If you need to download Flash, go to and download it from there. If you’d like to do some research for yourself, Google “MacKeeper” and take a look at what pops up.Ībove all, remember this: Only download software directly from the company that makes it. I’m just using these titles as examples – I can’t personally vouch for the quality of any individual piece of software. I’ve also seen websites that say you have to download a new version of Flash to continue, but the software you download isn’t from Adobe – it’s a Trojan. Instead, software containing Trojan Horses is often called MacKeeper, MacDefender, or some other software that promises to help your computer, while in fact it has the opposite effect. Of course, this software isn’t called “Virus! Don’t Install Me!”, because if it were, well, you wouldn’t download and install it. A Trojan Horse is a piece of software that you download, install, and give permission to run on your Mac. Your Mac is vulnerable to a type of virus called a “Trojan Horse”, which is commonly referred to as a “Trojan”. Even while I was at Apple, I never knew anyone who had been affected by a virus like this, and I saw a lot of Macs.

When these viruses do appear, Apple squashes them immediately. Maybe you opened an email, maybe you went to the “wrong” website – but these types of viruses generally don’t exist for Macs, although there have been exceptions. When people think “computer virus”, they typically think of a malicious program working itself into your computer without your knowledge. The long and short of it is: Yes, Macs can get viruses, but you don’t need virus protection! That being said, when you’re seeing the pinwheel of doom and your computer is slow as dirt, there’s definitely something wrong. I’m going to walk you through a few simple steps to help you discover what’s slowing down your Mac and then get you on the right track for getting it fixed. (The Really Big Hammer – pretty much a guaranteed fix, but it can be a big hassle.) Erase your Mac, set it up as new, and then manually transferring back your personal data, documents, music, photos, etc.Erase your Mac and restore from a Time Machine backup (The Big Hammer – works some of the time by reloading your system’s core files, but issues can remain.).

Macdown choppy typing