Bogus Security Alert

[westbay]

Howdy, I'm old and new to this forum.
This started last night when an alert popped up in Safari and took control. I'm thinking it's a virus, possibly Russian. The message looks like this: WARNING: Mac OS X Customer - you may not be running recommended security protection. Call (877) 959-5937 now for IMMEDIATE assistance.

What can I do?

 

[johnodd4]

restart your mac its a bogus pop up

 

[RadDave]

Howdy, I'm old and new to this forum.
This started last night when an alert popped up in Safari and took control. I'm thinking it's a virus, possibly Russian. The message looks like this: WARNING: Mac OS X Customer - you may not be running recommended security protection. Call (877) 959-5937 now for IMMEDIATE assistance.

What can I do?

Hello Westbay and welcome to the forum! First, you DO NOT have a virus - none at the moment exits 'in the wild' for the Mac OS. Second, you have browser malware, specifically 'ransomware', i.e. a scam to extract money from you (and steal your credit card information) - do NOT bite!

Below, is a list of steps to take to remove this annoyance - put together by me but based on reading many posts here on the issue and compiling the summary - good luck and let us know if you are successful! Dave

Ransomware Removal

Force quit Safari.
Turn off your Wi-Fi or disconnect the ethernet cable.
Reopen Safari and close the offending tab(s).
Clear ‘History & Data’ in the Safari menu.
Reconnect to internet, i.e. Wi-Fi or ethernet cable.
Add ‘extensions’: AdBlock & Ghostery.
Use AdwareMedic for malware removal.
Visit The Safe Mac.

 

[osxx]

I would add never have your browser set to open to the same page or last page used .