i bought a macbook a couple months ago and it's now running slow as hell. i use a wireless internet connection; I've asked my roommates and their internet is running normally. it's gotten to where i can't watch youtube videos because they'd take over an hour to load up. in all seriousness, i go to porn websites a lot and i wonder if it's putting some kind of crap on this thing that's slowing it down. also no joke: i'm considering buying a cheap second computer to use exclusively for porn and save this one from dying altogether. I've read dozens of posts on other threads in which people argue that there isn't any spyware and/or viruses for macs, and then argue endlessly about the definition of "spyware" and "virus," etc. I don't care what it's called, and I don't care what it does other than slow my computer down. all I know is i have a brand new $1500 macbook with 2Gs of RAM, it takes 10 minutes just to check my email, much less do anything more complicated, and I want it fixed. what can i do?
new macbook running slow as hell
- Thread starter jaylemeux
- Start date
nixgeek
Mac of the SubGenius! :-)
THere was some news a few months back about a Mac OS X trojan that disguised itself as a set of codecs that certain porn sites said they needed in order for you to view their content. It's possible that somewhere along the line it might have hit you. It would have told you that you needed said codecs and asked you to download them. Once downloaded and after trying to install it, you would have been prompted for your password, at which point the trojan would have installed itself since you entered your password. About the only thing I've heard this do is redirect your DNS entries to something else, but nothing yet that would corrupt data or slowdown your Mac.
The other possibility is that a rootkit might have been installed on your Mac. Rootkit Hunter, found at the following site, can help you there:
http://www.christian-hornung.de/
Now, there is antivirus software that's freely available called ClamXav and it works wonderfully (I use it myself). It will detect the rare Mac malware occurrence as well as the vast amount of Windows viruses to prevent you from transferring a Windows virus to Windows users. There is also a program called Little Snitch that will inform you of any weird apps trying to "phone home", so to speak.
The other possibility is that a rootkit might have been installed on your Mac. Rootkit Hunter, found at the following site, can help you there:
http://www.christian-hornung.de/
Now, there is antivirus software that's freely available called ClamXav and it works wonderfully (I use it myself). It will detect the rare Mac malware occurrence as well as the vast amount of Windows viruses to prevent you from transferring a Windows virus to Windows users. There is also a program called Little Snitch that will inform you of any weird apps trying to "phone home", so to speak.