Netupdate keeps restarting the Mac

A

AlanWilson

Registered
About 10 days ago, Netupdate started showing a message about once a day, saying software had been updated and the Mac needed to be shut down or restarted; it also says that if Later is selected, the computer may become unstable; but there is no Later option, only Restart & Shut Down. The message cannot be minimised, but can be moved to the background. If any other software is selected, the options in that message then don't work and the Mac must be shut down in the normal way.

Before about 10 days ago, updates happened in the background and rarely needed a restart. Software Update is set to check weekly & download automatically. Macbook Pro, OS 10.6.8.

What's caused this sudden daily need to restart? Any ideas? Thanks!
 
Something in that Netupdate seems to have gone sour. Don't confuse Netupdate with Software Update; Software Update comes with Mac OS X and you need it, Netupdate is a piece of ... software installed by some Intego suite or their anti-virus software.

I would recommend removing Netupdate. Unlike most Mac software, it seems to actually require an uninstall process.

This page has more about similar issues with Intego's Netupdate (and you probably want to read that before considering reinstalling the software once you get the Netupdate problems resolved)
http://www.wwco.com/~wls/blog/2010/12/11/uninstalling-intego-software/

Proper removal of the software package requires using the Installer package located in your software bundle or disc. If you have manually attempted to remove the software, you will need to first, reinstall the software again, then use the same Installer package to properly remove the applications.

If you need to, you can re-download the installer for Internet Security Barrier X6 using the link below:

http://www.integodownload.com/en/isbx6.html

Open the installer and select to uninstall all software. Restart your computer.
Click to expand...

After uninstalling the software in exactly the manner they prescribe, enter this this command at your terminal:
sudo find / -name Intego -print
and you'll find what the software has left behind.

[From Intego] If there is anything left on your computer, you can remove it manually.

Can you please go into the following areas on the computer and delete any traces of Intego or VirusBarrier:

/Macintosh HD/Library/Intego
/Macintosh HD/Library/LaunchDaemons
/Macintosh HD/Library/LaunchAgents
/Macintosh HD/Applications
/Macintosh HD/Library/Preferences
/Macintosh HD/Library/Logs
/Macintosh HD/Library/Receipts
/Macintosh HD/Library/Startupitems
/Macintosh HD/Library/Widgets

Home Folder:

~/Library/Application Support
~/Library/Preferences
Click to expand...
 
"Is there an antivirus product that performs well, and doesn't cause any problems?"

I don't believe so.

I like Sophos Antivirus, which can be set to only scan when I want it to scan. It affects performance when scanning. That could be called a problem, I suppose. I also occasionally get "weirdness" from some apps while SAV is installed.
But, it's free.
I wouldn't pay for antivirus "protection" for a Mac, so you could call that a problem.

So,
that leads to my own question:
Is there any need to have an antivirus, or malware protection product installed full-time on a Mac running OS X?
IMHO, No. (not yet :D )
 
None at the monment. So don't panic because there is not one virus for OS X in the wild. Now there are some know Trojans using the Java Web plugin (IMHO you should always turn of the Java web plugin in your browser's Preferences, unless your stupid bank web site needs it and just turn it back on for those, then back off again when done).

What I use to be safe for those Trojan horses is keeping my Mac (10.8.x) up to date and using OpenDNS's web protection that blocks known Trojan hosting sites (plus using it in my home router). Plus I use the shareware Little snitch to keep an eye pout for unwanted transmissions. You will be surprised how many program call home or Google, etc. The only caveat you have to give the program about two weeks to customize it to settle it down.
 
Little Snitch is really good, as you can see which apps want to make an incoming or outgoing call. You'd be sometimes surprised how many apps call home (including of course e.g. all Adobe software). You can decide for each and every connection whether you allow them or not.

That, and the Java plugins disabled go a long way.

I would also recommend that you consider creating a non-admin user for your daily tasks on the Mac. If you then need to do something that needs an admin privilege (like install something... by the way, most Mac apps should NOT need an installer), you can authenticate as your admin user for those dialogs.

One more potential source for trouble is Microsoft Office's macros. So macros off, or use e.g. OpenOffice instead.
 
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