When a MacBook comes up with an alarming “Pornographic Virus Alert from Apple” message, it can end up convincing users into believing that the message is coming from Apple or being generated by the operating system (OSX).
However, the Good News is that such messages, which also come in other variations are not sent by Apple and they are not triggered by the operating System.
These pop-ups, which often carry alarming messages are basically designed to trick users into downloading Virus/Malware removal tools or to make them call a phone number to fix the problem.
Pornographic Virus Alert from Apple Keeps Reappearing
Users have reported the problem of “Pornographic Virus Alert from Apple” and other variations of this spam message reappearing on Mac, every time they try to browse the internet.
The reason for this is due to the Safari browser on your MacBook being setup to open the last browsing session and not due to your Mac being infected with virus or malware.
With this understanding, let us go ahead and take a look at the steps to deal with this spam message and prevent it from coming back on your Mac.
1. Force Quit the Browser
When you see Pornographic Virus Alert pop-up, simply Force Quit the browser and re-launch the browser to see if it re-appears again.
1. Click on Apple Logo > select the Force Quit… option.
2. On Force Quit Application window, select the browser (Safari) and click on the Force Quit button.
3. On the confirmation pop-up, click on the Force Quit option to confirm.
2. Change Safari Preferences
If the pop-up returns back when you re-open the browser, it is likely that the browser on your MacBook is set to open the last browsing session.
1. Open Safari Browser > click on Safari tab in and select Preferences in the drop-down menu.
2. On Safari Preferences screen, switch to General tab and set Safari Opens with to New Window and New tabs open with to Empty Page.
Now, when you launch Safari, it will open a blank webpage and the pop-up won’t be able to return back.
3. Clear Safari History, Cookies and Website Data
1. Open Safari Browser > click on Safari tab and select Clear History… option.
2. On the pop-up, select All history option and click on Clear History button.
This should remove all the history, website data and cookies related to harmful websites that you were browsing or accidentally landed on.
5. Remove Safari Extensions
The next step is to uninstall all the unwanted browser extensions installed on your computer.
1. Open Safari browser > select Safari tab and click on Preferences.
2. On Safari Preferences screen, switch to Extensions tab > Select and Uninstall the Extensions.
Note: If you do not want to delete any Extension, you can disable it by Unchecking the box next to that Extension.