If you are receiving a suspicious web page pop-up about “Apple Defender Security Center“, it is safer to just ignore it. You will notice that it has a questionable web address. Also, you must know that the download link from this pop-up message can cause adware and virus infection.
Is my Mac computer infected?
Having the “Apple Defender Security Center” redirect does not necessarily mean that your Mac computer is infected with viruses. In most instances, this will appear when you pay a visit on malicious sites or compromised web pages. Scripts on these pages intend to open a new tab or redirect the browser to unsolicited websites. If in case you are brought to “Apple Defender Security Center” web page, do not download or update the program as stated. This action can lead to installation of adware onto your Mac computer.
Why am I seeing the fake alert?
It is reported that “Apple Defender Security Center” pop-up is encountered when visiting video sites and other questionable web pages. Whether you are redirected to this site, or you intentionally visit it, clicking on any links or buttons may put your Mac computer in danger. It tries to convince you to download a file that is disguised as security application. The truth is, executing this file causes a disaster on your browser as well as the whole computer system. Here are some excerpts from the fake pop-up:
Access to this computer has been blocked due to security reasons. Do not access or restart this computer. Ignoring this critical warning may result in loss of data on this system. Please contact support immediately so that an Apple engineer can walk you through the troubleshooting steps over the phone.
Another one:
Apple Defender Security Center
App: Ads.fiancetrack(2).dll
Threat detected: Trojan Spyware
Access to this computer has been blocked for security reasons.
Ignore “Apple Defender Security Center” and cease the web page that shows it. It is also important to run a virus scan on the Mac computer to ensure that it is free from any threats.
Procedures to Remove Apple Defender Security Center from Mac
In this section, we will provide effective guidelines to get rid of the threat from an infected computer. To automatically remove Apple Defender Security Center, you may download the recommended scanner. For comprehensive instructions, please execute the manual step-by-step procedures.
Instant Removal : Scan the computer with antivirus program
Combo Cleaner is a trusted computer security and optimization tool equipped with a powerful virus and malware detection engine. This program can get rid of Apple Defender Security Center pop-up and similar threats, whether it has infected Mac, PC, Android, or iOS.
1. Download the tool from the following page:
2. Double-click the downloaded file, combocleaner.dmg and proceed with the installation.
3. The installation window will open. Please double-click or drag the Combo Cleaner icon to the Applications folder.
4. Proceed with the installation. When it displays the Software License Agreement, please click Continue, and then click on Agree in the confirmation window. Continue with the default installation.
5. The program should run automatically after installation. If not, open your Launchpad and click on the Combo Cleaner icon.
6. Wait until antivirus downloads its latest virus definition updates and click on "Start Combo Scan" to start removing Apple Defender Security Center and other issues on the Mac computer.
7. After the virus and disk scan processes, the tool will display the results. Click on Remove Selected to start cleaning the computer.
To fully optimize the features of antivirus and privacy scanners, users may have to upgrade to the premium version.
Please continue with the succeeding removal procedures if you are comfortable manually getting rid of the pop-up and malicious items linked to it.
Manual Removal : Steps to get rid of Apple Defender Security Center
The steps below will guide you to manually remove Apple Defender Security Center without having to purchase a recommended virus scanner. We have tested the procedures; hence, the attackers may make modifications overtime. As a result, terms, names, and images in the guide may differ from what users are seeing recently.
The procedure may require you to close the browser or restart the computer; therefore, we are suggesting to Bookmark or Print this page.Step 1 : Double-check with MBAM Tool for Mac
Use Malwarebytes for Mac to do another scan to make sure the machine is already clear of viruses, malware, and adware. This efficient anti-malware application allows you to detect things that other security software was unable to recognize.
1. Download Malwarebytes for Mac from the link below.
2. Locate the downloaded Malwarebytes-Mac.pkg and install it with the default settings.
3. Run Malwarebytes for Mac. It will check for updates and download the most recent version if one is available. This is necessary for finding recent malware threats, including Apple Defender Security Center.
4. Once you are on the Malwarebytes dashboard, please click on the Scan button to start scanning your Mac computer.
5. After the scan, Malwarebytes for Mac will display a list of identified threats, and Apple Defender Security Center is surely part of it. Be sure to select all items in the list. Then, click the Remove button to clean the computer.
Step 2 : Reset Internet Browser Program
Cleaning your internet browser from clutter and unwanted add-on/extension is a must when dealing with Apple Defender Security Center fake alert. The procedure below discuss on resetting various browsers to its default state.
Clear the Safari Internet Browser (Mac)
1. Open your Safari browser application.
2. In the Safari menu, click on Preferences from the drop-down list.
3. On Preferences window, please select the Privacy tab.
4. Click on Manage Website Data button.
5. Select unwanted/suspicious entry and click the Remove button. If you choose to Remove All, you may be logout from most visited websites and online services. Therefore, we advise to remove suspicious item one at a time to prevent changing behavior towards your favorite websites.
6. If it prompts, please confirm your actions.
7. Next, we will need to clear the Cache. Back at the Safari Preferences window, choose Advanced tab.
8. Navigate to the bottom and activate Show Develop menu in menu bar.
9. Go to Safari menu, choose on Develop from the drop down list and click on on Empty Caches.
10. Next thing to do is to restore the Homepage to your preference and remove the one from Apple Defender Security Center fake alert.
11. Back at the Safari Preferences window, click on General tab.
12. Under Homepage section, type your desired URL to be the default start-up page.
13. Lastly, make sure to have the right Search Engine.
14. Go back to Safari Preferences window and click on Search tab.
15. Select your desired Search tool under the Search engine section.
16. You may not restart Safari browser.
Restore Google Chrome to Default Settings
Resetting Google Chrome to default settings is helpful in deleting hard-to-remove extension that produces the Apple Defender Security Center scam alert. This method is highly advisable to perform if you have difficulty in removing unwanted extension.
1. Open Google Chrome Internet browser.
2. On the address bar, type chrome://settings/reset and press Enter key.
3. Under Reset and clean up section, choose Restore settings to their original defaults.
4. Click Reset settings button to clear all entries related to Apple Defender Security Center scam pop-up.
5. Close the existing tab and restart Google Chrome. That should have removed Apple Defender Security Center extension and associated objects.
Reset Mozilla Firefox to Default
This section describes how to remove unwanted extension from Firefox that may be related to Apple Defender Security Center fake pop-up alert. This process can fix many browser issues by restoring Firefox to factory settings without affecting your essential information (bookmarks, browsing history, passwords, and Internet cookies) on the browser. If you desire to remove only specific extension, please see manual removal of add-on from Firefox.
1. Input the string about:support on Firefox web address and press Enter on keyboard.
2. You will now see the Troubleshooting Information page of Mozilla Firefox.
3. You will notice a section on upper-right corner of the screen stating Give Firefox a tune up. Click the Refresh Firefox button.
4. If confirmation window appears, click Refresh Firefox to continue.
5. Firefox browser will close and start the resetting process. When done, it will display a list of restored data. Apple Defender Security Center fake alert should be gone by now. Click Finish to open a fresh version of Firefox.
System Compatibility Notice
To provide you with easy and accurate methods, the commands used in the guide are common, useful, and tested. We ensured that our tutorial to get rid of Apple Defender Security Center is compatible with the majority of Mac operating systems. Please let us know via email or the comment section below if you run into any incompatibility when using this tutorial. We will be pleased to reply and make the required corrections.
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