Since 1997, Intego has been providing some of the best security software for the Mac, including antivirus, firewall and backup programs. Using its expertise, the company has now created an app for iOS devices that aims to prevent the spread of malware through your email attachments. Don’t scoff.
Apple may be preparing to nuke Mac Defender from orbit in the next Snow Leopard update, but not only is the malware still a very real threat… Mac Defender now mutated into an even bigger danger than it was before.
A new malware threat called ‘MACDefender’ is targeting Mac OS X users browsing the web using Apple’s Safari browser. The software automatically downloads a file through JavaScript, but users must first agree to install the software, making the potential threat a low risk to careful users.
The malicious software was highlighted on Monday by Intego – the company behind the VirusBarrier X6 antivirus software for Mac – after Apple Support Community users started reporting the threat. Intego say the software prompts users to download a compressed ZIP archive after clicking on a dodgy link in their search engines. The file is then decompressed and begins installing MACDefender on the system.
This just in: two security companies who make their money selling anti-malware software and/or consultancy services for the Mac platform say that two new Trojans are in the OS X wild. Luckily, though, you’re only really at risk if you’re not thinking too hard about what you’re doing on your machine.