Macbook is running slow- Virus?

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I've had a macbook for three or four years now, and recently its been running very slowly. Applications often take forever to load or completely quit. I don't think it's a memory issue, because I still have over 60 gb of free memory. I once got an error message while restarting my computer, saying it was having difficulty setting up and needed some extra time before it finally turned on. After noticing that a site I was on was connecting to a connection I heard was malware in disguise, called b.scorecardresearch.com, and got worried that a virus might be responsible. I downloaded symantec endpoint protection from my colleges website, and after three slow days it turned up no viruses. I downloaded chkrootkit to check for keyloggers, but it simply shows me "need root privileges" and I have no idea what that means or how to work it. I downloaded a demo of Little Snitch from apples site, which lets me know what is trying to connect to my computer, but I have no idea what to block and what not to block.
What would you all recommend as a good next course of action?
 
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ClamXav is highly recommended by members of the Forum it can be downloaded from here ClamXav . Give it a try and see what it comes up with.
 

Slydude

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First lets clarify a few things before we go forward with additional troubleshooting.

1. You have 60 GB of free hard drive space not 60 GB of memory (ram). I realize that seems picky but it makes a difference from a troubleshooting standpoint. You'll see why the terms are important in a minute.

2. Which exact MacBook do you have?

3. Which OS version is installed?

4. How much memory (ram) is installed? This is probably between 2 GB and 4 GB

5 How much total hard drive space do you have (total drive size)? Select the drive then press command i and
6. Have you added any new hardware (including memory) or software recently?

Questions 2, 3, and 4 can be answered by going to the Apple menu and choosing "About This Mac" Jot down the information that appears there then choose More Info and have it show the more detailed report which you can use to find some of the other information should we need it.
 
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chas_m

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I've had a macbook for three or four years now, and recently its been running very slowly.

Your hard drive is likely dying.


After noticing that a site I was on was connecting to a connection I heard was malware in disguise, called b.scorecardresearch.com, and got worried that a virus might be responsible.

Nope. There are no viruses for the Mac. There is some malware out there but nothing that would cause that problem.

What would you all recommend as a good next course of action?

Stop wasting time on the non-existant virus. Your hard drive is likely starting to fail after four years of service.
 
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...and besides, slowing down your computer is not the definition of what a virus does. I know that many people use the term "virus" to mean "anything that seems odd about my computer", but as Sly points out, correct terminology is important.
 

pigoo3

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I've had a macbook for three or four years now, and recently its been running very slowly. Applications often take forever to load or completely quit. I don't think it's a memory issue, because I still have over 60 gb of free memory. I once got an error message while restarting my computer, saying it was having difficulty setting up and needed some extra time before it finally turned on.

Could be a dying HD...or a maintenance issue. Please read some of the links in my signature (Speedup & Beachballs).

- Nick
 
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2019 iMac 27"; 2020 M1 MacBook Air; macOS up-to-date... always.
I agree that the HDD may be dying. Download DriveDx to check the SMART status. You may need to run the "Full" self-test to do a more thorough check.
 

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