An app I never purchased and therefore do not have on my computer claims it needs an update.

Question

I downloaded the new Mavericks OS when it first became available on the Mac App Store.  Ever since then, I get a daily reminder from my app store saying that Angry Birds has an update.  I have never purchased this game from the Mac App Store so naturally I was confused.  I hit "update," typed in my Apple ID information and then an error pops up saying that this game has not been purchased on this Apple ID, which is correct.  My problem is that I do not know how to remove this game/update off of my update list.  It's incredibly annoying to be reminded every day about an update that isn't real.  I just want to delete it from my update list but I do not know how.
Thanks for the help!

Answer 1

You installed a hacked app, originally from the Mac App Store. It contains the receipt for a different app, downloaded using an account that you don't control. You need to identify and remove the hacked app.
Important: The app you need to remove is not necessarily the one named in the App Store alert. For example, if the App Store says you need to update "Twitter," the hacked app may be "Angry Birds," or something else entirely. Don't make any assumptions about which app you're looking for. To find it, you have to carry out a systematic search with Spotlight.
Triple-click anywhere in the line of text below on this page to select it:
kMDItemAppStoreHasReceipt=1
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.
In the Finder, press command-F to open a search window, or select
File ▹ Find
from the menu bar. In the search window, select
Search: This Mac
from the row of tokens below the toolbar. Below that is a popup menu of search criteria, initially showing Kind. From that menu, select
Other...
A sheet will drop down. In that sheet, select
Raw Query
as the criterion, then click OK or press return.
Now there will be a text box to the right of the menu of search criteria. That's where you enter the raw search query. Click in that box and paste the text you copied earlier by pressing command-V.
The search window will now show all the App Store products that are installed. Compare those search results with the list of your purchases from the App Store. To see the complete list, you may need to unhide hidden purchases. If any apps were download from the App Store using other Apple ID accounts that you control, sign in to the store under each of those ID's and check the purchases.
At least one of the apps in the search results is not among your purchases in the App Store. Move each such item to the Trash, after quitting it if it's running. You may be prompted for your administrator password. Empty the Trash.
Quit and relaunch the App Store. Test.