Can I/How do I get rid of a virus that a Divx download (I think) infected my MacBook Pro with?

Question

I downloaded some version of a Divx player. Shortly after that I began receiving multiple pop-ups from both browsers - Google Crome and Safari. This happens every time I click on something to go to a new page. My shockwave has been crashing and any video I watch lags behind. There are also little video ads on most sites I go to that I know are not sponsored by the site. I've tried to delete/uninstall everything relating to Divx, but no such luck. Maybe I locating the right file to delete. I would like to find a way of getting rid of this first before I have to restore the MacBook Pro to factory condition. Any HELP would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Answer 1

You installed the "DownLite" trojan, perhaps under a different name. Remove it as follows.
Malware is constantly changing to get around the defenses against it. The instructions in this comment are valid as of now, as far as I know. They won't necessarily be valid in the future. Anyone finding this comment a few days or more after it was posted should look for more recent discussions or start a new one.
Back up all data.
Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:
/Library/LaunchAgents/com.vsearch.agent.plist
Right-click or control-click the line and select
          Services ▹ Reveal in Finder (or just Reveal)
from the contextual menu.* A folder should open with an item named "VSearch" selected. Drag the selected item to the Trash. You may be prompted for your administrator login password.
Repeat with each of these lines:
/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.vsearch.daemon.plist
/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.vsearch.helper.plist
/Library/LaunchDaemons/Jack.plist
Restart the computer and empty the Trash. Then delete the following items in the same way:
/Library/Application Support/VSearch
/Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/Jack
/System/Library/Frameworks/VSearch.framework
~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ConduitNPAPIPlugin.plugin
Some of these items may be absent, in which case you'll get a message that the file can't be found. Skip that item and go on to the next one.
From the Safari menu bar, select
          Safari ▹ Preferences... ▹ Extensions
Uninstall any extensions you don't know you need, including any that have the word "Spigot" or "Conduit" in the description. If in doubt, uninstall all extensions. Do the equivalent for the Firefox and Chrome browsers, if you use either of those.
This trojan is distributed on illegal websites that traffic in pirated movies. If you, or anyone else who uses the computer, visit such sites and follow prompts to install software, you can expect much worse to happen in the future.
You may be wondering why you didn't get a warning from Gatekeeper about installing software from an unknown developer, as you should have. The reason is that the DownLite developer has a codesigning certificate issued by Apple, which causes Gatekeeper to give the installer a pass. Apple could revoke the certificate, but as of this writing, has not done so, even though it's aware of the problem. This failure of oversight is inexcusable and has compromised both Gatekeeper and the Developer ID program. You can't rely on Gatekeeper alone to protect you from harmful software.
*If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination  command-C. In the Finder, select
          Go ▹ Go to Folder...
from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. You won't see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.