Sequoia 15.3 is messing with Apple Mail

Thanks for your reply. I can't see anything in this report that has anything to do with Mail, but then I wouldn't know what to look for -- though to me Mail is a major problem and the only major problems the report notes have to do with auto-updates (which I never do) and a "runaway process" that it doesn't identify.

Thanks Old Toad and James Brickley. You were both completely right.

First, I deleted one of my Mail accounts and tried to add it back, but my email and/or password were rejected, though they were correct. Then I did call Apple and luckily got a woman who knew her stuff (contrary to my expectations, thankfully).

It turns out that it was indeed the VPN, as you guys suspected. I was not connected -- or so I thought. To connect, you have to open it, log in and tell it to connect (I do that when it becomes obvious I'm being tracked, like seeing ads on New York Times for something I had been looking at on Amazon, so I use the VPN in frustration). I had disconnected weeks ago and not reconnected.

But System Settings Network showed TWO Proton VPNs, and both were on! Without my knowing it -- how they did that is a mystery to me. What's more, I could turn one of them off, but when I turned off the other one, it instantly turned itself back on, over and over. So I trashed them and emptied the trash. And instantly, my one remaining Mail account started receiving mail, and I was able to add the other one back, and it's working now, too.

Then I dumped Bit Defender, but when I tried to trash Avira, I hit a roadblock: "The operation can’t be completed because you don’t have permission to access some of the items." I have no idea what that means. I searched for how to get rid of it but couldn't find anything very simple (I'm simple-minded). The Avira site says I might have to do it via Terminal, but when I entered the code, Terminal told me "No such file or directory."

So now I'm stumped, but at least I got rid of the most obvious culprit, the VPN. To get rid of AdBlock, I have to quit Safari and do it through Go to Library, so that's next -- wonder if it will work, because when I closed it and then tried to trash it, it told me I couldn't because "extensions were in use." The same goes for AdGuard for Safari, even though I closed the app.

Anyway, thanks for the totally correct advice, reinforced by Apple support.

Now I wonder if I can post this reply -- I tried earlier and got an endless spinning wheel. Could that have been the VPN too?

I got blocked trying to delete AdBlock. I got rid of it in Apps, but I'm also supposed to find other files in Library. I found the files I'm supposed to delete from Library, but I couldn't do that -- delete and cmd-delete didn't work, and I couldn't drag them to Trash. So I'm not sure if that instruction is even possible.

And I still don't know what to do about Avira. Their site says if dragging it to the trash doesn't work ("The operation can’t be completed because you don’t have permission to access some of the items."), use the Terminal command, but that doesn't work either ("No such file or directory.").

As for DuckDuckGo, why would I want to get rid of that? It's my default search engine and has always worked well for me. I sure don't want to use Google ever again.

Ah yes, the DDG VPN -- it always helps to read clearly. I didn't have the VPN, so I'm in the clear. Yay for that. I'll follow Old Toad's suggestion to use FAF and your and Old Toad's advice on safe mode. I swear, that Avira is more like a virus than an anti-virus, and I have to wonder what it's really up to. I'll let you know how it goes. And many many thanks.

I tried FAF and...good Lord! Seventy-six (76) items?! WTH? Folders, Unix Executables, XPC Service (say what?), apps, SVG documents (Say what? 2.0), PNGs, Log file, documents, extensions, property list, aliases...I'm sure you're familiar with all that, but I've never seen such a thing. And it's populating my computer. I guess that's how all apps/programs work, but seeing it -- it's like dissecting a frog. (I date myself...)

I selected all of them and clicked move to trash. The result: "The operation failed for some items: Some items are locked or require root permissions. Do you want to try to trash these items as well?"

I clicked Retry. Result: "Some items are locked or require root permissions.

Some items were not deleted because of an error:“com.avira.scanservice.systemextension” couldn’t be moved to the trash because you don’t have permission to access it."

Final result: all of the 76 Avira items are still there. That slimy app is not gonna give up without a fight. Guess I'll try Safe Mode next. Jeez. The nerve of some people!

Well, Safe Mode couldn't do anything either. This time FAF found 74 items (instead of 76), but the results of Move to Trash were exactly the same. Maybe I have to do one at a time? 74 times?

I feel like calling the cops on these people. I mean, it's like a home invasion. It's hard to believe the presumptuousness, and impunity. But then, it's kind of a sign of the times...

Well, Safe Mode couldn't do anything either. This time FAF found 74 items (instead of 76), but the results of Move to Trash were exactly the same. Maybe I have to do one at a time? 74 times?

I feel like calling the cops on these people. I mean, it's like a home invasion. It's hard to believe the presumptuousness, and impunity. But then, it's kind of a sign of the times...

I tried doing one at a time...then looked at the Trash to see if it worked. Shocked to find a huge number of Avira files there! Although they were still on FAF. Maybe FAF was finding them in the trash to start with? It never occurred to me to look there first. Duh. But I was being told "the operation failed...etc etc." OK, so I emptied the trash. And now FAF can find only two Avira items -- a doc (2.2MB) and an extension (37.8MB). And trying to trash those two gets me the same "operation failed" results. And they do not show up in Trash.

This is all so weird. But at least I got rid of a huge chunk of crap. I can't thank you guys enough. It's hard to read stuff in the popular press, including magazines and sites geared to computing, that tells you "Yes, Macs can be infected and here are the best apps to prevent it." And then Apple and its resident community experts saying, "That's BS. Don't do it."

And all I want to do is write and web surf. I am determined to get rid of those last remnants of Avira if at all possible. It's become a matter of principle now.

I restarted and ran FAF again -- this time there are 3 Avira items, including a folder named Avira Security, last modified just before I restarted. But there's nothing in that folder -- 0 bytes -- and I was able to delete and trash it. But the other two items are really stubborn. Is this gonna be the best I can do? There has to be a way to get rid of these invaders.

Well, Avira is no longer in my list of apps. Yet those two items are still found by FAF. (BTW, I bought Find Any File -- the creator has done the computing world such a great service.)