Malware Warning

[chrisawyer]

I restarted my 2013 iMac after a major thunderstorm passed, and suddenly received a number of malware warnings. (The computer is almost always on otherwise.) They say: 1) "ProductimprovementStudy.hptask will damage your computer," and 2) "HPDeviceMoitoring.framework will damage your computer." They include the yellow triangle with an exclamation point, a checked box to "Report malware to Apple to protect other users," and both and "OK" and "Show in Finder" button. Clicking on "Show in Finder" will show the location of the file in the HP folder(s), while clicking on "OK" temporarily closes the dialog box before it almost immediately returns. Can I trash these files or otherwise deactivate them, and will this affect my ability to print, scan, etc.? They are extremely annoying, especially as they did not appear before today's restart, and do not show up on a scan for malware.

[Dave332]

I have a new (2 months) HP printer with an insta Ink account

HP monitoring framework malware started showing tonight.

[SalMancino]

I too am experiencing this with an HP Envoy 7858.  The problem is all over the internet.  I tried 3 fixes and none worked. I believe this is absolutely an HP issue. I was ready to buy a new printer but you cannot even uninstall the software. We are trapped.  Any updates anyone?

[SalMancino]

Hi.  I just posted myself. This has nothing to do with the storm. This is a major issue that HP needs to resolve ASAP.  I cannot even uninstall the software to purchase a new one. We are all paralyzed.

[chrisawyer]

Unlike many I still can print, scan, etc. as I did not delete any of the HP files. Which also means I am still stuck with the malware onscreen warning, though I have this shoved as far to one side of the screen as possible. On a lark, I downloaded the HP Smart app to my dock, and have been able to print and scan without trouble since. (I still have the onscreen malware warning, however.) This is a bit of a surprise since, for most of the time I have owned this HP printer, I have had to scan through the Preview app. Doing it the HP way, except at the very beginning, caused the scanner to download separate scans of a document -- header, footer, body, etc. -- instead of a single scan. Seemingly, HP Smart has fixed that, and -- for the first time in a long time -- I can e-mail a scan directly from the scanner through the Mail app. Now, if only I could get the darn malware warning to disappear...

[chrisawyer]

Okay, here we are in November, and most of the warnings have gone away with a download of the firmware update, and the new drivers. Most. The warning, "HPDM.framework will damage your computer" remains. Interestingly, the download was not smooth. It would hang up incessantly, but clicking the "OK" box on the warnings as they came up finally shook loose the installer program. And it happened for both the firmware and driver updates, as well as for the download of HPStart. E-x-a-s-p-e-r-a-t-i-n-g! Whyt he other warnings went away but this one didn't (even after multiple restarts) is beyond me.