get virus from removemalwarefast.blogspot.com?

Aside from simply being one of about a million garbage-strewn websites, there isn't anything about it that seems to be malicious. Clicking on one of its many ads simply opens up a chat session that is certain to attempt to convince you of the need to spend money.

Is your Mac behaving in some unexpected manner?

...I was concerned that just going to the site might result in getting a virus, since the site really seems not to be legitimate.

I can find no reason for you to be concerned. In the past, there have been exploits using malicious Java code that caused problems merely by visiting a website, but that was quite some time ago and the effects would be obvious. If you keep your Mac updated with software updates from Apple that particular threat will be minimized to an acceptable degree - practically none at all.

That website didn't deposit anything on the Mac I used, other than a few "cookies" typical of garbage websites. To eradicate them completely, click the Safari menu and select "Reset Safari...".

Make it look like this:

Click Reset. You will need to log in again to any websites that require logins (such as this one).

The far greater threat would be to have clicked on some link that attempted to defraud you in one way or another, by convincing you to reveal personal information such as passwords or credit card numbers, or to convince you to pay for something you don't need. You didn't do that.

You didn't say so, but was there a reason you went to a site alleging to rid your Mac of malware? Clearly you ought not to do that. If you think something is wrong with your Mac please ask about it here, or preferably AppleCare directly, before taking any action.

How can you tell if a site is malicious as opposed to (as you put it so well) garbage-strewn?

Rogue websites are flagged by Safari with the following preference:

Attempting to load one of them will result in a prominent warning that's impossible to overlook.

However, the database used to identify a fraudulent website is updated just daily at most. Otherwise, you have to use your own judgement; what's "garbage" for someone may be useful for someone else. Suffice it to say that websites primarily appealing to prurient interests are mostly garbage, but even respectable news websites contain advertisements that leave anyone about three clicks away from unmitigated trash. Allow about two clicks for less respectable news sites.

I recommend you leave the selection above selected as shown. There are no disadvantages to it. Just don't rely on it to be completely effective; nothing is.

Oh, that's an entirely different story. You need specific instructions for that, and I encourage you (or her) to post a new Discussion with that topic.

Installmac and the adware that accompanies it (Geneio) is encountered by downloading software from aggregator websites such as Download dot com, c net dot com, softonic dot com, and probably others. None of them are to be trusted. They typically bundle unwanted junk with legitimate software, often against the legitimate software developer's objections.

Any website used to host software that derives its revenue primarily from advertisements is an untrustworthy source for obtaining Mac software.

Despite its apparent popularity I have yet to encounter Geneio personally so I have no specific eradication instructions and am reluctant to recommend anyone that does, but if you ask about Installmac and Geneio specifically on this site you will receive prompt assistance. Please do not search Google for some all-purpose utility that claims to clean up your Mac, or hers. Doing so will only lead to real problems, won't eradicate Geneio anyway, and you'll quickly have a mess on your hands.

I'll have to make it a point to visit some **** sites so that I can find out what's so great about Geneio.

John Galt wrote:

However, the database used to identify a fraudulent website is updated just daily at most.

Actually, the database is updated by Google continuously and they require user platforms to have updated within the last 45 minutes or the blacklist is disabled.

DonnaR wrote:

I discovered that thesafemac.com has a guide to Geneio's (and installmac's) removal at http://www.thesafemac.com/arg-genieo/

Good. That's currently the best source for Adware removal as he has been continuously updating the site as well as his Adware Removal Tool to cover newly discovered items.

> I wouldn't go to adult/shady websites intentionally, but does that mean that even if you did, you wouldn't get malware from it (assuming your software was up to date and you didn't click on anything)?

I haven't yet, and it's not from lack of trying.

It's not that easy to infect a Mac with some ick. Just be careful that to never install anything that requires your name and password unless you know exactly what it is, the reason your credentials are required, and what you plan to do if whatever you install results in something unexpected.

DonnaR wrote:

I wouldn't go to adult/shady websites intentionally, but does that mean that even if you did, you wouldn't get malware from it (assuming your software was up to date and you didn't click on anything)?

Yes, that's true today as far as any of us know. All previously known means of injecting malware onto an OS X computer have been patched to prevent recurrence. There are still plenty of vulnerabilities in code such as Java that could be exploited in the future, but no such threat has been found.

How can someone tell if a site puts anything on their computer (besides cookies)?

You probably would not know since the malware developer would do their best to prevent anything unusual from happening until after they had accomplished their mission.

Currently, there are no known viruses for Mac OS X or OS X. Only Trojan Horses, which are different, and they are usually pretty obvious, downloading some program that you have to run yourself. However, there have been a few sneaky ones that exploit some hole in Java or Flash (there have historically been very many), so I'd watch out for that.

Also, never trust Cnet installers and the like. They often try to trick you into installing garbage with the software you actually want to install. Even Adobe's own installer for Flash includes junk from Bing and Yahoo! sometimes that you have to be careful NOT to opt into. Not malicious software but simply annoying.

d00dbro wrote:

Currently, there are no known viruses for Mac OS X or OS X. Only Trojan Horses

Not exactly correct, but close enough for these purposes.

Even Adobe's own installer for Flash includes junk from Bing and Yahoo!

Actually, that isn't true and if you have any detailed knowledge of such a thing you need to post details. There have been several fake Flash installers over the years, at least one of which contained Genieo, but it didn't come from Adobe. You should not need to worry as long as you only get Flash from http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ and update it from System Preferences->Flash Player.

My apologies, my memory was confused about the Flash thing. I was thinking of Adobe's Windows installer for Flash, which by default bundles a McAfee free trial (which I came across a month ago). The Mac version bundles nothing. And I also forgot that it was McAfee, not Bing or Yahoo!. Others online have confirmed this.

There actually has been a "proof of concept" virus for Mac that was never in the wild, but have you seen any news of an actual Mac OS X (or OS X) virus in the wild? I have never been able to find anything, but I have found people saying that no such viruses have been found so far. But there were viruses for OS 9 and earlier.