Trojan Horse Virus

[GeorgeLawshe]

I was attempting to download a movie and I got an error message and it said "The computer was locked up (and it was) with a Trojan Horse Virus" and I should call 855-789-6633, which I did. The phone was answered by a pleasant male with a foreign accent.
I explained the problem, he said he was with Apple and they could help me out. He gave me directions to let him access the Mac, I explained that I was cautious about anyone on my computer. He said the service was free if I was under software warranty, but I wasn't so it was going to cost $200 to remove the virus. I told him I would get back to him.
I hit various keys and the computer is now working.
Did I do the right thing?
George

 

[chscag]

Yes, you did the right thing. The message was a fake or what is known as "ransom ware". Your Mac can not be infected by a Trojan Horse virus. There is malware that can get on your Mac but no viruses. If you would have let that person have access to your Mac, he would probably have put a program on there that can read what you're doing such as a key logger. And do not go to pirate sites to download movies! Or to any other, but legitimate sites such as iTunes to buy or rent movies. You might also wish to download and use the "Malwarebytes Anit-Malware.app" from here. It's free.

 

[Slydude]

It looks like that's a scam. I'd say you did the right thing. I did a quick Google search and ran into several comments such as this one.

I just got this pop up screen and called the number, though I noticed the bad use of language so that was a red flag ("your computer HAVE adware vs. HAS"). Nevertheless I called the number and got some East Indian guy who said he could help me if I gave him my serial number, which I didn't do. After hanging up with him I called Apple instead and they said it's a scam, and did a diagnostic for me just to verify.

If you're interested you can find out more here.

 

[McBie]

You did the right thing mate.
First thing to do when you see pop-ups like that is check for errors in the displayed message.
In this case " Trojan Horse Virus " is the error in the sentence..... A Trojan Horse Virus does not exist.
In malware you have " Trojan Horse " and " Virus " but never a " Trojan Horse Virus ". This may look like semantics, but it is an indication.

When someone asks for ( remote ) access to your computer ..... just walk away and say " No thanks "

Cheers ... McBie