Cyber thieves have a variety of booby traps that can threaten the ease of your browsing experience. From their irritating pop-ups and constant redirecting, cyber thieves know how to trap you.
If you have ever been unlucky enough to experience the Zeus virus’s blue screen of death, they also know how to intimidate you into handing over your information. It seems like cyber thieves have the advantage, but we have a list of easy steps that you can take to keep the Zeus virus out of your hair.
What is the Zeus Virus?
To pull off a successful virus scheme, cyber thieves need a few things. First, they need to infiltrate a brower’s settings to plant a malware that runs a specific JavaScript code in a constant loop. This code causes a browser to repeatedly redirect to a fradulent website and invites more pop-ups.
After this, cyber thieves need to convince users to follow the false tech support suggestions. This measure of pressuring and intimidating users into communicating with false tech support is the Zeus virus.
The Zeus virus is not that hard to miss. Mac users who run into the Zeus virus will see a BSOD-style lock screen or what is better known as the blue screen of death. Also, the screen has the added scare component of long lists of process names and timestamps that is more than likely to throw users off.
The point of real interest is in the pop-up that reads, “Don’t restart your computer. Windows detected ZEUS Virus. The infections detected indicate some recent downloads on the computer which in turn has created problems on the computer. Call technical support [phone number] and share this code [hexadecimal code] to the Agent to fix this.”
If you have not been able to identify this as a hoax by now, the error message makes it clearer. The Zeus virus is actually a malware that is used only on Windows. It was never supposed to be used for Macs. As such, it is a dead giveaway to users that the alert is a hoax because the malware’s name and message do not make sense for Macs.
After the first alert, another pop-up tends to appear. This pop-up reads, ““The problem is caused by an unusual activity performed on this machine”. The pop-up then suggests the affected user to call bogus customer support for assistance. There is no way to click away from the locked screen. So even if users click “Leave Page” or “Stay On Page”, they are still stuck with the Zeus virus.
What Does the Zeus Virus Do?
In short, the Zeus Virus does not necessarily do anything particularly damaging to your computer. All the information that appears on the BSOD-locked screen is false. On a Mac, there is no real Zeus Trojan virus.
The only real threat or trouble comes if you call or communicate with the false tech support agents. The problem lies in a browser plug-in or extension that makes it virtually impossible to avoid the fake warning sites. The plug-in will constantly redirect Safari, Chrome, or Firefox to the fradulent site.
It is all an effort to pressure users to dialing the provided phone number to talk to one of their so-called technicians. However, they will only tell you that the only way to avoid damage to your Mac is to pay $250.
How to Avoid the Zeus Virus?
There are a few precautions one can take to avoid the Zeus virus pop-up and redirecting issue. The best way is to just exercise caution when it comes to the types of sites you visit. Any suspicious MP3 downloading sites or sites that distribute “free” software downloads for application bundles should be avoided.
For a more extensive and concrete cleanup, here is a step-by-step walkthrough of how to reset your Mac and eliminate the Zeus virus.
Manually Remove the Zeus Virus Alerts from Mac
The first thing to do is to reset the affected browser settings to their default values.
Follow these steps to rest Safari:
- Open Safari and click on Safari in the menu bar.
- In the drop-down list, select Reset Safari.
- In the reset menu, ensure that all the boxes are checked and click Reset.
To reset Google Chrome, follow these instructions:
- First, open the Chrome browser window.
- At the top right of the screen, click the More button with three dots and then select Settings.
- Find Advanced Settings at the bottom of the page and click it.
- Here, go to the Reset settings.
- Click Restore Settings to Their Original Defaults.
- Confirm the selection by clicking Reset Settings.
To reset Firefox, follow these steps:
- Open Firefox.
- Select the menu bar indicated by three stacked lines.
- Select the question mark at the bottom of the menu.
- Select Troubleshooting Information.
- In the new menu, click the Reset Firefox button.
Automatically Remove Zeus Virus with Freshmac
You can also neutralize the Zeus virus threat by using a special security system tool or utility.
The Freshmac application is ideal for providing important security measures to your browser routine. With one click, the Freshmac tool cleans up unnecessary applications and malware from your computer. It frees up diskspace by getting rid of any tracking cookies and helps decrease rebooting time by managing all your computer’s startup apps. On top of that, Freshmac has 24/7 legitimate tech support should you need it.
To install Freshmac, follow these steps:
- First, download the Freshmac installer. Double-click the Freshmac.pkg file to open the installer window. Then, click the destination disk before selecting Continue.
- Your system will ask your authorization to install the application. Just type in your password and proceed by clicking Install Software.
- When installation is complete, Freshmac will conduct a 5-step scan. It will sift throgh caches, logs, unused languages, trash and check for any privacy or security issues.
- It will then give you a scan report. This shows the current state of your computer system and the number of fixable issues. Simply select Fix Safely, which will address any problems spotted during the scan.
- Now, let’s address the Zeus virus alert. If the blue lock screen is still there after the inital scan and fix, go to the Uninstaller option on the Freshmac menu. Locate any suspicious or unwanted entries and click the Fix safely button.
- You can also double check this by going ot the Temp and Startup Apps panes on the menu and remove all suspicious items from there as well. At this point, the Zeus virus should no longer be a threat.
Conclusion
With a name like the Zeus virus, it can easily scare you into submission. Not so much if you are prepared. If you are a Mac user, hopefully, you have seen that there is not much to fear from the Zeus virus. The steps we have outlined above are easy ways to take care of the Zeus virus before it gets out of hand. Whether you go manual or automatic, putting your cyber security as a priority is easier than ever.
