Keeping our office computers running smoothly sometimes takes a “village” these days. While your virtual assistant is elsewhere in the world, I can still advise you so listen up. This will keep us connected while still miles apart.
With all the cyber attacks nationwide, breaches in security and malware infections, its no wonder my mac man is always working! Even a simple update I performed on my iMac desktop, caused the whole system to shut down. Needless to say, I’m not updating without some handholding with my iMac man (John) from now on. He recently sent an email out informing his clients that iMac browsers are being infected with malware now. What?!? One of the top reasons I bought my iMac desktop was it’s claim to fame for not being susceptible to various kinds of bugs that PCs do. NOT!
Malware on an iMac
John Dickson of macWorks, is seeing this more often on Safari, Firefox and Chrome browsers. How does this happen you ask? Clicking on bogus links online that contain malware is the most likely culprit. John reports, “Free download website links are unknowingly providing access to these malware programs.” The malware hijacks your browser and search engines and ultimately not letting you work normally. His fix is to use an application program called ClamxAV. This application is free and can be downloaded from their website. (Look in your apps store folder and download.) Run this program scan once per month and it will pick up the malware programs and then you can delete them. (For PC users, Avast is recommended.)
Monthly Cleanup Routine
My iMac man also highly encouraged me to run the Disk Utility scan for errors and repair disk permissions. To do this, open the Disc utility (bottom of your 
screen) or Open Finder>Utilities>Disk utility and click on MacHD, then Repair Disk Permissions. This monthly cleanup procedure can keep you out of trouble and your iMac man will be proud of you for being proactive.
Regular Updates
Regular updates are recommended but I would suggest waiting until your iMac man could come by and guide you through the update. I’ve had issues as well as others I know, so best bet is to seek a professional once or twice a year for these procedures.
Maintaining your iMac periodically will prevent larger issues that demand more time and money later. Seek the advice of your professional service provider before attempting these in case your computer is set up differently. If you need help with your office administrative needs virtually, please contact me for custom packages.
