HELP from Expert Techies - Newbie Here

[NeedAdviseASAP]

Hi Experts: This morning I received an email demanding $2,000USD and it contained my password to my MacBook Air where I have all my sensitive documents. I obviously don't know WHO sent the email or HOW they got my password but Im looking for an expert computer techie who can secure my computer devices or advise me as to how I can secure them. Does someone like this exist? Hoping you guys can help I was told to search here in the forum as you people are "top-notch". 

[Aura]

Hi NeedAdviseASAP

My name is Aura and I'll be assisting you with your malware issue. Since we'll be working together, you can call me Aura or Yoan, which is my real name, it's up to you! Now that we've broke the ice, I'll just ask you a few things during the time we'll be working together to clean your system and get it back to an operational state.

• As you'll notice, the logs we are asking for here are quite lenghty, so it's normal for me to not reply exactly after you post them. This is because I need some time to analyse them and then act accordingly. However, I'll always reply within 24 hours, 48 hours at most if something unexpected happens
• As long as I'm assisting you on Malwarebytes Forums, in this thread, I'll ask you to not seek assistance anywhere else for any issue related to the system we are working on. If you have an issue, question, etc. about your computer, please ask it in this thread and I'll assist you
• The same principle applies to any modifications you make to your system, I would like you to ask me before you do any manipulations that aren't in the instructions I posted. This is to ensure that we are operating in sync and I know exactly what's happening on your system
• If you aren't sure about an instruction I'm giving you, ask me about it. This is to ensure that the clean-up process goes without any issue. I'll answer you and even give you more precise instructions/explanations if you need. There's no shame in asking questions here, better be safe than sorry!
• If you don't reply to your thread within 3 days, I'll bump this thread to let you know that I'm waiting for you. If you don't reply after 5 days, it'll be closed. If you return after that period, you can send me a PM to get it unlocked and we'll continue where we left off;
• Since malware can work quickly, we want to get rid of them as fast as we can, before they make unknown changes to the system. This being said, I would appreciate if you could reply to this thread within 24 hours of me posting. This way, we'll have a good clean-up rhythm and the chances of complications will be reduced
• I'm against any form of pirated, illegal and counterfeit software and material. So if you have any installed on your system, I'll ask you to uninstall them right now. You don't have to tell me if you indeed had some or not, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Plus, this would be against Malwarebytes Forums's rules
• In the end, you are the one asking for assistance here. So if you wish to go a different way during the clean-up, like format and reinstall Windows, you are free to do so. I would appreciate you to let me know about it first, and if you need, I can also assist you in the process
• I would appreciate if you were to stay with me until the end, which means, until I declare your system clean. Just because your system isn't behaving weirdly anymore, or is running better than before, it doesn't mean that the infection is completely gone
  This being said, I have a full time job so sometimes it'll take longer for me to reply to you. Don't worry, you'll be my first priority as soon as I get home and have time to look at your thread
  

This being said, it's time to clean-up some malware, so let's get started, shall we?

Can you copy/paste the content of the email you received here? You can remove your password from it obviously.

[NeedAdviseASAP]

Hi Yoan.

Thank you for your response! Is there a way to PM you so its not so public on the forum? Thank you SO much!

[Aura]

You can send me a PM, yes. Simply move your mouse over my username, and in the box that will appear, click on the "Message" button in the bottom left corner.

[treed]

There are a number of e-mail scams going around these days, and although they do contain passwords, these appear to have been collected from a database of passwords gathered from old breaches of various online systems. For more information, see:

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2018/07/sextortion-scam-uses-recipients-hacked-passwords/

The good news is that, if this is the kind of thing you saw, this is not the result of any kind of malware on your Mac.

The bad news is that, if the password included in the e-mail is a current password that you're actively using, it has definitely been compromised and is no longer safe to use. You should change your password on any device or site that is using that password. I recommend that you use a different password on every site, and do not try to make them memorable. Use a password manager, such as 1Password or LastPass, to generate random, strong passwords and then keep track of them for you.