Mac Defender. Threat to Apple users

Mac users are not really worried about malware, right? This has been the case for many years, although this topic has always been raised during the debates of Apple and information security experts. Experts predicted an increase in the number of malicious programs in parallel with an increase in Apple’s share of the personal computer market.

Judging by the new data, this is already happening. ZDNet blogger Ed Bott reported on Wednesday that the malicious application is called Mac Defender (variations are possible with minor differences). And it has already suffered more users than previously thought.

Bott paid two posts to this topic. The first is a transcript of an interview with a representative of AppleCare, who claimed that "many, many people" were attacked by the virus. The source claims that the number of support calls exceeded the norm by 4-5 times, and most of the calls are related to Mac Defender.
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In the second post, Ed included several user complaints from the support forum.

- I found more than two hundred topics on the forum from those people who installed this software for themselves, and now they are desperately trying to remove it.

Mac Defender is a pseudo-antivirus aimed at Mac users. As with most similar programs, beginners become its primary goal.

Its creators actively used SEO to place websites with the program on the first positions in the list of search results. Unsuspecting users click on the links and go to third-party sites, where JavaScript automatically loads the file. When you open the file, the installation window appears.



Intego qualified MAC Defender as a “low-risk virus”, as it exists, but is still not widespread. However, the information gathered by Bott makes it possible to believe that many users have already become victims of the virus.

More disturbing is the fact that under the terms of the User Agreement, AppleCare does not assist in the removal of malware. Most of the employees do this, with the tacit consent of the immediate supervisors, but if they are caught in this occupation, they may even face dismissal.

A simple solution for Mac users will be installing antivirus. This antivirus.
And if security threats grow, it is quite expected that Apple will add anti-virus protection to Mac.

UPD 1.

How to remove this thing if you have already managed to install it.

Use Activity Monitor (Applications> Utilities) to disable everything associated with MacDefender. Then make sure that no references to the application are left in Library / StartupItems, LaunchAgents and LaunchDaemons. After that, move the MacDefender from the Applications to the Trash and empty it. Use Spotlight to find and remove all traces of the application.

For prevention, Intego recommends its own antivirus (still).
But all you really need is common sense.

Uncheck “Open after Download” in Safari and never, ever install “antiviruses” from unfamiliar sites, regardless of how many viruses they allegedly find on your computer.

UPD 2

What the program will do on your computer.

The application will from time to time show pop-up warnings that your computer is allegedly infected with a bunch of viruses, plus for the plausibility of this, porn sites will periodically open in the browser ( in the sense of themselves ).



A frightened user, according to the calculations of intruders, will be forced to buy the full version of MacDefender`a. Under the terms of the free, you can not remove viruses found.



After transferring money and entering a key, pop-up windows with fake warnings disappear. But the money and these credit cards remain in the hands of the creators of the program.