How to remove Apple Security Alert scam: step-by-step fix for Safari, Chrome, and Firefox [2026]

Apple reported that mercenary spyware attacks have been sent to users in over 150 countries over the past 5 years. One such attack is a tech-support scam known as Apple Security Alert. Keep on reading, and you’ll learn what it is, what its signs are, and, more importantly, how to get rid of Apple Security Alert scam and other malware. Let’s dive in!

What is Apple Security Alert?

Apple Security Alert is a fake pop-up that is sent by a potentially unwanted application installed on your Mac. This deceptive pop-up tells you your computer has been compromised or hacked. Then, it gives you a phone number to call to fix this issue. The problem is when you call the number, you’re connected with a bad actor who will charge you money to “get rid of the virus.” But as they’re removing the virus, the technician will pretend to find other issues and charge you more money.

Signs of Apple Security Alert scam virus

The first obvious sign of having your Mac infected with the Apple Security Alert scam virus is seeing a pop-up telling you that your Mac has been compromised or hacked. Still, there are some other signs that may indicate it, just like it happens with any different malware: 

• Pop-ups and ads. If your Mac is infected with Apple Security Alert scam, you may start seeing unwanted pop-ups when you don’t expect them. Also, a lot of intrusive ads may start appearing while you use your browsers. 
• Browser redirects. It may happen in all browsers, and these redirects are usually random. You may be taken to websites offering other suspicious products. 
• Fake emails and messages. You may start receiving fake emails from cyber criminals claiming to be Apple and stating that malware was detected on your device. They are commonly accompanied by scam calls impersonating Apple. 
• Strange requests. Your Mac or another infected device may start requesting you to download files you weren’t planning to download or to share verification codes and login data.
• Issues with your Mac. Generally, Mac performance drops or it suddenly freezes.

If you take no action, you may lose your Apple Account and other credentials, fall victim to financial loss and password leaks, and have your Mac infected with more malware. But do not trust fake support; instead, follow the steps below to get rid of the scam.  

Tip: How to stop fake virus pop-ups from getting on your Mac

Malicious notifications aren’t viruses — they’re symptoms of one that has already found its way onto your device and is now trying to trick you into downloading even more. With a dedicated cleaner, this malware gets caught and disarmed the moment it appears, before it even has a chance to reveal itself through virus notifications on your Mac.

Use CleanMyMac and its Protection feature to keep watch for adware at all times. In addition to deep scans you can perform manually, you can enable a background scan that checks for every file you interact with and immediately neutralizes nefarious ones. Try CleanMyMac for free — check out how it works for 7 days at no cost.

How to remove Apple Security Alert scam from Mac

The instructions for getting rid of the Apple Security Alerts will depend entirely on what browsers you have installed on your Mac. Even if you’re only getting these pop-ups in one specific browser, it’s still good to follow these steps for any browser you have installed. The reason is that there’s a good chance that when the malware installed itself, it did so for every browser you have. Not just the one you primarily use.

Safari

Being the browser that comes with macOS by default, you’ll want to check for any nefarious Safari extensions. Just follow these steps:

1. Open Safari.
2. Click Safari > Settings.
3. Open the Extensions tab.
4. Select anything that looks suspicious in the sidebar.
5. Then, click Uninstall. 
6. You will then be asked to open Finder and see all extensions installed for Safari. Move those you no longer need to the Trash.

Google Chrome

The steps for Chrome will be the easiest of the batch of browsers. Here’s all you need to do:

1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Go to Settings > Extensions.
3. If you see anything odd, click Remove.
4. Then, click Remove again to confirm.

Firefox

If you have Firefox installed, then you’ll want to follow these steps:

1. Open Firefox.
2. Click the menu icon (three horizontal lines) > Settings > Extensions & Themes.
3. Find any suspicious extensions.
4. Then, click … > Remove.

After you finish removing extensions from any of these browsers, it’s always a good idea to quit and reopen them. Just to make sure every bit of the malicious extensions has been removed.

Extra steps to take

By removing the extensions, you should have removed the Apple Security Alert scam, but here are a few more things to do: 

✅ Update macOS from System Settings > General > Software Update to have all the latest security patches installed.

✅ Reset your browsers. For Chrome, go to Settings > Reset settings > Restore settings to their original defaults. For Firefox, choose the main menu > Help > Troubleshoot More > Restart > Refresh Firefox. For Safari, the process is a bit more complex, so check out this guide to learn how to reset it.

✅ Check for unwanted apps in your Applications folder and remove anything that looks suspicious. 

✅ Change your passwords (use password managers to generate reliable ones) and enable 2FA for important accounts. You can check for account breach using Have I Been Pwned. 

✅ If you clicked a link and provided financial credentials to scammers, contact your bank immediately and report the situation to prevent financial loss. 

✅ Check for malicious profiles in System Settings > General > Device Management and remove anything that should not be there. Also, check for remote access tools. 

✅ Use VPN when you connect to public Wi-Fi networks and avoid visiting sketchy, unsecured websites.

Delete other malware from your Mac automatically

Maybe you’ve gotten rid of the Apple Security Alerts on your computer, but now you’re worried about other malware that could be lurking on your hard drive. That’s where CleanMyMac can give you peace of mind.

Yes, it’s an app that’s designed to optimize the speed and performance of your Mac. But it can also scan for malware and other potentially unwanted apps. Start your free CleanMyMac trial.

1. In Finder, go to your Applications folder.
2. Open CleanMyMac.
3. Go to Protection and run a scan.
4. When it’s finished scanning, remove found threats and adjust your privacy items.

That’s seriously all there is to it. It is really that easy to look for and remove any malware hiding on your computer.

Why use CleanMyMac

• Finds Mac-specific threats: on average, users remove 1 malware after the first scan
• A universal privacy protector: with the help of the Protection feature, users find and remove 20 privacy items
• The Protection scan takes 63 seconds and 5 more seconds to clean detected items

Try CleanMyMac for free — see it in action on your Mac.

Remove other unneeded files

While you’re in the mood for cleaning up your Mac, you can also use CleanMyMac to get rid of any junk files you might have. Things like system cache files, old support files for apps, or other miscellaneous temporary files. This is all you have to do:

1. Open CleanMyMac.
2. Click Cleanup > Scan.
3. Then, after the scan is over, you can click Review All Junk or Clean.

Bonus tip: How to get rid of Mac virus alert pop-ups and other virus notifications

The simplest way to stop virus notifications on your Mac is to not agree to receive any notifications from any website ever. But that’s easier said than done if you’re presented with several requests every day, and there may be some websites from which you want notifications. So, the answer is to be vigilant. Don’t agree to receive any website notifications unless you are absolutely sure where they have come from.

If you don’t want to even see requests for notifications, follow the steps below:

1. Open Safari.
2. Click the Safari menu and choose Settings.
3. Go to the Websites tab and choose Notifications.
4. At the bottom of the window, you will see a checkbox labeled ‘Allow websites to ask for permission to send notifications’. Deselect it.

While you’re in Notifications Settings in Safari, look through the list of websites that have requested permission to send you notifications. Look for a website that looks like it may be responsible for sending you the virus notifications. If you find it, select it and choose Remove. That way, even if you decide to re-enable website notifications in Safari at a later date, you won’t be able to inadvertently change Deny to Allow for that website.

If you don’t see the website that sent the virus notifications in the list in Safari settings, follow the steps below.

1. Click the Apple menu and choose Settings.
2. Select Notifications.
3. Look under Application Notifications for anything that resembles the name or address of a website.
4. If you see something that looks like it may be the site responsible for sending virus notifications, select it and toggle Allow notifications to off.

If you want to make absolutely certain that you never get notifications in Safari, go to System Settings > Notifications and click Safari. Then, set its notification permissions to off.

The first time you see the Apple Security Alert, it can be a little alarming. You’re not sure if you can trust it, but you also want to ensure you’re taking care of it if there really is a problem. But the silver lining is that now you know what to do if this happens on your Mac. And hopefully, after reading this article, you’re feeling a little more empowered to take care of it.