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Possible Mac Virus

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aRKay

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Nov 20, 2009, 1:31:33 PM11/20/09
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Something really strange is going on with my iMac
with 10.6.2 and I suspect it may be a virus. The
normal size of my hard drive is about 60 GB of the
320 drive size. For some reason when I Get Info
on the Macintosh HD it now say 125 GB used; however,
the sum of parts when totaled in the finder only
show 58 GB. I have no idea what is eating up the
other space.

I saw this once before and AppleCare was no help. I
fixed it be erasing the Macintosh HD and using a
recent SuperDuper backup to get things back in
order.

Sure would like to know what's going on

nospam

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Nov 20, 2009, 1:44:52 PM11/20/09
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In article <arkay-9E5881....@nothing.attdns.com>, aRKay
<ar...@nospam.qsl.net> wrote:

> Something really strange is going on with my iMac
> with 10.6.2 and I suspect it may be a virus.

a bizarre assumption since there are no mac viruses.

> The normal size of my hard drive is about 60 GB of the
> 320 drive size. For some reason when I Get Info
> on the Macintosh HD it now say 125 GB used; however,
> the sum of parts when totaled in the finder only
> show 58 GB. I have no idea what is eating up the
> other space.

get omni disksweeper and find out where all the space is being used up.

also verify if there might be directory corruption with disk utility
(or better yet, disk warrior).

> I saw this once before and AppleCare was no help. I
> fixed it be erasing the Macintosh HD and using a
> recent SuperDuper backup to get things back in
> order.

what a pain.

Davoud

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Nov 20, 2009, 1:49:19 PM11/20/09
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aRKay wrote:

> Something really strange is going on with my iMac
> with 10.6.2 and I suspect it may be a virus.

It's not a virus.

> The
> normal size of my hard drive is about 60 GB of the
> 320 drive size. For some reason when I Get Info
> on the Macintosh HD it now say 125 GB used; however,
> the sum of parts when totaled in the finder only
> show 58 GB. I have no idea what is eating up the
> other space.
>
> I saw this once before and AppleCare was no help. I
> fixed it be erasing the Macintosh HD and using a
> recent SuperDuper backup to get things back in
> order.
>
> Sure would like to know what's going on

This happened to me recently, except that _all_ of the 200 GB of free
space on one of my MB Pro's disappeared suddenly. I restored the home
folder from a SuperDuper backup and all has been well. I think there is
another way--a hidden file someplace that needs to be deleted via the
Terminal, but I don't remember its name. Google or check the CSMS
archives.

Davoud

--
I agree with almost everything that you have said and almost everything that
you will say in your entire life.

usenet *at* davidillig dawt cawm

Richard Maine

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Nov 20, 2009, 2:27:45 PM11/20/09
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nospam <nos...@nospam.invalid> wrote:

> In article <arkay-9E5881....@nothing.attdns.com>, aRKay
> <ar...@nospam.qsl.net> wrote:
>
> > Something really strange is going on with my iMac
> > with 10.6.2 and I suspect it may be a virus.
>
> a bizarre assumption since there are no mac viruses.

and as a general rule, it sometimes seems that the people most likely to
think they could have a virus are the people least likely to actually
have one. I don't see anything that even suggests viral behavior here.
One might as well suspect sunspots.

--
Richard Maine | Good judgment comes from experience;
email: last name at domain . net | experience comes from bad judgment.
domain: summertriangle | -- Mark Twain

Steve W. Jackson

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Nov 20, 2009, 5:29:53 PM11/20/09
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In article <1j9h8yc.1ssf1aaowq1s0N%nos...@see.signature>,
nos...@see.signature (Richard Maine) wrote:

> nospam <nos...@nospam.invalid> wrote:
>
> > In article <arkay-9E5881....@nothing.attdns.com>, aRKay
> > <ar...@nospam.qsl.net> wrote:
> >
> > > Something really strange is going on with my iMac
> > > with 10.6.2 and I suspect it may be a virus.
> >
> > a bizarre assumption since there are no mac viruses.
>
> and as a general rule, it sometimes seems that the people most likely to
> think they could have a virus are the people least likely to actually
> have one. I don't see anything that even suggests viral behavior here.
> One might as well suspect sunspots.

Wait -- sunspots affect my Mac? :)
--
Steve W. Jackson
Montgomery, Alabama

Jolly Roger

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Nov 20, 2009, 5:55:06 PM11/20/09
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This is very probably /not/ a virus.

Grab a copy of DaisyDisk (or similar) and use it to see where the space
is being used:

<http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/30689/daisydisk>

--
Send responses to the relevant news group rather than email to me.
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my very hungry SPAM
filter. Due to Google's refusal to prevent spammers from posting
messages through their servers, I often ignore posts from Google
Groups. Use a real news client if you want me to see your posts.

JR

Tom Harrington

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Nov 20, 2009, 5:57:41 PM11/20/09
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In article <stevewjackson-2E8...@news.individual.net>,

If they're big enough, they do. Also, cosmic rays. It's a dangerous
universe out there.

--
Tom "Tom" Harrington
Independent Mac OS X developer since 2002
http://www.atomicbird.com/

aRKay

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Nov 20, 2009, 6:03:15 PM11/20/09
to

I agree with others it was not a virus. Like the old
bumper sticker says ....it happens. I tried the Disk
Utility, all Main Menu options restarted and even
look for some weird hidden file.

Finally gave up screwing around with it and used
the Disk Utility Erase the Macintosh HD and and
then cloned it from a recent SuperDuper backup.

It seems to be working okay now. I could not add
to an existing Time Machine backup so I had to
erase it and start over with fresh TM run. It's doing
its thing as I type this note.

SuperDuper save me again! Best money I have
ever spent on shareware.

Jamie Kahn Genet

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Nov 20, 2009, 6:14:05 PM11/20/09
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aRKay <ar...@nospam.qsl.net> wrote:

Yep - it's the ID 10 T virus at work. Oh man you are so screwed.
--
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

Steven Fisher

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Nov 20, 2009, 8:09:25 PM11/20/09
to

> Something really strange is going on with my iMac
> with 10.6.2 and I suspect it may be a virus. The

<snip>

Next time, instead of putting "virus" in your subject, try something
related to the *symptoms* of your problem rather than a theory you can't
back up which is (I'm sorry to tell you) painfully ignorant.

For this problem, "Where'd my hard disk space go?" would have been a
much better subject.

In any case, I'm glad you've apparently fixed it.


Steve

aRKay

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Nov 21, 2009, 7:30:18 AM11/21/09
to
In article <sdfisher-616338...@mara100-84.onlink.net>,
Steven Fisher <sdfi...@spamcop.net> wrote:

I used the word "Possible" in the subject because I was not sure of the
reason and at that time I suspected a virus. I still do not know what
caused the problem. The problem was real and others need to check
for abnormal growth in the size of the Macintosh HD.

The fix was to erase the Macintosh HD. It is a good thing that I noticed
the problem before backing up the problem. The clean SuperDuper
backup saved me.

Fred Moore

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Nov 21, 2009, 10:49:42 AM11/21/09
to
In article <1j9j5xw.nshvrg1epln5yN%jam...@wizardling.geek.nz>,
jam...@wizardling.geek.nz (Jamie Kahn Genet) wrote:

> aRKay <ar...@nospam.qsl.net> wrote:
> >
> > Sure would like to know what's going on
>
> Yep - it's the ID 10 T virus at work. Oh man you are so screwed.

Now, Jamie, you know it's just as, if not more, likely it's a PEBKAC
worm. It takes GREAT skill, tenacity, and perseverance for a cracker to
insert malware between the keyboard and chair. And, as most of us know,
PEBKAC is infinitely more destructive than any Mac virus. ;)

Jolly Roger

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Nov 21, 2009, 11:27:36 AM11/21/09
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In article <arkay-F4DFDA....@news.eternal-september.org>,
aRKay <ar...@nospam.qsl.net> wrote:

> In article <sdfisher-616338...@mara100-84.onlink.net>,
> Steven Fisher <sdfi...@spamcop.net> wrote:
>
> > In article <arkay-9E5881....@nothing.attdns.com>,
> > aRKay <ar...@nospam.qsl.net> wrote:
> >
> > > Something really strange is going on with my iMac
> > > with 10.6.2 and I suspect it may be a virus. The
> > <snip>
> >
> > Next time, instead of putting "virus" in your subject, try something
> > related to the *symptoms* of your problem rather than a theory you can't
> > back up which is (I'm sorry to tell you) painfully ignorant.
> >
> > For this problem, "Where'd my hard disk space go?" would have been a
> > much better subject.
> >
> > In any case, I'm glad you've apparently fixed it.
>

> I used the word "Possible" in the subject because I was not sure of the
> reason and at that time I suspected a virus. I still do not know what
> caused the problem. The problem was real and others need to check
> for abnormal growth in the size of the Macintosh HD.
>
> The fix was to erase the Macintosh HD.

That may have been how you happened to fix it, but I doubt that it was
actually required to fix the issue.

Phil Stripling

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Nov 21, 2009, 1:33:52 PM11/21/09
to
In article <1j9h8yc.1ssf1aaowq1s0N%nos...@see.signature>, Richard Maine
<nos...@see.signature> wrote:

> One might as well suspect sunspots.

There _are_ no sunspots.

:->
(It's true)

E Z Peaces

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Nov 21, 2009, 2:51:03 PM11/21/09
to

If it was what happened to me with 10.4, you could have backed up. I
noticed that my internal drive was filling by gigabytes while my
SuperDuper clones weren't getting bigger. I tried Disk Utility, looking
for the big files, cleaning caches, and reindexing Spotlight. I
couldn't figure it out, so I made a fresh clone, cloned that back to my
internal drive, and had no more trouble.

Steven Fisher

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Nov 21, 2009, 4:33:58 PM11/21/09
to

> I used the word "Possible" in the subject because I was not sure of the
> reason and at that time I suspected a virus. I still do not know what

Are you still arguing it's a good subject?

Let me ask: What did you discover in the end? Did you have an virus or
were you missing disk space?

One of those is a good description of your problem. The other isn't.
Figure it out.


Steve

Mike Rosenberg

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Nov 21, 2009, 5:33:02 PM11/21/09
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Steven Fisher <sdfi...@spamcop.net> wrote:

Not to harp on this, but I frequently have discussions like this with my
clients. It's equivalent of going to a doctor and telling him what you
believe the diagnosis is rather than telling him your symptoms and
allowing him to do the diagnosing.

--
My latest dance performance <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvB98fgse-s>

Mac and geek T-shirts & gifts <http://designsbymike.net/shop/mac.cgi>
Prius shirts/bumper stickers <http://designsbymike.net/shop/prius.cgi>

nospam

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Nov 21, 2009, 7:15:40 PM11/21/09
to
In article <1j9jknj.1whsn3t1vmmu62N%mike...@TOGROUPmacconsult.com>,
Mike Rosenberg <mike...@TOGROUPmacconsult.com> wrote:

> Not to harp on this, but I frequently have discussions like this with my
> clients. It's equivalent of going to a doctor and telling him what you
> believe the diagnosis is rather than telling him your symptoms and
> allowing him to do the diagnosing.

true, and people are so accustomed to viruses causing problems on
windows that any problem on a mac must also be due to a virus.

Steven Fisher

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Nov 21, 2009, 7:42:11 PM11/21/09
to
In article <211120091915401208%nos...@nospam.invalid>,
nospam <nos...@nospam.invalid> wrote:

We're trying to explain otherwise.


Steve

Wes Groleau

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Nov 21, 2009, 10:04:32 PM11/21/09
to
nospam wrote:
> true, and people are so accustomed to viruses causing problems on
> windows that any problem on a mac must also be due to a virus.

Tell 'em it's H1N1 -- drink plenty of fluids and stay home.

--
Wes Groleau

Learning to see the forest instead of the trees.
http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/WWW?itemid=75

Mike Rosenberg

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Nov 22, 2009, 9:10:07 AM11/22/09
to
Steven Fisher <sdfi...@spamcop.net> wrote:

> > > Not to harp on this, but I frequently have discussions like this with my
> > > clients. It's equivalent of going to a doctor and telling him what you
> > > believe the diagnosis is rather than telling him your symptoms and
> > > allowing him to do the diagnosing.
> >
> > true, and people are so accustomed to viruses causing problems on
> > windows that any problem on a mac must also be due to a virus.
>
> We're trying to explain otherwise.

And in this specific case, the OP is a long-term Mac user, not a recent
switcher.

Andreas Rutishauser

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Nov 22, 2009, 2:25:20 PM11/22/09
to
Salut aRKay

you are still doing your backups with SuperDuper! ?
Have you maybe disconnected your external drive during a SuperDuoer!
backup?
If so, have a look in the hidden folder "Volumes"...

Cheers
Andreas

--
MacAndreas Rutishauser, <http://www.MacAndreas.ch>
EDV-Dienstleistungen, Hard- und Software, Internet und Netzwerk
Beratung, Unterstuetzung und Schulung
<mailto:and...@MacAndreas.ch>, Fon: 044 / 721 36 47

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