Several macOS users who upgraded to macOS Catalina are getting various malware popup messages saying, for example:
- “helpermcp” will damage your computer. You should move it to the Bin”.
- “FreeForms-807968” will damage your computer. You should move it to the Trash.
- “hlpradc” will damage your computer. You should move it to the Trash.
- “Mchlpr” will damage your computer. You should move it to the Bin.
- “spchlpr” will damage your computer. You should move it to the Bin.
You are probably seeing any one of them because you previously installed some fake “utility” apps like “Advanced Mac Cleaner”, “Photo Cleaner”, “Mac Cleanup Pro” and/or “AdwareCleaner.” or something similar. This is malware which is malicious software. If you have any of these programs, uninstall them. This is a known scam targeting Mac users.
It is probably that these files were on your computer and you started seeing any of these popups after you upgraded to macOS Catalina because, during your Catalina upgrade process, all of your files were checked and macOS labeled them as dangerous.
We previously write an article about how you can prevent viruses and other malware on your Mac. Please read this article also.
See also: Mac: Your System Is Infected With (3) Viruses
If you are having this problem too, here is what you can do to resolve:
Let’s first try to find this and then remove it. Open Finder and enter helpermcp or FreeForms-807968 or hlpradc or Mchlpr or spchlp in the search box and hit enter. Then move the results to the Trash in the Dock and them empty the Trash. But this may not resolve your problem because it may sometime become really difficult to remove malware. Users have reported that they are unable to drag them to the Trash.
Also, restart your Mac by going to the Apple menu > Restart. Restarting may remove some malware but I am not sure this will work also.
Furthermore, deleting this may not fully work. You need to completely remove everything otherwise it may reinstall itself again. Download and run the free version of Malwarebytes. This should remove this. You can simply visit this link to download and install this software and then scan your computer.
See also: How To Protect Your Mac
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