osx Archives - Poindexter Solutions

Aug 03

if you boot your macbook or imac and see this error, we can help

Let’s Solve Apple’s “Folder with a Question Mark” Mystery!

By Lee Brandt | Helpful Guide | 2 Comments

We’ve heard this scenario time and again, from students, nurses, and lawyers alike: “I woke up, powered on my Macbook (or whatever), left to grab a cup of coffee, and came back to this. What even is this? I rebooted and rebooted, and nothing changed. Just this. This folder with a question mark”.

If you’re a long-time Apple Macbook user and never suffered this frustrating and confusing boot error, consider yourself lucky. Apple minimalism run amok, this error can occur shortly after you power on a Macbook or iMac computer, and says so very little about what the problem could be.

This doozy of any error generically means that your operating system, OSX – the software responsible for making your computer do all the computer things – can’t be found by the firmware. Firmware is like a mini-operating system, responsible for super basic things, like accepting electrical power, finding the hard drive, then figuring out where OSX is installed and getting that booted up. If the firmware can’t find OSX, it panics and produces this tortuously imprecise mystery screen.

Don’t panic. It’s fixable.

At its most basic, this error means the computer can’t find your operating system, OSX. This could be a few things:

There’s a mechanical problem with the hard drive and it needs to be replaced.
There’s a software problem with the hard drive and it needs to be repaired.
There’s a software problem with OSX and it needs to be repaired.

Is the hard drive okay?

OSX Yosemite Disc Utility To understand out what kind of problem we’ve got, let’s see if the computer can tell us if there’s a hard drive installed. If the computer can see that there is a hard drive, we’re in better shape. This step requires that we access the Macbook’s special recovery area.

This is the OSX recovery screen, necessary for trouble shooting the question mark mystery folder.

When you first power on the computer, but after you hear that happy chime sound, press and hold Command and the R-key. Keep holding both until you see either a world globe or the Apple logo. Eventually, you’ll arrive at the Recovery screen, with Utilities menu listed along the top most edge. Click that, then select Disk Utility.

Disk Utility will open up and show a list of available hard drives on the left side. Or, rather, we hope it does. If you don’t see your Startup disk (probably called Macintosh HD), there’s some kind of mechanical issue with your hard drive. It might have malfunctioned and needs to be replaced. Or, it slipped out of its cozy slot and needs to be reseated. It might also be a malfunctioning drive cable, which is pretty common and inexpensive to fix. Unfortunately, all of these problems require opening up the insides of your Macbook or iMac. If this sounds like too much, give Poindexter a call right away (908-991-NERD).

If you see a hard drive listed, you’re in luck. This usually means that the issue is software related. There could still be something funny going on under the hood, however, so don’t celebrate just yet. We need to repair the disk first.

Go ahead and select the disk from the left, then click on the First Aid tab towards the top. Near the bottom right, you’ll see two buttons: Verify Disk and Repair Disk. Click on Repair Disk and let your Apple computer crunch away for awhile. Depending on the severity of your problem, this can take a few hours. Sometimes, it’s done in less. And so we wait.

If Disk Utility finished successfully, restart you computer. With some luck, you’ll arrive at your login screen and everything will be normal. If it failed, well, it could still be a hardware problem or an even murkier software fault.

At this point, we recommend consulting with a pro about your Macbook or iMac, in case you need to backup your data and reinstall your operating system from scratch. It’s possible, too, that the hard drive will need to be replaced. Poindexter’s first priority is to backup your data to avoid any catastrophe.

Don’t risk your data. Call Poindexter for help.

If your device is outside of Apple’s warranty, Apple’s Genius Bar services will all be paid out of pocket, resulting in hundreds of dollars lost. Repairing out of warranty Apple products is crazy expensive, unless you bring it to Poindexter. We can fix your hard drive problem without breaking the bank. Promise.

Nov 06

apple owners beware, wirelurker can contaminate your apple product

Beware Wirelurker, a New Generation in Apple Malware

By Lee Brandt | Uncategorized | No Comments

For a long time, Apple products have benefited from being unpopular. When compared to their Windows PC counterparts, iMacs and Macbooks make up only a sliver of global computers (~4%). It makes sense, then, that Windows computers are the target of hackers far more frequently, requiring Windows users to use round-the-clock antivirus solutions. Unfortunately, as Apple products become more popular, this “security through obscurity” approach is showing some cracks. Sure, both OSX and iOS have baked-in features that might make them more secure than Windows, but no computer security holds up for long against enterprising minds when there’s money to be made.

Enter Wirelurker. As reported today by PaloAlto Networks, Wirelurker is a nasty piece of malware currently targeting Chinese Apple users. Wirelurker will find its way into OSX if the user downloads infected software or, more worryingly, if the user plugs in an infected USB drive. More worryingly, Wirelurker can infect an iPhone if it gets plugged into an infected computer, allowing that iPhone to infect other computers it comes in contact with.

For American Apple users, those no immediate threat since the source vector is restricted to Chinese users. Chinese OSX and iOS users are at risk because they commonly “sideload” software onto their Apple products using a Chinese specific AppStore, the Maiyadi App Store. According to PaloAlto, Wirelurker has infected 467 Apps on the Maiyadi App Store and these Apps have been downloaded more than 356,000 times. Wirelurker can even infect through counterfeit mag-safe chargers. With a disease that can spread this easily, global users are at risk of infection. Wirelurker won’t rest in China for long.

Wirelurker is the first of its kind in a number of alarming ways. It’s the first to “trojanize” downloadable applications by replacing their binaries with an infected version. It’s the first to infect already installed, previously safe applications. And it’s the first malware that can install 3rd party applications on non-jailbroken devices. Once infected, Wirelurker can potentially read your sensitive data, including contacts. Not one to rest on its laurels, Wirelurker is regularly uses your internet connection to send data to its motherbase, as well as receive code updates. Yikes.

This is the largest scale infection every reported by PaloAlto Networks. Although the virus has infected hundreds of thousands of users, pumping constant data to the developer’s, their end game is still unknown. The infectivity of WireLurker is unparalleled and, although Chinese users are the primary target, it’s hard to imagine it staying that contained for long.

To try to protect yourself from Wirelurker and other emerging OSX threats, there are a few simple things you can do:

Use an antivirus and keep it up to date.
Do not download applications from 3rd party sources.
Only get your goodies from the AppStore.
Keep iOS (for portables) and OSX (for Macbooks and iMacs) up to date.
Do not pair your device with untrusted networks or unknown accessories.
Do not jailbreak your iOS device. If you do jailbreak, research before you install anything.

If your Apple product already has malware, is running sluggishly, or needs to be updated schedule an in-home visit with Poindexter. Don’t leave your prized Apple product to the wolves – call or s chedule a professional consultation today!