I want to make sure I'm absolutely safe. Long, and lots of questions!

Joined
Jan 13, 2010
Messages
56
Reaction score
0
Points
6
I am sure everyone things I'm extremely paranoid. I am definitely guilty as charged and can say nothing to the contrary. I am definitely trying to give up my paranoia for good and I'm hoping with this thread and some help/advice I can do so. Please bear with me and help me if you can. If I can get this and any other questions I have resolved I won't be making threads like this anymore (and please mods, don't ban me to make sure of that).

I was fearful several days ago that iAntivirus couldn't be trusted and that it may have installed something bad on my computer. I was also a bit worried about my computer making "the Funk" noise at a time when it usually wouldn't. I decided that I was going to reformat and completely drop the antivirus software. No more iAntivirus, no more ClamXav, etc. Something strange happened though.

When I reformatted I ran software update and the updates downloaded and I was told I needed to restart. So I did and it was on the screen showing the progress bar and then it turned to the blue screen with the spinning gear when it was done. However, it was taking what in my opinion was a VERY long time on this blue screen with the turning gear. It never took this long before to go from the blue turning gear screen to restart the computer. Any idea why it would take so much longer than it seemed to before?

After it took what seemed like an eternity I pressed the reset/power button, which I probably shouldn't have. After the computer restarted it seemed like it was slow. I then became worried that because I shut the computer off on the blue turning gear screen that the software updates didn't get installed correctly. If they weren't installed correctly that would mean the security updates weren't installed. I was stupid enough to browse the internet after this and I'm worried that my computer and router could have been at risk if these updates weren't properly installed. How much of a risk would I be at if the updates weren't installed correctly and I was browsing the internet? Is there any way to tell for sure if updates were installed correctly?

Being at the blue turning gear screen for so long really worried me. So did the thought that things didn't get installed correctly and that I had messed things up by turning the computer off on the blue turning gear screen. So I once again reformatted and once again I was on the blue turning gear screen for what seemed like a very long time. During this time I unplugged my router because I didn't want to be on the internet while my computer seemed frozen in time. My computer was on the bed during this time and the router was on the floor. I may have bumped the bed while going to unplug the router. If I did that or if the computer got jostled a bit would that have caused something to not install correctly? It was on the blue turning gear screen while I unplugged the router and may have bumped the bed or jostled the computer.

The computer eventually did restart. I noticed this after I ate dinner and came back upstairs. I downloaded Firefox, but noticed something strange. According to Firefox the size of the download was listed as 17.6 MB. When it was downloading in Safari it was listed as 18.6 MB. When I right clicked the install file once it was downloaded it was listed as 19.6 MB. Why in the world would I be seeing 3 different file sizes?

If anyone here is using Firefox besides me could you click the bookmark menu and take a picture of it and post it here? It looks different then I remember it looking last time. Maybe there was an update or maybe I just forgot what it looked like, but I want to make sure things are on the up and up.

I have more questions but provided I don't get banned I'd like to ask those questions after these get answered. And yes I know I'm paranoid and have been told so before, but if I can get an explanation I would greatly appreciate it. One reason I may be so paranoid is I don't understand these things enough. It's one thing to say it's fine or not fine, but if I know why something is fine or not fine maybe I wouldn't be so darn paranoid. Thanks for your time and your patience. I really really appreciate.
 
Joined
Nov 21, 2009
Messages
113
Reaction score
1
Points
18
Location
Pacific Northwest
Your Mac's Specs
MacBookPro 2016 13in 4 Thunderbolt Ports 3.3GHz I7 16 GB Ram
W T F

? ? ? ?

I don't have any expert answers to your questions, but why would you have a computer, presumably a notebook, on a bed? Cloth covering the cooling vents? Not good.

Re Firefox. You need to know what version of Firefox was on your computer before and what version you installed now. Different versions? Perhaps Firefox changed the way it presents the Bookmarks in the newest version.

If your router has a firewall and that firewall is 'on' I don't think anything is going to get to your computer. In any event, unless you are super rich and have all your financial passwords and account numbers on your computer, nothing on your computer is worth stealing!!!!!! By the way, for safety don't put your financial records on your computer.

Relax, computer viruses don't infect humans, and they don't infect Mac computers!!!

If you really can't relax about all this computer stuff, get an 8 1/2 x 11 pad and pencil. No computer problems any more!!! LOL

My real suggestion is to take your computer and router to an expert and let them set up both. Then take them home, use and enjoy them. And DON'T download any more programs or AV or anything. Just do email, surf, or whatever. If by some remote chance they get messed up, take them back to the expert for a fix.

It sure would help the real experts here on this site if you would fill in your profile as to what computer, OS, ram, etc. you have. That info is available by clicking the apple (upper left corner of the screen).

Larry H
 
Joined
Feb 25, 2009
Messages
2,112
Reaction score
71
Points
48
Your Mac's Specs
Late 2013 rMBP, i7, 750m gpu, OSX versions 10.9.3, 10.10
I will note - major software updates (ie: if your install software is 10.6, and you need to update to 10.6.3) can take a long time on reboot for everything to finish its configuration/permission settings/etc and may actually require the system to reboot more then once.

Jostling a computer usually won't cause a problem with an update - unless your hard drives head crashes into the platter at that point, where you really no longer have to worry about the OS install anyway as the HD is toast ;) - or unless you have no battery in the system, running on AC power and somehow disconnect the AC or something similar. Granted, I (as pointed out by Larry H) wouldn't recommend leaving the laptop on the bed while running like you did as you are more likely to block the air vents ultimately possibly causing the system to overheat..
 
Joined
Dec 12, 2009
Messages
357
Reaction score
18
Points
18
Location
Midland,Tx
Your Mac's Specs
iMac 27" 2.66GHz i5, 1TB HDD, 12GB RAM, OS X 10.7.3, iPod Classic 160GB,iPad 1 64GB Wi-fi, iPhone 4S
I am sure everyone things I'm extremely paranoid. I am definitely guilty as charged and can say nothing to the contrary. I am definitely trying to give up my paranoia for good and I'm hoping with this thread and some help/advice I can do so. Please bear with me and help me if you can. If I can get this and any other questions I have resolved I won't be making threads like this anymore (and please mods, don't ban me to make sure of that).

I'm sure quite a few do think you are paranoid. Remember, just because you are paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get you LOL. Not to be mean, but I thought you might want this....all in good fun
tinfoilhat.jpg


I was fearful several days ago that iAntivirus couldn't be trusted and that it may have installed something bad on my computer. I was also a bit worried about my computer making "the Funk" noise at a time when it usually wouldn't. I decided that I was going to reformat and completely drop the antivirus software. No more iAntivirus, no more ClamXav, etc. Something strange happened though.

Best thing you could have done...getting rid of the antivirus crap. No viruses exist in the wild for Mac OS. It was just bogging your system down.

When I reformatted I ran software update and the updates downloaded and I was told I needed to restart. So I did and it was on the screen showing the progress bar and then it turned to the blue screen with the spinning gear when it was done. However, it was taking what in my opinion was a VERY long time on this blue screen with the turning gear. It never took this long before to go from the blue turning gear screen to restart the computer. Any idea why it would take so much longer than it seemed to before?

With a fresh install, I am betting there were a lot of updates to be installed. This may take a bit of time depending on the number and what the updates were.

After it took what seemed like an eternity I pressed the reset/power button, which I probably shouldn't have. After the computer restarted it seemed like it was slow. I then became worried that because I shut the computer off on the blue turning gear screen that the software updates didn't get installed correctly. If they weren't installed correctly that would mean the security updates weren't installed. I was stupid enough to browse the internet after this and I'm worried that my computer and router could have been at risk if these updates weren't properly installed. How much of a risk would I be at if the updates weren't installed correctly and I was browsing the internet? Is there any way to tell for sure if updates were installed correctly?

Not a good idea to use the power switch like that especially when doing updates. That can really mess up the OS, and if it was during a Firmware update, could kill the system. I'm glad it didn't. Your router most likely has a hardware firewall built into it that will protect your system. I doubt there was any serious risk, if any at all, while you were on the net.

Being at the blue turning gear screen for so long really worried me. So did the thought that things didn't get installed correctly and that I had messed things up by turning the computer off on the blue turning gear screen. So I once again reformatted and once again I was on the blue turning gear screen for what seemed like a very long time. During this time I unplugged my router because I didn't want to be on the internet while my computer seemed frozen in time. My computer was on the bed during this time and the router was on the floor. I may have bumped the bed while going to unplug the router. If I did that or if the computer got jostled a bit would that have caused something to not install correctly? It was on the blue turning gear screen while I unplugged the router and may have bumped the bed or jostled the computer.

Probably not a bad idea that you did another fresh install and let the updates run their course this time. That will have replaced any files that may have been corrupted when you killed the power. I don't think you needed to unplug the router as it has a firewall to keep your system protected. I also don't think that bumping the bed will have had any effect and installing the updates.

The computer eventually did restart. I noticed this after I ate dinner and came back upstairs. I downloaded Firefox, but noticed something strange. According to Firefox the size of the download was listed as 17.6 MB. When it was downloading in Safari it was listed as 18.6 MB. When I right clicked the install file once it was downloaded it was listed as 19.6 MB. Why in the world would I be seeing 3 different file sizes?

I don't know why the Firefox .dmg shows as three different sizes. I downloaded it through Safari as a test and had the same results as you, 17.6MB on the website, 18.6MB according to Safari, and 19.6MB on disk. I know I don't have a virus and have not been hacked. I don't have an explanation for it either.

If anyone here is using Firefox besides me could you click the bookmark menu and take a picture of it and post it here? It looks different then I remember it looking last time. Maybe there was an update or maybe I just forgot what it looked like, but I want to make sure things are on the up and up.

This is my Bookmarks Menu

Screenshot2010-04-23at84336PM.png


I hope I have been able to help some.
 
M

MacInWin

Guest
New2TheMac, stop the paranoia. Sell the Mac to someone who will actually enjoy it, get a windows box and let your paranoia have a real target. You'll be happier, we'll be happier and your poor, tortured Mac will be happier.
 
OP
N
Joined
Jan 13, 2010
Messages
56
Reaction score
0
Points
6
A major thank you already for having answered my questions and given me advice.

Let me explain the laptop/bed setup. Right as we speak I'm sitting on the bed with my laptop. Under the laptop is a wooden board. So it wasn't just sitting on top of the sheet, but do you think it would be harmful to continue using my laptop on top of the wooden board while on my bed? This wooden board by the way is rectangular shaped and wider on all sides than the laptop. Not sure if that makes a difference or not.

Somewhere I did write down what version comes on my Macbook by default. I got this thing is January and I'm guessing this model has been out for a while, so it probably was running several versions behind. I forget what the total update size was but I know it was 1 GB. When I did my lastest and hopefully last reformat I didn't install the programs on the applications disc because at this moment I don't plan to use Garage Band. The update size was smaller than before when I had those installed. I think it was 1.16 GB then. Would not having install the applications on the application disc be the reason the updates were smaller in your opinion?

I know that when I last fiddled with my router the firewall was on, plus I have the software firewall on. So I'm hoping that offers me a good deal of security. But there is something I'm a bit worried about. I know that Macs don't get viruses, but the thought crossed my mind that since I used this router with a windows computer before and am now using it with a Mac that routers are cross platform or a format of their own. I recently read that there was something called the Chuck Norris botnet (I swear I'm not making this up or passing on an internet meme). Supposedly the Chuck Norris botnet could infect a router, and I've heard even before I read about this that routers could get infected. So I'm wondering, even if my Mac is safe which I hope and pray it is, what is to keep a router from getting infected? How do routers get infected anyway?

My Firefox bookmark section looks like yours does in the picture minus some of the bookmarks :) Thank you for posting that picture.

I'm also glad that the Firefox download size difference didn't just happen to me. I'm still curious why there are three different sizes, but at least I know this isn't a problem exclusive to me. Not that I want this happening to anyone else, but you know what I mean.

Speaking of Firefox, I've know since who knows how many reformats ago that you don't need to enter your administrator password to install it. When I was using iAntivirus and ClamXav I did have to enter my password to install those. With the bulk of the software updates I did enter my password to install them, but with the last update I did which included a security update mind you, I didn't have to enter my password. With the few trojans that are out there supposedly they can only get installed if you enter your password. Now what is to keep a trojan or any other internet nasty from being installed when things like Firefox, Adium, and a security update don't need a password to install?

Another question I have is about Airport. When I reformatted it was on by default as it always has been when I've reformatted. So I turned it off ASAP, but during that time would a person have been able to connect to my computer? I'm guessing they may have needed my password to do so, but say if they did have, would I have had any idea that they connected to my computer?

Edit: I just saw your posts DaFlake and jakerich. Let me absolutely assure you that I hate hate HATE making these topics, doing so many reformats, and being so paranoid. With this topic I'm trying to come to terms with it all, make sense of it, and put the paranoia to bed for good. I'm hoping that with this topic and the help of explanations that this will do it. These have been a past few miserable days and I'm trying to look ahead to nice ones with my Mac. So please know that I'm not trying to be a pest, and please know that I'm very thankful for you and everyone else for giving me their time and help.
 

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
I agree with Nethfel's and also a lot of Chef_eam's advice.

How long did it sit at the blue screen when restarting? 1 Minute? 5 Minutes? With a lot of major updates it can take a bit to shut down. You should have not pressed power unless it was like 1 hour or something.

I also agree it's not good to keep a modern notebook on a bed with bedding for very long. Bottom heats up a lot.

On Firefox do not worry about it. I feel Mozilla is reporting the size wrong. Also remember the way OSX 10.6 shows filesizes compared to 10.5 and before and Windows is very different. Look up Base-10 and Base-2.

I also agree with Chef_eam, erase the drive and reinstall again and this time after the install and it's running, repair permissions with Disk Utility. Then let the updates install and do NOT shut it down.

Report back and let us know how it goes.

You are being way to paranoid. Not trying to hurt or bash you, but calm down.


Edit: I just downloaded the latest Firefox. Same file sizes you got. iMac G5 iSight with 10.5.8. It's Mozilla reporting the filesize incorrectly. Only difference is file on HDD matches what Safari said. That is because 10.5 is reporting file sizes different than 10.6 like I said above.
 
OP
N
Joined
Jan 13, 2010
Messages
56
Reaction score
0
Points
6
How long did it sit at the blue screen when restarting? 1 Minute? 5 Minutes? With a lot of major updates it can take a bit to shut down. You should have not pressed power unless it was like 1 hour or something.

I also agree it's not good to keep a modern notebook on a bed with bedding for very long. Bottom heats up a lot.

On Firefox do not worry about it. I feel Mozilla is reporting the size wrong. Also remember the way OSX 10.6 shows filesizes compared to 10.5 and before and Windows is very different. Look up Base-10 and Base-2.

I also agree with Chef_eam, erase the drive and reinstall again and this time after the install and it's running, repair permissions with Disk Utility. Then let the updates install and do NOT shut it down.

Report back and let us know how it goes.

You are being way to paranoid. Not trying to hurt or bash you, but calm down.

When I did the latest reformat I'm guessing it took more than 10 minutes while on the blue screen with the turning gear. On the latest reformat I didn't touch the power button, though I did unplug the router. Before this reformat I did repair permissions and zeroed out the hard drive and deleted the partition. Do you think I should do another reformat or should this be good?

Edit: And back to the blue screen with the turning gear. While I'm guessing it may have taken longer than 10 minutes I can't say for sure. It seemed like it was going to take a while and that it may not switch at all, so I unplugged the router and went downstairs and had dinner. When I came back up the computer was sitting at the desktop.
 

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
It did eventually restart though? If so, don't worry about it. It will be fine.
 
OP
N
Joined
Jan 13, 2010
Messages
56
Reaction score
0
Points
6
It did eventually restart though? If so, don't worry about it. It will be fine.

Yes it did. I can't say for certain how long it took, but when I had given up on it and had dinner it was sitting on the desktop when I came back up. Fingers crossed that it's all good! :)
 
Joined
Sep 9, 2009
Messages
5,473
Reaction score
201
Points
63
Location
Down Under :D
Your Mac's Specs
Back to my old 2.2GHz C2D MB after selling my MBP and wondering what my next Mac will be :)
Let me explain the laptop/bed setup. Right as we speak I'm sitting on the bed with my laptop. Under the laptop is a wooden board. So it wasn't just sitting on top of the sheet, but do you think it would be harmful to continue using my laptop on top of the wooden board while on my bed? This wooden board by the way is rectangular shaped and wider on all sides than the laptop. Not sure if that makes a difference or not.

Thats's fine!

As for the rest, not going to waste my time answering any of that, as it will only lead to more novels of paranoia rather than peace of mind for you.

I've had Macs for years! No viruses, no trojans, no malware of any sort.
These Hackers that you mention in every thread of yours... Who are you? A major banking corporation, a government agency, facebook perhaps? Seriously, are you listening to yourself?

If I were you, as advised so many times by so many members here (majority of which are long time Mac users), just enjoy your Mac, and as long as you don't download and install and illegal software, or porn, and you have your wireless internet password protected, you have nothing to worry about!
This is not one of those techie, trojan filled, virus infected, hacking movies.

I probably shouldn't say this, as it will give you a whole new thing to freak out about, but I'd be more worried about using your bankcard at an ATM, for the fear that the machine could have a skimming device connected :D
 
OP
N
Joined
Jan 13, 2010
Messages
56
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Thats's fine!

As for the rest, not going to waste my time answering any of that, as it will only lead to more novels of paranoia rather than peace of mind for you.

I've had Macs for years! No viruses, no trojans, no malware of any sort.
These Hackers that you mention in every thread of yours... Who are you? A major banking corporation, a government agency, facebook perhaps? Seriously, are you listening to yourself?

If I were you, as advised so many times by so many members here (majority of which are long time Mac users), just enjoy your Mac, and as long as you don't download and install and illegal software, or porn, and you have your wireless internet password protected, you have nothing to worry about!
This is not one of those techie, trojan filled, virus infected, hacking movies.

I probably shouldn't say this, as it will give you a whole new thing to freak out about, but I'd be more worried about using your bankcard at an ATM, for the fear that the machine could have a skimming device connected :D

In regards to the hackers I mention I can't say that I know or that I feel like I'm being targeted by hackers. I certainly hope I'm not since I've done nothing to my knowledge to hurt or anger anyone. And I try not to hang around any bad places and I don't illegally download software or give my password out for just anything.

However, I want to make sure that I've done enough to stay safe. Windows and Macs are definitely 2 different beasts, but I recall hearing how Windows XP computers which weren't up to date were getting infected just by a person going on the internet. Now when I reformatted I of course didn't have the latest version on my Macbook, but I had to connect to the internet to get the latest updates. At least one of those was a security update, so I'm just curious what dangers there are to a non up to date Mac on the internet. Provided the updates installed correctly I seem to be up to date, but without the security updates what danger was there?
 
Joined
Oct 20, 2006
Messages
1,517
Reaction score
34
Points
48
I probably shouldn't say this, as it will give you a whole new thing to freak out about, but I'd be more worried about using your bankcard at an ATM, for the fear that the machine could have a skimming device connected :D

OH...NO :eek: This could go on......and on.
 
Joined
Nov 19, 2006
Messages
1,774
Reaction score
81
Points
48
Location
York, UK
Your Mac's Specs
iMac: 5K 27” (2020), 3.3 GHz, 32Gb RAM. iPad2, iPad mini4, iPhone 13 Mini, Apple Watch SE
C

chas_m

Guest
New2theMac:

Sorry if some of the forum regulars come across as impatient. You have to understand that all we have to go by about you is your posts, which definitely come across as wildly paranoid.

Your main problem, I think, is that you are WAY overthinking things. I see this A LOT from Windows switchers and it does take a lot of them quite some time to calm down, relax and realise they're safe, the Mac is safe, everything's fine and that (apart from making backups) there's very little they need to do to keep everything running fine.

So now you've reformatted, created a fresh install and removed the anti-virus crap. Excellent!

At this point I'd say you really don't have anything much to concern yourself with except learning the OS and enjoying your purchase. Don't be alarmed if something on occasion takes a little longer than you expect to happen -- I've found that 99 times out of a hundred, the "problem" resolves itself with patience.

People on forums have a tendency to nitpick, but their overall point is that you're over-worrying about little things and being intimidated by imaginary concerns. The Mac is a supremely safe computer that will be a constant source of delight and joy if you let it.
 
Joined
Jul 30, 2009
Messages
7,295
Reaction score
301
Points
83
Location
Wisconsin
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Mini (Late 2014) 2.6GHz Intel Core i5 Memory: 8GB 1600MHz DDR3
And he lived happily ever after... :)
 
OP
N
Joined
Jan 13, 2010
Messages
56
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Good afternoon everyone. I hate to say this because I don't want to jinx anything or seem cocky/arrogant, but I haven't really noticed anything too strange. When I first started my Macbook up today the disc drive made the noise it usually does, but it took the monitor several seconds to turn on and for the chime to be heard (but it was). I just want to confirm if that's happened to anyone else before. In any case I did restart from the Apple menu and the screen and chime happened much sooner.

chas_m, you're definitely right about all forum members having to go on is my posts and those making me look like a paranoid fool. Looking back at all I've done since having my Mac it would probably be wrong to say I've reformatted 1 time too many because I've formatted way more than that, and honestly I probably didn't need to reformat the first time. But because of how paranoid I've come across I've sort of turned into a running joke. And that's not good because now I find that I have to start most of my posts with "I don't think I have this problem, but..." :)

Now I'm not as scared as I was. And honestly the questions that I have now are just me wanting to learn about things. The more I know about these issues the less I may fear them because then I would hopefully know I wouldn't have them.

Getting back to the Apple security updates for example. I'm told there is no threat at all even if I didn't have them installed. So my question is if there was no threat at all then what was the purpose of the release? What exactly do they protect people from?

I'm also curious about going to "bad" websites. By bad I mean stuff with spyware/adware/malware/bad internet stuff. Let me absolutely assure you I won't be going to one on purpose and I do my best to avoid them. I understand there are no viruses for the Mac, but if you go to a bad website while on a Mac there's nothing bad that could happen at all?

I was also curious as to what everyone's security practices here are. Obviously don't download and install just anything. Be very frugal with what you give your administrator password out for. But is there anything else anyone does to stay safe while on the internet.

Not being paranoid, just wanting to learn :)
 
OP
N
Joined
Jan 13, 2010
Messages
56
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Sorry for the double post, but I have another question. I decided I wanted to try out Little Snitch. I got it from here:

Little Snitch for Mac - Free Mac software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com

The download size according to Cnet is listed as 2.38 MB. When I clicked to download it the size was listed as 2.4 MB by Firefox. When I right click the file and choose get info it's listed as 2.5 MB. Could anyone download the file off of there and tell me what size it's listed as on your Mac?
 
Joined
Jun 2, 2008
Messages
707
Reaction score
13
Points
18
The download size according to Cnet is listed as 2.38 MB. When I clicked to download it the size was listed as 2.4 MB by Firefox. When I right click the file and choose get info it's listed as 2.5 MB. Could anyone download the file off of there and tell me what size it's listed as on your Mac?

Nope, not paranoid at all... CNet is a trustworthy source, you are fine.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top