Mac Os Without Losing Data

Click on the Optionsbutton, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OKbutton. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partitionbutton and wait until the process has completed. Quit DU and return to the main menu. Modern versions of Mac OS X no longer need you to repair disk permissions. However, that’s not the only issue that can occur with a disk or file system. Mac OS X contains a variety of tools for repairing disk, partition, and file system errors. These options work like chkdsk on Windows, checking for disk and file system errors and repairing.

If you have a problem with your Mac software or hardware, Mac OS X provides repair
and restore utilities that may eliminate problems and can even restore your software
to its original factory settings. You can access these utilities from the Mac OS X Utilities
application, even if your computer isn’t starting up correctly.

Use the Mac OS X Utilities application to:

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Repair your computer’s disk using Disk Utility.

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Restore your software and data from a Time Machine backup.

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Reinstall Mac OS X and Apple applications.

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Restore your computer to its factory settings by erasing its disk and reinstalling
Mac OS X and your Apple applications.

If your computer detects a problem, it opens the Mac OS X Utilities application
automatically. You can also open it manually by restarting your computer.

To open the Mac OS X Utilities application:

m

Restart your computer while holding down the Command (x) and R keys. The Mac OS X
Utilities pane appears.

Important: 

If the Mac OS X Utilities application doesn’t open after restarting, hold

down Command (x)-Option-R and restart the computer to access the Mac OS X
Utilities software from the Internet. Your computer must be connected to a network
that has access to the Internet.

Some utilities in the Mac OS X Utilities application require access to the Internet and
the Mac App Store. You may need to make sure your computer is connected to the
Internet by using your Ethernet or Wi-Fi network.

To connect by using a Wi-Fi network:

1

Choose a network from the Wi-Fi status menu in the upper right corner of the screen.

2

If necessary, type the network password.

To join a closed network, choose Join Other Network. Enter the network’s name
and password.

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Repairing a Disk with Disk Utility

If you have a problem with your computer, or if you start your computer and see the
Mac OS X Utilities application, you may need to repair your computer’s disk.

1

Select Disk Utility in the Mac OS X Utilities pane and click Continue.

2

Select the disk or partition in the list on the left, and then click the First Aid tab.

3

Click Repair Disk.

If Disk Utility can’t repair the disk, back up as much of your information as possible,
and then follow the instructions in “Reinstalling Mac OS X and Apple Applications” on
page 45.

For information about Disk Utility and its options, see Help Center, or open Disk Utility
(in the Utilities folder in Launchpad) and choose Help > Disk Utility Help.

Restoring Information Using a Time Machine Backup

If you previously created a Time Machine backup, use the Restore utility to restore
everything on your computer to its previous state.
Use your Time Machine backup to restore information only to the computer that was
the source of the backup. If you want to transfer information to a new computer, use
Migration Assistant (in the Utilities folder in Launchpad).

1

If your backup is on a Time Capsule, make sure you’re connected to an Ethernet or
Wi-Fi network. (To connect to a Wi-Fi network, follow the instructions on page 43.)

2

In the Mac OS X Utilities pane, select Restore From Time Machine Backup and
click Continue.

3

Select the disk that contains the Time Machine backup, and then follow the onscreen
instructions.

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Reinstalling Mac OS X and Apple Applications

Under some circumstances, you may need to reinstall Mac OS X and Apple applications.
You can reinstall while keeping your files and user settings intact.

1

Make sure your MacBook Air is connected to the Internet by using an Ethernet or Wi-Fi
network. (To connect to a Wi-Fi network, follow the instructions on page 43.)

2

In the Mac OS X Utilities pane, select Reinstall Mac OS X and click Continue.

3

In the pane where you’re asked to select a disk, select your current Mac OS X disk
(in most cases, it is the only one available).

4

To select or deselect optional software, click Customize.

5

Click Install.

You can install Mac OS X without erasing the disk, which saves your existing files
and settings, or you can erase the disk first, which erases all your data and leaves the
computer ready for you to reinstall Mac OS X and Apple applications.

After installing Mac OS X, you can go to the Mac App Store and re-download your
Apple applications.

Important: 

Apple recommends that you back up the data on the disk before restoring

software. Apple is not responsible for any lost data.

Restoring Your Computer to Its Factory Settings

When you restore your computer to its factory settings, everything on your computer
(your user accounts, network settings, and all of your files and folders) is deleted. Before
you restore, back up any files you want to keep by copying them to another disk.
Write down your network settings from Network preferences to make it easier to get
connected again after reinstalling Mac OS X.

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1

Make sure your MacBook Air is connected to the Internet by using an Ethernet or Wi-Fi
network. (To connect to a Wi-Fi network, follow the instructions on page 43.)

2

A Bot To Repair Mac Os X

In the Mac OS X Utilities pane, select Disk Utility and click Continue.

3

Select the disk in the list on the left, and then click the Erase tab.

4

Select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) from the Format pop-up menu, type a name for
the disk, and then click Erase.

5

After the disk is erased, choose Disk Utility > Quit Disk Utility.

6

In the Mac OS X Utilities pane, select Reinstall Mac OS X and click Continue.

7

To reinstall Mac OS X and your applications, follow the instructions in the Mac OS X
Installer.

After restoring Mac OS X and your Apple applications, you can selectively restore your
other data and applications from a Time Machine backup.

Although 2020 will surely go down as “virus year,” viruses on Mac are not going anywhere. Just recently, a fake Adobe Flash Player updater named Shlayer has infected 10% of all Macs in the world (according to Kaspersky’s lab).

Even newer malware type, Tarmac, is increasingly sweeping the Mac world. All it takes to contract it is to open a pirated website or even click a link on Wikipedia. At least that’s been the case with Shlayer, which had its malicious links planted inside Wikipedia’s external resources.

In this Mac Malware removal guide, we’ll tell you how to get rid of malware on your Mac. We’ll also cover how to tell apart different viruses on Mac: adware, scareware, and others. We’ll be using the manual methods as well as some respected antivirus tools for Mac. Let’s go.

What is malware

First off, let’s point out that the term “malware” is a broad term for all unwanted intrusions. It’s also not synonymous with the term “virus” because the latter is only a model of distribution i.e. how an app self-replicates. Here are common types of malware you can encounter on Mac:

• Download managers — download unauthorized objects
• Spyware and keyloggers — steal users’ personal data
• Backdoor infections — apps that remotely seize control of your computer
  
• Rootkit — infiltrate admin privileges
• Botnet — turn your Mac into a shadow bot
• Trojan horses — apps disguised as legit software
• Ransomware — lock your Mac’s screen
• PUP — potentially unwanted programs

Among these, PUPs are the most numerous type. According to Malwarebytes, Windows platform is no longer a hotbed for viruses — the macOS is. The has been a 400% spike in macOS-specific malware infections with an average of 11 threats per number of Mac devices — the same figure for Windows is only 5.8.

Mac malware: The symptoms

Oftentimes a malware app would trick you into believing it’s perfectly harmless. Such apps are known to disguise themselves as antiviruses, extractors or video players. But how to check your Mac for viruses? Here are some of the tell-tale signs:

• A sudden drop in Mac’s performance or frequent freeze-ups.
• Pages that you visit get obscured with ads.
• Unexpected Mac reboots or apps starting for no reason.
• Your browser installs suspicious updates automatically.

How Mac can get infected with malware

By clicking on fake Flash Player updater. Or by installing a seemingly useful browser extension. As of 2020, a trojan browser extension NewTab infected 30 million Mac computers. This malware disguised itself as a parcel tracking helper but was in fact spreading ads. So how to protect your Mac from malware? You can start by studying typical infection gateways.

How to remove a virus from Mac

Just as with any disease, to doctor a virus you need to remove the infected part of your software — as simple as that.

1.Remove malware from Mac manually:
The Activity Monitor

If you know which app on your Mac is malicious, you’re half-way through the problem. First of all, you need to close the app and then root it out from the system processes.

1. Open Activity Monitor (type its name in the Launchpad).
2. Locate the problematic app in the Processes.
3. Use [x] button to quit the process

Now go back to your Applications and move the app to the Trash bin. Immediately empty the Trash.

This method is simple, but for the best malware removal results, you’d have to invest a bit more time. There are still parts and pieces of the virus app scattered around your system folders. It’s a bit like killing a dragon that re-grows its head after you’ve chopped it off. To remove malware from your Mac completely, it’s better to use a powerful uninstaller.

2. Get rid of malware using CleanMyMac X

CleanMyMac X has a 10-year reputation of guarding Macs around the world. The app will scan your Mac for any vulnerabilities and offer immediate removal if it finds something suspicious. CleanMyMac detects thousands of malware threats, including viruses, adware, spyware, ransomware, cryptocurrency miners, and more. The app’s database is regularly updated to keep all those “-wares” away from your Mac.

Here’s how to remove malware from your Mac:

1. Download CleanMyMac X — it’s free to download.
2. Click Malware Removal tab.
3. Click Scan.
4. Click Remove.
5. Done!

3. Remove Mac malware from your Login Items

A Bot To Repair Mac Os Without Losing Data

Most adware or spyware will try to sneak inside the bootup process. Good news, you don’t have to be Kaspersky to prevent this.

1. Go to the Apple menu > System Preferences.
2. Choose Users & Groups section.
3. Make sure if your username is highlighted.
4. Open Login Items tab.

Now use the “—” sign to disable all the suspicious apps (like Mac Defenders) that you’ll find. Restart your Mac for the changes to take place.

4. Get rid of pop-up ads on Mac

Advertising pop-ups are browser-related, so whatever browser you are using, be prepared for a thorough cleanup. First off, don’t buy into whatever the ad is telling you. Some scary alerts would mention 343 viruses found on your Mac forcing you to immediately install a “Mac Defender” or “Mac Security” tool. Just ignore it and don’t click anywhere on the pop-up. Use [x] button and if it doesn’t close the ad, Ctrl + click the browser icon to quit the browser completely.

How to block pop-up ads in Safari

1. Open Safari preferences (in the top menu).
2. Go to the Security tab.
3. Tick “Block pop-up windows”.

How to get rid of pop-ups in Chrome

1. Open Chrome Settings (a three-dot icon)
2. Click Privacy and security
3. Go to Site settings > Pop-ups and redirects
4. Locate the Popups tab and block them from appearing

Additionally, make sure your browser’s homepage is set to standard Google page or other trusted source.

5. Clean up extensions to remove adware from Mac

Apple lists several browser extensions as potentially malicious. The list includes:

• Amazon Shopping Assistant by Spigot Inc.
• Slick Savings by Spigot Inc.
• FlashMall
• Cinema-Plus

This is just to give you an idea of how different these adware extensions could be. But if you’re looking at how to remove malware from the Mac Safari browser, follow this path.

Remove extensions in Safari

1. Go to Safari Preferences
2. Choose the Extensions tab
3. Select an extension and click Uninstall

Disable browser extensions in Chrome

And here’s how to remove malware from Mac Chrome. Open Chrome and click Window in the top menu. In the bottom of the list choose Extensions. This opens up the list of all your installed extensions. Now use a trash bin icon to remove the ones you suspect are adware viruses. Right after that, your Chrome experience should get much less distracting.

Just to be doubly sure, we recommend you to remove all the extensions you'll find. Later you can re-install each one separately.

TIP: How to remove Mac adware via Javascript

You can prevent some malware attacks from happening by disabling JavaScript in your browser. Although, it may break certain webpages, your browsing will get more secure and, likely, faster too.

To disable JavaScript in Safari

1. Go to Safari Preferences > Security.
2. Uncheck Enable JavaSript.

6. Launch Agents and Daemons: Where else to look

So far we’ve covered browser Extensions, Applications, and Login Items trying to remove malware from your Mac. But these are not the only locations where malicious agents may be hiding. Another type of system services that could be affected by malware are the so-called Launch Agents and Daemons — yes, the name does derive from the word demon. These are small helper programs that stealthily run in the background, like software updaters or automatic backups.

While Launch Agents and Daemons are two different entities, both can be infiltrated by malware. As it often happens, trojan apps would place their executable files within the Launch Agents folder. The result — the virus app launches automatically and potentially harms or steals your data.

7.How to remove daemons and agents from Mac startup

1. Click Finder.
2. Choose Go > Go to Folder.
3. Type in: /Library/LaunchDaemons

For Launch Agents, repeat the steps above, but this time search in 2 more locations:

/Library/LaunchAgents

~/Library/LaunchAgents

Inside you’ll find a bunch of PLIST files and if some of them look suspicious to you, delete them. Sure, the names of these files may not be very telling, but if you already know the problematic app that you are after, knowing this folder may help you fully extinguish it.

Don’t forget to reboot your Mac — until you do, all these files are still in memory.

One more way to remove daemons, agents, and plug-ins

If the manual path described here sounds too complicated, you can again be rescued by CleanMyMac X. This app has a special tool to remove malware Launch Agents.

1. Download CleanMyMac X (it’s free to download).
2. Install the app.
3. Click Optimization tab > Launch Agents
4. Click Perform.

By the way, this app has a real-time anti-malware monitor. It monitors for any problematic apps that try to get into your Launch Agents. If it finds such, it will notify you and offer to remove the intruder.

If all else fails

Below a few more ideas to help you remove malware from Mac.

• Switch to a different user account and do a full system cleanup.
• Restore your Mac using Time Machine (to the point before it got infected).
• Update all your software, including the macOS.

How to protect Mac from malware

As a conclusion, we’ve prepared a few basic tips to minimize your chance of catching malware in 2020 and beyond. They are just as relatable for a PC computer.

• Closely read those dialogue boxes
• Get a reliable password manager app
• Browse anonymously
• Cover your webcam when possible
• Use passphrases instead of passwords
• Create an “emergency” bootable SD card for your Mac

OK, looks we’ve covered how to remove malware from Mac including both manual and software solutions. Hope your Mac stays virus-free and may you never click on those scary Mac alerts again.