"Security Center" warning locks up laptop

[jklingel]

I searched here and found talk of this pest, but did not see any solution to get rid of it. Every week or so we get a "Apple Security Center... blah blah" message that locks up our screen; older Mac laptop. We can get rid of it fairly easily, but it is annoying. MalwareBytes does not detect anything on the iMac. Is there a way to either block this thing or rid it from the laptop if it is hiding there somewhere? Thanks.

 

[MacInWin]

It would help to have the "blah, blah" bit. There are various scams out there that hide as popups for browsers that then lock the browser and make it hard to ignore them. Is this message popping up in your browser? If that is the case, get an ad blocker and that should block it.

Would also help to know the exact Mac model and macOS version. "Older" is pretty vague.

 

[jklingel]

MacInWin: Got it, and thanks for the reply. I did not want to elaborate with unnecessary clutter and apparently overdid it. MacBook Pro, 15", 2013, running Big Sur v11.7, apparently the last update the machine can run. I can't get the ad back, but I clicked on the history's link and it went to "Apple Support" (but I don't believe it is really Apple). Yes, it happens when Safari is up. What ad blocker do you recommend? I don't know one from the other and hesitate to just go grab something at random. Thank you again.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Pop-up ads in Safari shouldn't be locking your whole Mac up, even if they are scammy ones. You certainly should be running an ad blocker, but even those can be scammy in their own regard. Some started taking payment from advertisers to NOT block their ads! I use AdGuard for Mac myself. MacInWin may have something else he likes.

You should also consider ditching MalwareBytes. It used to be recommended here, but today it's largely considered to be intrusive and problematic. It may even be the actual reason your Mac locks up when that ad appears. There's not much real GOOD reason to have AV software running on a Mac today anyway, at least not persistently. I think it's fine to have one as a "second opinion" to run once in a while, but not running and scanning everything you do all day every day. VirusBarrier is held in high regard, as is DetectX.

 

[MacInWin]

I use Adblock plus, but AdGuard, as LIAB suggested, is also good. It is possible for an ad to make the Mac look like it is locked up, but you can generally Force Quit the browser and regain control. Mostly, these kinds of ads are annoying when they sneak through. And as LIAB said, you don't need A/V software that is resident, just a good scanner to run occasionally. And as he says, Intego's VirusBarrier Scanner is free and good, as is DetectX Swift.

 

[jklingel]

Thank you both! I will take your advice w/ MalwareBytes, and get a virus program.

 

[MacInWin]

Thank you both! I will take your advice w/ MalwareBytes, and get a virus program.

Not a virus program. A scanner. That's all you need.

 

[Rod]

There is a free app on the App Store called VirusBarrier Scanner by Intego it's free and although the "VirusBarrier" is a bit of a misnomer it works very well for weekly or scheduled scans for malware.