Published on February 3rd, 2022 | by Sunit Nandi

How to Check Your Mac for Viruses

Macs are amazing devices and thankfully are a little more immune from getting a virus when compared to Windows machines. They are not fully protected and hacks against Macs are on the increase. Last year, MacWorld published an article listing all the ways Macs are being hacked.

Checking Your Mac for Viruses

If your Mac is showing any of the following signs, it could well have a virus. See below.

Erratic Behaviour

If your Mac is doing things it doesn’t normally do it could have a virus. Are applications crashing, your web browser has a mind of its own, and is loading pages randomly? All of these things could indicate that malware or something equally nefarious has infected your device and is raising its ugly head.

Performance is Slow

Another tell-tale sign that your Mac is infected is it starts to run low. One reason is on a go-slow is that malware is hogging CPU power and using a lot of your device’s resources. No fun.

You’re Seeing Random Ads or Pop-ups You Wouldn’t Normally See and You’re Sober

If this is happening you may have downloaded some adware or malware. Hackers get this form of software on your machine hoping you click the ad and visit the site.

How Did the Virus Get on Your Mac?

Hackers are not just coming up with code to infect your device. They attack your mind, tempting you or fooling you into downloading the app in the first place.

One that happens often is that you see a popup advising you to fix your “infected Mac”. Click on it and allow the download and viola, you have a virus.
Pirated software. We don’t judge but pirated software can install malware on your machine.
Anything downloaded from BitTorrent may contain viruses.
A “plug-in” or “codec” downloaded from a dubious site.
You download a fake upgrade or software unwittingly.

All of these can be how your Mac got infected.

How to Scan Your Mac for Viruses

So now you have a virus how do you scan Mac for viruses? This may help.

Use a Third-Party Malware Scanner

One way to scan your Mac is to use a third-party malware scanner app. There are some good ones on the market and generally, you get what you pay for. Go for ones that have good reviews and avoid free ones you have never heard of. Let’s face it, you might be downloading another virus which would be ironic.

When choosing an app ensure it is easy and safe to use.

Take a Look at Your Apps

A good move is to scan your apps for ones you don’t remember installing. Anything that looks suspicious should be dragged to Trash.

Browser Extensions

The same process should be applied to your browser extensions. Getting rid of them is browser-specific and is straightforward on Safari, Chrome, and Firefox.

If all else fails you can always use Time Machine to go back to a time before your Mac got infected. Try and go back to a time when you knew your Mac was working and go for it.

Good luck at getting rid of malware.

Tags: check, how to, Mac, viruses

About the Author

Sunit Nandi I'm the leader of Techno FAQ. Also an engineering college student with immense interest in science and technology. Other interests include literature, coin collecting, gardening and photography. Always wish to live life like there's no tomorrow.