No one is immune to malware, and, though Apple users have been largely ignored by the bad guys, malware targeted at Apple machines is on the rise. Last year’s Flashback trojan, for instance, made users think twice about security. If you are (or suspect you have been) infected with malware, here are some tips on how to clean up your system and keep it from happening again.

Anti-Malware Solutions
It’s difficult to say definitively how to beat malware on a Macintosh. Apple purists, and even some Genius Bar folks, will straight-up tell you that antivirus does more harm than good on an Apple computer. They cite the usual complaints of resource hogging, and not preventing zero-day attacks. We don’t test Mac security software at the moment, so we can’t comment on that.

But if you know, or at least suspect, that something is amiss, AV software might at least help you identify the problem. On the Mac forums, many users point to ClamXav as a good resource. This is an open-source AV engine that detects both Windows and Mac threats, and can be quickly fired up in times of crisis.

avast! is another free Mac option, which has received praise from users for its ease of use and continuous protection. However, I’ve found its real-time protection unnecessary, as you end up running full-system scans to deal with problems anyway. This might be a good utility to keep around, or download as needed.

If neither of these suits your needs, we have a list of 12 antivirus apps to help treat what ails your Mac.

Knowledge is a Weapon
If you think, or you know, you’ve been infected with malware, odds are you aren’t the only one. Some smart Googling may connect you with critical information and updates that can solve the problem. If your Mac is unusable, or untrustworthy, use your phone or a friend’s computer.

Alternatively, if your computer has become too unstable to use, you can access Apple’s support website from your Mac’s recovery partition. Simply reboot, and hold command (aka: the Apple Key) + R, and your computer will boot from its recovery partition(Opens in a new window). Click on the Safari icon, and you’ll be able to browse Apple’s help articles. The site is notoriously hard to search, but stick with it and you might find something useful.

Kill It With Fire
Some users find the use of AV software to be distasteful for whatever reason, and prefer more of a scorched Earth policy to solve their problems. While Apple provides several tools to let you blast your machine and start over, bear in mind that doing so can lead to its own problems–not the least of which is restoring your documents and apps.

If you create backups with Apple’s Time Machine utility, you can roll back your machine to before the point of infection. To do so, boot into the OS X recovery partition. From here you can click on the Time Machine option to restore your system to before the infection occurred.

Go Nuclear
If you’re not sure when you were hit, or you just want to be certain you clean up all of the nastiness, you can completely wipe your hard drive, re-install the OS, and recover files from your Time Machine backup(Opens in a new window). This is a true “nuclear option,” and is a last resort when everything else has failed or your system has been severely damaged.

From the recovery partition, Select Disk Utility, then click your hard disk, and click the erase tab, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled), then click Erase.

After it’s done, quit Disk Utility and click on the OS re-install option in the recovery menu. Your computer will connect to the Internet and download the latest full version of the OS. Once you begin setting up the new OS, you’ll be given the option to restore from Time Machine again. Be careful which option you choose. It might be prudent to only restore user profiles and files, but leave out applications.

All applications purchased through the App Store can be downloaded again, for free, once your system is set up. If you purchased or registered paid software online, look through your email for an activation code, or contact the vendor directly.

Be Smart
Once you’ve got your computer sorted, don’t let this happen to you again. When Apple does release a security update, it’s critical that users install it as soon as possible. Be sure to pay attention to those update prompts! And keep all your other software up to date, too! The process is so simple on the Mac that you really have no excuse for not doing so.

If you decide to install AV software, tweak its settings so that it works for you. If it doesn’t perform automatic system scans by default, be sure you run it occasionally, just to keep things tidy. And take full advantage of your Mac’s built-in defenses.

More than malware, many Mac users will face adware—such as toolbars that are surreptitiously installed onto browsers. Be aware of what you’re installing, and be read the information provided by install wizards carefully. Options to install extraneous software are often pre-checked. Make sure you don’t become a victim of lazy reading.

The attacks you’re most likely to face are social ones, such as phishing emails, or malicious links sent to you by a hacked account or a nefarious bot. If something looks suspicious, it probably is; think before you click, and if someone you know sends you something suspicious contact them just to be sure.

Got a Mac attack horror story? Share it—and your solution—in the comments.