What is the “Your system is seriously damaged, found (4) viruses!” scam

“Your system is seriously damaged, found (4) viruses!” scam refers to a fake virus alert used to promote a potentially unwanted program Cleanup My Mac. The scam shows users fake virus alerts to convince them that their devices are infected with something and that they need to download the offered program to remove the infections. While the offered programs are not malware, they are highly questionable and likely want to trick users into paying for useless subscriptions.

 

 

 

If you get redirected to a site hosting this scam, you will be greeted with two pop-ups claiming your Mac is infected with 4 viruses. The first pop-up falsely explains that your system has been seriously damaged by the infections and that you need to immediately remove them. The other pop-up warns that you should not ignore the warning but it mostly repeats the same thing. The pop-ups prompt you to download a program that will remove the supposed infections. However, these alerts are fake. There is no reason to download the offered program because there’s no infection. Furthermore, these “cleaning” programs are not necessary. If you need additional protection for your Mac, you should use a legitimate anti-virus program, not something promoted by fake virus alerts.

The pop-up that appears when users get redirected to the site:

ATTENTION!
Your Mac OS X is infected (4) by viruses and Your system is damaged.
You must clean the system from viruses, as quick as possible!

** Do not ignore this warning **

The pop-up displayed in the background:

Your system is seriously damaged, found (4) viruses!
We discovered that Your Mac OS is damaged on 37.2% and contains (4) viruses.
If you will not delete viruses right now, then it can result in the damage of system files, data, appendixes and etc.
You need to do (step by step):
Step 1: Push the button Download and get free antivirus app.
Step 2: Download MacCleaner and recover Your system!

For future reference, virus alerts in your browser will always be fake. Your browser will never show legitimate virus alerts, and you should only trust a legitimate anti-virus program to provide you with accurate information about infections on your computer. You should also avoid downloading programs via ads. Instead, research programs carefully before installing them and then use legitimate sources like official websites.

Why are you shown fake virus alerts?

There could be several reasons why users are redirected to sites that display fake virus alerts. In most cases, it happens because users browse high-risk websites. There are a lot of questionable websites that expose users to even more questionable ads and redirects. Sites that have pornographic and/or pirated content are particularly guilty of this as interacting with anything on those sites will trigger a redirect. Fortunately, a good adblocker program will easily block these redirects and ads in general.

In rarer cases, adware can also be the trigger for redirects. Adware is a pretty minor infection but it can become very annoying. These types of infections are usually installed via the free software bundling method. The way it works is adware is attached to a free program as an extra offer. These offers are set to install alongside programs automatically. They are technically optional but users need to deselect them to prevent their installations. Most users do not do that simply because the offers are hidden in rarely used settings.

If you want to prevent unwanted installations, you need to pay attention when installing free programs. When given the option during installation, pick Advanced (Custom) settings. The installation window may recommend using Default settings but if you do that, all added offers will be set to install alongside. However, Advanced settings will make all offers visible, and you will be given the option to deselect the offers you do not want. It’s generally recommended to deselect all offers because legitimate programs do not use this installation method. In fact, programs that do are often detected as potential threats by anti-virus programs. So unless you want to fill your computer with junk programs, always deselect the offers.

“Your system is seriously damaged, found (4) viruses!” scam removal

If you were randomly redirected to this scam while browsing high-risk websites, you don’t need to do anything besides closing the window and installing a good adblocker program. If the redirects are happening regularly or if you notice an increase in ads, scan your Mac with an anti-virus program to check for an adware infection.

If you installed the program promoted by these fake virus alerts, you need to get rid of it. Never mind the fact that you were essentially deceived into installing it, the program doesn’t actually do anything. You do not need a cleaning program on your Mac.