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

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

apple.com-fast[.]live (www.apple.com-fasting.live or www.apple.com-faster.live) is a scam website that should not be trusted. Its purpose is to trick people into downloading and installing the CleanupMy-Mac potentially unwanted app (PUA).

To achieve this, scammers designed apple.com-fast[.]live to show fake notifications about 'detected' viruses that should be removed immediately using the aforementioned application. Websites of this type and apps promoted by them cannot be trusted.

Typically, people do not open these websites intentionally. Unwanted redirects are often responsible and are caused by installed PUAs, which also feed people with unwanted ads and gather information.

When opened, apple.com-fast[.]live displays a pop-up window stating that this website has detected a trojan virus (e.tre456_worm_osx). Visitors are encouraged to begin the 'repair process' immediately. The apple.com-fast[.]live website itself states that the visitor's system is infected with three viruses: two malware infections and one phishing/spyware infection.

It urges people to remove them immediately, otherwise they might cause data or financial loss. According to this scam website, the 'detected' viruses might be used to steal banking information. To prevent any further system damage, people are given five minutes to click the "Scan Now" button and to remove the so-called threats.

If the button is clicked, apple.com-fast[.]live begins a fake virus scan and detects three identical viruses: Tapsnake, CronDNS, and Dubfishicv.

To remove them, users are encouraged to click the "REMOVE VIRUSES NOW" button, which triggers the download process of the CleanupMy-Mac app. In fact, as mentioned on the website, it should download the Advanced Mac Cleaner app (another PUA). In any case, it is not a good idea to download and install apps promoted on scam websites.

Websites such as apple.com-fast[.]live are often opened by installed PUAs. These deliver advertisements and collect information about users' browsing habits. They serve users with coupons, banners, surveys, pop-ups, and other unwanted content.

When clicking the ads, users are redirected to various untrustworthy websites (including apple.com-fast[.]live) or they run scripts designed to download and install unwanted apps. The information that PUAs gather usually includes entered search queries, URLs of visited websites, IP addresses, geolocations, and other browsing-related data.

Sometimes these apps also target personal details. Developers share collected data with third parties who misuse it to generate revenue. If there are any PUAs installed on your system, they should be eliminated immediately.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Apple.com-fast.live" virus
Threat Type	Mac malware, Mac virus.
Detection Names	Spamhaus (Phishing), Fortinet (Spam), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address	94.237.87.169
Sibling Domains	apple.com-fast.live, webdisk.com-fast.live
Promoted Application	CleanupMy-Mac (website presents it as Advanced Mac Cleaner)
Symptoms	Your Mac becomes slower than normal, you see unwanted pop-up ads, you are redirected to dubious websites.
Distribution methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake Flash Player installers, torrent file downloads.
Damage	Internet browser tracking (potential privacy issues), displaying of unwanted ads, redirects to dubious websites, loss of private information.
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 seven days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Apple.com-fast[.]live is a scam website that is very similar to other websites of this type such as macos-online-security-check[.]com, apple.com-optimize[.]live, apple.com-clear[.]live and many others. All these pages serve identical purpose: to trick people into downloading and installing unwanted apps.

These websites should not be taken seriously and apps promoted through them should not be downloaded/installed. Most the aforementioned PUAs also are very similar: their developers present them as legitimate, useful apps, however, rather than providing their users with the features promised, tools, they cause only problems.

How did potentially unwanted applications install on my computer?

Typically, users download and install PUAs by clicking intrusive ads, or when they download and install their software carelessly. To trick people into downloading and installing unwanted apps, software developers use a deceptive marketing method called "bundling". They include unwanted apps into software setups and avoid disclosing adequate information about this.

They hide PUAs in "Custom", "Advanced" and other similar settings of software setups (particularly for free software). Furthermore, many people download and install programs without checking these settings, thereby allowing PUAs to also be downloaded and installed.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Download software from official, trustworthy websites and using direct download links. Do not download using third party software downloaders, torrent clients, eMule (and other Peer-to-Peer networks), unofficial/dubious websites, and so on.

Check all software setup settings such as "Advanced", "Custom", and so on. Opt-out of offers to download or install unwanted software and only then complete the setup. Intrusive ads may seem legitimate, however, they should not be trusted or clicked, especially if they are displayed on dubious websites.

If clicked, most of these ads redirect users to untrustworthy websites, such as gambling, pornography, adult dating, etc. The main reason for unwanted redirects and intrusive ads is installed PUAs. We recommend that you check the list of installed plug-ins, add-ons, and extensions on your web browser and remove all unwanted, suspicious apps immediately.

Also for unwanted programs installed 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-fast[.]live scam website:

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

Screenshot of the fake scan results generated by apple.com-fast[.]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 fake error displayed ("Your MacOS 10.13 High Sierra is infected with 3 viruses!") by apple.com-fast.live website:

Screenshot of the CleanupMy-Mac potentially unwanted app:

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

Instant automatic Mac malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT 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 seven days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is "Apple.com-fast.live" virus?
• How to identify a pop-up scam?
• How do pop-up scams work?
• How to remove fake pop-ups?
• How to prevent fake pop-ups?
• What to do if you fell for a pop-up scam?

How to identify a pop-up scam?

Pop-up windows with various fake messages are a common type of lures cybercriminals use. They collect sensitive personal data, trick Internet users into calling fake tech support numbers, subscribe to useless online services, invest in shady cryptocurrency schemes, etc.

While in the majority of cases these pop-ups don't infect users' devices with malware, they can cause direct monetary loss or could result in identity theft.

Cybercriminals strive to create their rogue pop-up windows to look trustworthy, however, scams typically have the following characteristics:

• Spelling mistakes and non-professional images - Closely inspect the information displayed in a pop-up. Spelling mistakes and unprofessional images could be a sign of a scam.
• Sense of urgency - Countdown timer with a couple of minutes on it, asking you to enter your personal information or subscribe to some online service.
• Statements that you won something - If you haven't participated in a lottery, online competition, etc., and you see a pop-up window stating that you won.
• Computer or mobile device scan - A pop-up window that scans your device and informs of detected issues - is undoubtedly a scam; webpages cannot perform such actions.
• Exclusivity - Pop-up windows stating that only you are given secret access to a financial scheme that can quickly make you rich.

Example of a pop-up scam:

How do pop-up scams work?

Cybercriminals and deceptive marketers usually use various advertising networks, search engine poisoning techniques, and shady websites to generate traffic to their pop-ups. Users land on their online lures after clicking on fake download buttons, using a torrent website, or simply clicking on an Internet search engine result.

Based on users' location and device information, they are presented with a scam pop-up. Lures presented in such pop-ups range from get-rich-quick schemes to fake virus scans.

How to remove fake pop-ups?

In most cases, pop-up scams do not infect users' devices with malware. If you encountered a scam pop-up, simply closing it should be enough. In some cases scam, pop-ups may be hard to close; in such cases - close your Internet browser and restart it.

In extremely rare cases, you might need to reset your Internet browser. For this, use our instructions explaining how to reset Internet browser settings.

How to prevent fake pop-ups?

To prevent seeing pop-up scams, you should visit only reputable websites. Torrent, Crack, free online movie streaming, YouTube video download, and other websites of similar reputation commonly redirect Internet users to pop-up scams.

To minimize the risk of encountering pop-up scams, you should keep your Internet browsers up-to-date and use reputable anti-malware application. For this purpose, we recommend Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS.

What to do if you fell for a pop-up scam?

This depends on the type of scam that you fell for. Most commonly, pop-up scams try to trick users into sending money, giving away personal information, or giving access to one's device.

• If you sent money to scammers: You should contact your financial institution and explain that you were scammed. If informed promptly, there's a chance to get your money back.
• If you gave away your personal information: You should change your passwords and enable two-factor authentication in all online services that you use. Visit Federal Trade Commission to report identity theft and get personalized recovery steps.
• If you let scammers connect to your device: You should scan your computer with reputable anti-malware (we recommend Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS) - cyber criminals could have planted trojans, keyloggers, and other malware, don't use your computer until removing possible threats.
• Help other Internet users: report Internet scams to Federal Trade Commission.

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