"Illegal" programs on a Mac laptop

[moonjiver]

I have a conundrum, hoping someone is able to shed light on it.

 

One of my friends knows someone who has an Apple Mac laptop, not recent, which is used mainly for typing and other basics, also some photo-editing.

 

Apparently the laptop cannot be connected to the internet because "it has some illegal programs on it". Sounds bad! I don't have reason to think there is anything terrible on there - even so, it sounds very odd and I'm not sure the laptop owner is being straightforward about it.

 

I don't know whether the programs were once downloaded from somewhere, or maybe copied from another computer (possibly without licences?). But even if that were so, would such "illegal" programs actually prevent the laptop from functioning properly on broadband (maybe security software would detect things)? Or maybe they would interfere with other newer programs one might wish to install onto the laptop?

 

I don't understand the technology enough to know the truth of the matter, but I wonder if it makes sense to someone else?

[Teety]

This is most likely a scam. The same happened to my cousin regarding illegal downloads. He had to reset his computer. I suggest you maybe call up your ISP? This is, however, unlikely.

[moonjiver]

Thanks very much. The same comment was made elsewhere by someone, which leads me to think that the "illegal programs" were some kind of risky download. I gather that there are actually straightforward fixes, and anyway surely the programs could just be uninstalled if they are causing problems?

 

Sorry for my limited amount of info. It mostly boils down to an issue of trust - I wonder what sort of illegal downloads my friend's "friend" has got on his laptop and why he is being so cagey about the situation!

[KenB]

One of my friends knows someone ...... I'm not sure the laptop owner is being straightforward about it.

This is an odd post.

A friend of a friend ??

Owner not telling the truth

I have to ask why you are posting ?

 

Please ask the friend of your friend to post so that we can get the full story.

[moonjiver]

Yes, it is an odd post, I'm sorry! The reason I'm checking this out is because my friend's friend was supposed to be helping me towards choosing a new PC, "knew a lot about it". But now I'm in quite a suspicious mood, don't think I'll trust the guy!

 

So far, people largely are suggesting that the laptop may have ransomware or malware on it, or possibly pirated software. But the original statement made to me that it "prevented access to the internet" has been dismissed by one of my friends as baloney!

 

Thanks for the comments. I'll try to get more precise info about what exactly is on the laptop.

[KenB]

It is unlikely that illegal software will prevent internet access.

It is more likely to be something else.

[moonjiver]

Sorry for my delay.

 

The owner of the laptop stated, as if it were a fact, that he could not connect to the internet "because of illegal programs on there".

 

Clearly he either didn't understand the technology properly or was giving me a bit of ******** about what is really the matter with his Mac.

 

Either way, he doesn't come over to me as trustworthy nor his knowledge of computers. (BTW, I've now managed to get some very good honest advice about buying a computer from other sources!).

[moonjiver]

And thanks to all for the illuminating comments.