Facebook redirecting? Do I have a virus?

Hello, I've only had my macbook pro for about three weeks. When I tried getting onto Facebook, it redirected me to some mediaplex website! I looked up a way to reset safari, which I did, and it temporarily notified me that the site isn't trusted, so I didn't go on. And I tried to go on again, and was redirected to mediaplex without any warning! I'm extremely worried because this was a huge purchase for me and one of the main reasons I made the switch to macbook is because viruses are pretty much nonexistent! What do I do?

It's not a virus. There aren't any viruses for Mac.

But that doesn't rule out the possibility of malware altogether. Do a search in this forum about DNS redirect and you will likely find a fix very quickly.

PS. For future reference (but I'm sure you know this already), the best way to avoid any Mac malware is to keep well away from sites that traffic in bootleg software, or torrents of same.

hannah924 said:

Hello, I've only had my macbook pro for about three weeks. When I tried getting onto Facebook, it redirected me to some mediaplex website! I looked up a way to reset safari, which I did, and it temporarily notified me that the site isn't trusted, so I didn't go on. And I tried to go on again, and was redirected to mediaplex without any warning! I'm extremely worried because this was a huge purchase for me and one of the main reasons I made the switch to macbook is because viruses are pretty much nonexistent! What do I do?

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As Chas suggested, you appear to have a problem with the DNS server. It could be from malware you acquired somehow on your Mac, or a problem on your router instigated by malware from a PC elsewhere in your home. Or it may not even have anything to do with your computer or malware but a flaw in the DNS server that you are using. First thing to figure out is if this is a problem just with Safari, or with all browsers. If you don't have Firefox already, download it and see if the problem persists in it also.

You could also consider trying AV software to see if there is a trojan hiding. Here's a tool that specifically looks for one trojan in particular that is causes this problem:
Download DNSChanger Removal Tool for Mac - Scans for the DNSChanger Trojan Horse. MacUpdate.com

And here's one other:
Download Boonana Trojan Horse Removal Tool for Mac - Remove the Boonana trojan horse. MacUpdate.com

For a more generalized malware scanner, use ClamXav.

As chas said… if you are regularly engaging in "shady" sites, then the chances go up that you will acquire malware on the Mac. Yes… malware is extremely hard to come by, but it exists and is distributed by posing as desirable software on piracy sites. Using safe computing practices is the best defense. This type of exploit will never change, no matter what OS you are using.

Thank you guys for your help. I'll do that right away and tell you what happens. I have never been to bad websites, just facebook, youtube, google, and whatever comes up in google that I'm researching. But that comment you made about how it might come from a router from a PC in my home intrigues me because I know my dad's computer is full of viruses.

hannah924 said:

Thank you guys for your help. I'll do that right away and tell you what happens. I have never been to bad websites, just facebook, youtube, google, and whatever comes up in google that I'm researching. But that comment you made about how it might come from a router from a PC in my home intrigues me because I know my dad's computer is full of viruses.

Click to expand...

If your dad's computer is re-routing Facebook to that site also, then that will pretty much confirm that the problem is in the router. In that case, it's best to simply tell your Mac to use DNS settings of its own, rather than those in the router. Here's a tutorial on how to do that using OpenDNS' servers:
Power-up your Mac's internet connection with OpenDNS

Well, the Facebook redirecting stopped on its own but I made sure and downloaded one of the trojan scanners and it came back empty. But just to be on the safe side I went ahead and changed my computer's DNS server. Thank you guys so much.