Weird problem with Mac - Virus?

[peter12]

Okay, so I was on my Mac browsing the RBC website with Safari 4 and I click on a certain link on the website and it tries to re-direct me to a website, teenpassage.com, but Google prevented me from being connected. So I kind of freaked out, I only use the Mac firewall and I scan occasionally with Mac Scan.

I've scanned my computer and found nothing. Then I tried it on another Mac in my house on the same wireless network and same thing in Safari. So I'm about 60% certain it has nothing to do with my end of things. Is it possible that a virus can spread through a wireless network or could this be a problem on RBC's end?

[Ducay]

Viruses have no idea if your connection is wireless or not, so thats not an issue.

Is the re-direct happening on the other computers? what if you try the same link in firefox or IE?


Sounds like its not a virus, or a lame one at that.

[jayswin]

My friends condescendingly tell me that Mac's don't get viruses, so it's obviously not a virus.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by peter12

Okay, so I was on my Mac browsing the RBC website with Safari 4 and I click on a certain link on the website and it tries to re-direct me to a website, teenpassage.com, but Google prevented me from being connected. So I kind of freaked out, I only use the Mac firewall and I scan occasionally with Mac Scan.

I've scanned my computer and found nothing. Then I tried it on another Mac in my house on the same wireless network and same thing in Safari. So I'm about 60% certain it has nothing to do with my end of things. Is it possible that a virus can spread through a wireless network or could this be a problem on RBC's end?

It's unlikely the mac is hijacked, although it can/does happen infrequently if you are adding video codecs offered via porn sites, or if you have recently downloaded pirated Mac software via torrents or newsgroups, such as iLife, Adobe Creative Suite, etc. (in this case, people got what they paid for - pirate software exacts its fees in other ways)

But, more importantly:

How do you know you were actually on RBC's website? Were you connected via HTTPS? Did it present you with any certificate warnings or errors?

It's possible you've been phished, or your ISP's DNS has been poisoned, either situation resulting in you appearing to hit the RBC site, but not really.

Edit: Either way, I suggest you get your online banking password reset asap, and to something that is not the same as the passwords you use for other sites.

[peter12]

It wasn't online banking and it was definitely on the RBC website. I followed the links on the site with no break until I hit this particular link. Then I phoned my friend to ask him to check it on his Mac using Safari 4. Exactly the same thing happened. It also doesn't happen on Firefox or Internet Explorer.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by peter12

It wasn't online banking and it was definitely on the RBC website. I followed the links on the site with no break until I hit this particular link. Then I phoned my friend to ask him to check it on his Mac using Safari 4. Exactly the same thing happened. It also doesn't happen on Firefox or Internet Explorer.

I'm glad it wasn't during online banking.

Safari has some anti-phising tech built into it as well, albeit not as robust, I don't think, as IE or Firefox, so its entirely possible something Safari-specific was messed up

[Cheerio]

For anyone who has a macbook, does anyone else's charger just randomly not work? because in the past year ive gone through 3, they just stop charging my laptop. any idea whats wrong/how to fix it?

[maverickstruth]

What kind of charger is it -- one of the MagSafe ones (flat plug into the laptop) or one of the previous ones (round shape plug into laptop)? The old-style ones were notorious for failing; I replaced mine a couple of times and there's nothing really you can do about it.

If it's the newer one, check to make sure that you're not twisting the cable that goes into the laptop-side plug -- the wiring is very fine and can be broken if you really wrench it, particularly at connection points. The very early models of the MagSafe charger had a very small protective ring which did a whole lot of nothing ;-) Newer chargers have a longer rubber casing which protects the connection between the wire and the plug/brick.

Other things to try are resetting your PMU and doing a battery calibration, as those two things can impact your charger as well. Check support.apple.com for details on how to do this, as it varies depending on your specific model.

[Cheerio]

^
its the fat plug, my brothers charger works just fine on my laptop, so i think i ed up the wiring, there goes another $150 down the drain. is there any sort of warranty on the chargers? if not can you buy warrenty?

[maverickstruth]

Sadly, no warranty on the charger that I've ever been able to see (although it can be covered under AppleCare if you've got that). Sometimes you can get a sympathetic person if you call in to Apple Support and tell them this has happened however umpteen times.

To save a bit of money, check eBay rather than buying straight from Apple as you can sometimes find them cheapter there.

If you do end up getting a new adapter: grab some electrical tape and tape around where the cord joins the plug (laptop-side) to hopefully give it a bit more stability. Also just be really careful when you pull it in and out -- pull straight out, as twisting or bending it can cause issues. And be really, really careful not to tug on the cord when you're sitting, etc. as the split ring is really sensitive to sideways bending.

Beyond that, there's not much you can do. Introducing the MagSafe adapter was one of Apple's better moves, I think, as those old-style ones just were prone to failing.

[mykalberta]

It cannot be a virus, Macs dont get viruses, only PCs *cough* *cough*.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQb_Q8WRL_g

[Phaneuf3]

It just works.

[Hemi-Cuda]

a virus on a mac?

[Locke]

Silly peter....Viruses are for PCs...

[peter12]

Damn you all, it wasn't a virus. Back to my naive bliss.

[Titan]

Originally Posted by peter12

Damn you all, it wasn't a virus. Back to my naive bliss.

So what was it?

[peter12]

Originally Posted by Titan

So what was it?

I think it was a hole in Safari 4. My friend hit the same link on his computer on a completely different network and exactly the same thing happened. I've just switched to Firefox.

[FanIn80]

Googling "teenpassage.com" (without actually going there or even knowing/caring what the site is) gives me the impression that it has a history of infecting/compromising/misusing various browsers.

My assumption is that someone has visited this site before on your computer and the site left something behind to make sure you come back to visit once in awhile.

(It's very... unpossible... that the Royal Bank of Canada would use a link on their website to hijack your browser and force you to visit "teenpassage.com.")

[peter12]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Googling "teenpassage.com" (without actually going there or even knowing/caring what the site is) gives me the impression that it has a history of infecting/compromising/misusing various browsers.

My assumption is that someone has visited this site before on your computer and the site left something behind to make sure you come back to visit once in awhile.

(It's very... unpossible... that the Royal Bank of Canada would use a link on their website to hijack your browser and force you to visit "teenpassage.com.")

I don't think that's the case. I've scanned my computer several times, deleted all tracking cookes, plus a friend of mine on a entirely different computer and on an entirely different wireless network followed the same link that I did and got exactly the same result.

It's very strange.

[PerfectRadish]

Macs don't usually get viruses. I'm on Mac, and I've never dealed with such problems (considering the fact the only "anti-virus software" I use is ProteMac Netmine).