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McAfee message on my Mac

I just received a message that my new MAC has an expired McAfee program and I am infected.


[Re-Titled by Moderator]


Mac mini, macOS 13.0

Posted on Dec 31, 2022 11:47 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 31, 2022 12:14 PM

As stated, this is a popup that probably occurred on a website you visited. Unless you installed it before, it likely is a phishing attempt, an attempt to steal personal information by giving you a click-bait message for you to try to download something nefarious for your system.


It may happen on a web browser or email. When it happens on a web browser, command-option-escape can give you the option to force quit the web browser (any opened pages will need to be reopened that you trust), and when you reload the web browser, hold the 'shift' key while you launch it. This gives you the opportunity to open the web browser without loading the last loaded page (the nefarious page). As long as you do not call, email, or text the nefarious message sender, you should be OK. Just clear your browser history and start fresh.


If it is an email and you weren't expecting it, just delete the email, and even mark it as spam if you have that feature enabled on your email.


Macs do not need anti-virus or optimization utilities. Any utilities that purport to speed your Mac actually do the contrary, and may have advertisements to encourage you to buy their utility.


The most important thing to do with your Mac is backup your data.



4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 31, 2022 12:14 PM in response to debraturner1958

As stated, this is a popup that probably occurred on a website you visited. Unless you installed it before, it likely is a phishing attempt, an attempt to steal personal information by giving you a click-bait message for you to try to download something nefarious for your system.


It may happen on a web browser or email. When it happens on a web browser, command-option-escape can give you the option to force quit the web browser (any opened pages will need to be reopened that you trust), and when you reload the web browser, hold the 'shift' key while you launch it. This gives you the opportunity to open the web browser without loading the last loaded page (the nefarious page). As long as you do not call, email, or text the nefarious message sender, you should be OK. Just clear your browser history and start fresh.


If it is an email and you weren't expecting it, just delete the email, and even mark it as spam if you have that feature enabled on your email.


Macs do not need anti-virus or optimization utilities. Any utilities that purport to speed your Mac actually do the contrary, and may have advertisements to encourage you to buy their utility.


The most important thing to do with your Mac is backup your data.



McAfee message on my Mac

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