Apple.com-monitor.live POP-UP Scam (Mac)

How to remove "apple.com-monitor[.]live" from Mac?

What is "apple.com-monitor[.]live"?

The apple.com-monitor[.]live website is used by scammers to promote the Cleanup My Mac potentially unwanted application (PUA). This website displays a fake virus alert notification stating that users' computers are infected and encourages them to download and install the PUA, which supposedly removes the detected viruses. This website is commonly opened by a PUA that is already installed on the computer or browser. Therefore, most people do not visit this page intentionally. Furthermore, PUAs usually collect user-system information and display intrusive ads.

apple.com-monitor[.]live displays a pop-up window notifying visitors that the Mac computer is infected with a trojan named "e.tre456_worm_osx". It states that this trojan should be removed immediately. The apple.com-monitor[.]live website itself states that the visitor's system (Mac) is infected with not one, but three viruses: two malware infections and one phishing/spyware program. It also states that these viruses can cause data loss and put visitors' personal and banking details at risk. To avoid any further damage, people are encouraged to scan their systems within five minutes. Once the "Scan Now" button is pressed, apple.com-monitor[.]live begins a fake scanning process. When that scan is finished, this website states that it has detected Tapsnake, CronDNS, and Dubfishicv viruses. To remove them, users are encouraged to click the "REMOVE VIRUSES NOW" button which, if clicked, downloads the Cleanup My Mac app, although the website encourages users to download another unwanted app called Advanced Mac Cleaner. Note that neither this website nor the app promoted though it should be trusted. All claims about detected viruses are false and are used to trick people into downloading potentially unwanted applications.

Websites such as apple.com-monitor[.]live are often opened by already-installed PUAs, which serve their users with unwanted, intrusive ads such as coupons, banners, surveys, pop-up ads and so on. Typically, when clicked, these ads open untrustworthy or possibly malicious pages, or they run scripts that cause unwanted downloads and installations. Additionally, PUAs gather data such as IP addresses, URLs of visited websites, entered search queries, geolocations, and so on. People who develop these apps usually share the recorded information with other parties (who might be cyber criminals). These third parties misuse private data to generate revenue.

Threat Summary:

Name	apple.com-monitor.live pop-up
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud, Mac Virus
Fake Claim	The fake error message claims that system is infected and encourages users to download a dubious 'system cleaning tool' immediately.
Serving IP Address	94.237.87.169
Distributed Unwanted Apps	Cleanup My Mac
Detection Names	Spamhaus (Phishing), Fortinet (Spam), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Symptoms	Fake error messages, fake system warnings, pop-up errors, hoax computer scan.
Distribution methods	Compromised websites, rogue online pop-up ads, potentially unwanted applications.
Damage	Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft, possible malware infections.
Malware Removal (Mac)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your Mac with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner for Mac To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited three days free trial available.

There are many scam websites that promote unwanted apps. For example, apple.com-monitor[.]live is very similar to apple.com-mac-booster[.]live, macos-online-security-check[.]com, apple.com-optimize[.]live, and many other sites. The main purpose of these scam websites is to trick people into installing unwanted apps such as Cleanup My Mac. PUAs that open these scam websites are all very similar. Developers promote them as legitimate apps, however, most cause problems relating to browsing safety, privacy, and so on. PUAs provide none of the feature promised and only lead to problems.

How did potentially unwanted applications install on my computer?

Potentially unwanted apps are most commonly downloaded and installed through clicked intrusive advertisements and together with some other (usually free) software. There are many cases when PUAs are hidden in "Custom", "Advanced", "Manual" and other similar options of the software download or installation set-ups. This method is called "bundling". Developers use it to trick people into downloading and installing unwanted apps with other regular software that they wish to download/install. Typically, unwanted downloads and installations happen when users do not check the settings and leave them unchanged.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Download software from official and trustworthy sources, and avoid deceptive, unofficial websites, Peer-to-Peer networks, downloaders, and so on. Install all software properly - check "Custom", "Advanced" and other options of any download and installation setup. Do not allow unwanted apps to be downloaded and installed. Avoid clicking intrusive ads, since many download/install unwanted apps (they run scripts capable of these actions). If unwanted ads or redirects occur regularly, this might be due to PUAs. Check apps are installed on the browser and remove any dubious, unwanted extensions, plug-ins and add-ons immediately. Do not install unwanted, suspicious programs on the operating system. If your computer is already infected with PUAs, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate them.

Text presented in the pop-up window displayed by apple.com-monitor[.]live:

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED
We have detected a trojan virus (e.tre456_worm_osx) on your Mac.
Press OK to begin the repair process.

Fake virus scan results provided by apple.com-monitor[.]live:

Text presented in this page:

DOWNLOAD REQUIRED
Your Mac is heavily damaged! (33.2%)
Please download the Advanced Mac Cleaner application to remove 3 Viruses from your Mac.
VIRUS INFORMATION

Virus Name: Tapsnake; CronDNS; Dubfishicv
Risk: HIGH
Infected Files: /os/apps/hidden/os-component/X/snake.icv; /os/local/conf/keyboard/retype.icv...
REMOVE VIRUSES NOW
VIRUS REMOVAL

Application: Advanced Mac Cleaner
Rating: 9.9/10
Price: Free

Another variant of apple.com-monitor.live website promoting Your MacOS 10.14 Mojave Is Infected With 3 Viruses! pop-up scam:

Screenshot of Cleanup My Mac application:

Appearance of apple.com-monitor[.]live scam (GIF):

Instant automatic Mac malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced computer skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of Mac malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner for Mac By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited three days free trial available.

Quick menu:

• What is "apple.com-monitor[.]live"?
• STEP 1. Remove PUA related files and folders from OSX.
• STEP 2. Remove rogue extensions from Safari.
• STEP 3. Remove rogue add-ons from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove potentially unwanted plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox.

Video showing how to remove potentially unwanted applications promoted via apple.com-monitor.live scam website using Combo Cleaner:

Potentially unwanted applications removal:

Remove potentially unwanted applications from your "Applications" folder:

Click the Finder icon. In the Finder window, select "Applications". In the applications folder, look for "MPlayerX", "NicePlayer", or other suspicious applications and drag them to the Trash. After removing the potentially unwanted application(s) that cause online ads, scan your Mac for any remaining unwanted components.

Remove apple.com-monitor.live pop-up related files and folders:

Click the Finder icon, from the menu bar. Choose Go, and click Go to Folder...

Check for adware-generated files in the /Library/LaunchAgents folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: /Library/LaunchAgents

In the “LaunchAgents” folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by adware - “installmac.AppRemoval.plist”, “myppes.download.plist”, “mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist”, “kuklorest.update.plist”, etc. Adware commonly installs several files with the same string.

Check for adware generated files in the /Library/Application Support folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: /Library/Application Support

In the “Application Support” folder, look for any recently-added suspicious folders. For example, “MplayerX” or “NicePlayer”, and move these folders to the Trash.

Check for adware-generated files in the ~/Library/LaunchAgents folder:

In the Go to Folder bar, type: ~/Library/LaunchAgents

In the “LaunchAgents” folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by adware - “installmac.AppRemoval.plist”, “myppes.download.plist”, “mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist”, “kuklorest.update.plist”, etc. Adware commonly installs several files with the same string.

Check for adware-generated files in the /Library/LaunchDaemons folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: /Library/LaunchDaemons

In the “LaunchDaemons” folder, look for recently-added suspicious files. For example “com.aoudad.net-preferences.plist”, “com.myppes.net-preferences.plist”, "com.kuklorest.net-preferences.plist”, “com.avickUpd.plist”, etc., and move them to the Trash.

 Scan your Mac with Combo Cleaner:

If you have followed all the steps in the correct order you Mac should be clean of infections. To be sure your system is not infected run a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus. Download it HERE. After downloading the file double click combocleaner.dmg installer, in the opened window drag and drop Combo Cleaner icon on top of the Applications icon. Now open your launchpad and click on the Combo Cleaner icon. Wait until Combo Cleaner updates it's virus definition database and click "Start Combo Scan" button.

Combo Cleaner will scan your Mac for malware infections. If the antivirus scan displays "no threats found" - this means that you can continue with the removal guide, otherwise it's recommended to remove any found infections before continuing.

After removing files and folders generated by the adware, continue to remove rogue extensions from your Internet browsers.

apple.com-monitor.live pop-up removal from Internet browsers:

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Remove apple.com-monitor.live pop-up related Safari extensions:

Open Safari browser, from the menu bar, select "Safari" and click "Preferences...".

In the preferences window, select "Extensions" and look for any recently-installed suspicious extensions. When located, click the "Uninstall" button next to it/them. Note that you can safely uninstall all extensions from your Safari browser - none are crucial for normal browser operation.

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Safari.

Remove malicious plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox:

Remove apple.com-monitor.live pop-up related Mozilla Firefox add-ons:

Open your Mozilla Firefox browser. At the top right corner of the screen, click the "Open Menu" (three horizontal lines) button. From the opened menu, choose "Add-ons".

Choose the "Extensions" tab and look for any recently-installed suspicious add-ons. When located, click the "Remove" button next to it/them. Note that you can safely uninstall all extensions from your Mozilla Firefox browser - none are crucial for normal browser operation.

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Mozilla Firefox.

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Remove apple.com-monitor.live pop-up related Google Chrome add-ons:

Open Google Chrome and click the "Chrome menu" (three horizontal lines) button located in the top-right corner of the browser window. From the drop-down menu, choose "More Tools" and select "Extensions".

In the "Extensions" window, look for any recently-installed suspicious add-ons. When located, click the "Trash" button next to it/them. Note that you can safely uninstall all extensions from your Google Chrome browser - none are crucial for normal browser operation.

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Google Chrome.