Mac Defender Variant Bypassed OS X Anti-Malware Software Within Hours

When we talk of cat-and-mouse within the context of Apple, we’re usually talking about Apple vs. jailbreakers, but it seems there’s a new mouse in town: Mac Defender.

Less than a day after Apple released a new security update nuking Mac Defender from orbit, a new variant has appeared that skirts around the protections of the update.

Read the rest of this post »

In Nuking Mac Defender, Apple Intros Self-Updating Anti-Malware Database To OS X

Apple has finally stepped in to squash MacDefender, the malware that has exploded on users’ machines over the last few weeks. Fulfilling their promise to nuke MacDefender from orbit, Apple has just released Mac Security Update 2011-003.

There’s more in that update than just a MacDefender nuke, though. For the first time ever, it introduces self-updating antimalware software to the Mac.

Read the rest of this post »

Mac Defender Malware Mutates: It Can Now Infect Your Mac Without An Administrator Password

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.

Read the rest of this post »

Apple: We’re Nuking Mac Defender From Orbit. It’s The Only Way To Be Sure.

In a contentious move, Apple has been telling its official support reps not to remove the Mac Defender malware from users’ machines. Now that policy is starting to make more sense: Apple doesn’t want support reps removing the malware from Macs because they’re releasing a software update that kills Mac Defender automatically.

Read the rest of this post »

Antivirus Software Within Apple Is Mandatory, But Should It Be On Your Mac? [Update]

Do you need antivirus or antimalware software on your Mac? Although Apple’s sales staff are quick to hype up the relative security of a Mac compared to a Windows PC, internally, they aren’t so confident. According to an Apple Store Genius speaking to Ars Technica, “Mac Defender has changed everything.”

Read the rest of this post »