User level: Level 1 (4 points)My MacBook Pros acting funny. Is there a way to run a virus scan?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Original Title: MacBook Pro possible virus
Posted on Oct 18, 2026 4:20 PM
User level: Level 10 (169,253 points)Oct 18, 2026 4:41 PM in response to mcculley373
Remove the VPN, restart, and test again. Remove the VPN app entirely, as disabling VPN apps isn't always reliable.
Outside of cases involving geo-shifting and CDN testing and such, "pinky promise" VPNs badly solve a problem that hasn't existed for a decade or more, but badly solve it in a way nearly perfect for personally-identified data and metadata collection.
Your use of "virus" implies there might also be other potentially-problematic add-on security apps, VPN apps, cleaner apps, or such. Best remove those to test, too.
User level: Level 10 (169,253 points)Oct 18, 2026 4:57 PM in response to mcculley373
PS: macOS includes built-in anti-malware and related detection and scanning and blocking, as well as implementation details such as a read-only file system used for storing macOS itself.
User level: Level 10 (169,253 points)Oct 18, 2026 4:21 PM in response to mcculley373
Please provide some background, and please describe the symptoms of "acting funny" you are encountering.
User level: Level 1 (4 points)Oct 18, 2026 4:27 PM in response to MrHoffman
My laptop will freeze or slow down. I can refresh to get it going. Running Golden Gate 27.0.1. Chip M5, Memory 16GB. I do use Nord VPN.
User level: Level 1 (4 points)Oct 18, 2026 4:47 PM in response to MrHoffman
Thank you
Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256378619