Computers How to protect your Mac from recent malware. Recently OS X users have been targeted by sophisticated scams via the Web and through downloadable Trojan malware. This malware typically slows down the system and makes the fans run constantly in order to compensate the high processor usage. The MSHelper macOS malware was spread by a malicious Adobe Flash Installer Link. Luckily, Affected users can remove this malware followingly. How to Check the Presence of MShelper on Mac – #1.
Who says Macs don’t get viruses?
If you think Windows is a virus magnet, the claim that Macs are completely immune to viruses is false. They may be less frequent and common than the Windows variety, but they do exist.
But you’re not helpless against the malware onslaught. There are plenty of ways to improve your level of protection. And if you are the few unlucky ones whose Macs are unwittingly affected by annoying and dangerous viruses, then you have come to the right place. This blog can help you remove viruses from your Mac.
What is Malware?
The term “malware” is a shortcut term for malicious software and it comes in different forms. An example of malware is Ransomware. This type of malware doesn’t attempt to get into your machine without your knowledge like a virus does, but rather targets computers to encrypt or prevent access to victim’s files, thereby causing real damage. Once infected, victims must pay a ransom to a cybercriminal to regain access to those files. This type of malware is not only annoying, but ransoms can run as high $700 (or more).
Another form of malware is adware. Adware is installed when you click on a normal-looking advertisement (on a website or when you receive an email) and it installs the malware on your computer. Once you install it, it can gather information about you including your banking details. One of the most troublesome aspects of this type of malware is that it often disguises itself as a cleaning app or antivirus app that you normally expect to get rid of malware on your Mac.
What can you do if your MacOS computer is infected by adware?
The most important point you need to remember is that you should never pay the money to remove the malware. You shouldtry the following steps:
1. Close the web browser immediately. A combination of Command and Q keys are a convenient way for you to close the web browser when your Mac has infected by malware.
2. Go to Finder to uninstall all the unrecognized apps and drag the files and folders into the Trash. You can also completely empty the Trash after this task.
3. Open the Utility folder with the combination of Command, Shift and U keys to check whether you have unwittingly installed any malware on your Mac.
4. If you find that you have installed malware on your Mac, then first Quit the process from the Activity Monitor and then drag the app to the Trash.
How to Prevent Your Mac Against Ransomware?
1. Refrain from visiting unfamiliar and random websites.
2. Do not download files and install apps from unsecured websites.
3. Do not download attachments from spam emails.
This catastrophe shows that there is no exception either for Windows or macOS. “We suggest that users back up their files regularly, apply the latest updates for OS, and stay away from phishing websites to guarantee their cyber security,” warns the Dr. Mac research team.
Antivirus software is capable of detecting and removing malware. Of course, with antivirus software, the same principle applies: download antivirus apps only from reputable vendors.
For example, Dr. Antivirus on the Mac App Store is a trustworthy software application that prevents malware from infecting macOS computers. Trend Micro’s Dr. Antivirus and spyware active-monitoring laboratory is the largest of its kind in the world and it is equipped with advanced malware patterns for detection and removal of threats.
This software also prevents Mac users from browsing phishing websites to guarantee their information security with the help of the Web Threat Protection extension for your web browser.
Security consciousness is much more important than preventive measures. Hence, we strongly recommend every Mac user to scan your Mac with Dr. Antivirus to keep your Mac safe from security threats.
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Malware on Apple's MacBook and iMac lines is more prevalent than some users realize; it can even hide in Apple's curated Mac App Store. But the relatively strong defenses of macOS make it challenging for malware authors to persist long-term on Apple computers, even if they can get an initial foothold. Additionally, the avenues available for lurking on macOS are so well known at this point that technicians and malware scanners can flag them quickly. That's why more subtle approaches are significant.
At the Virus Bulletin security conference in Montreal on Wednesday, Mac security researcher Thomas Reed is presenting one such potentially dangerous opening. When you launch an app installer in macOS, a program called Gatekeeper checks to see whether the app originated from the Mac App Store, or is cryptographically signed by a developer who has registered with Apple. All legitimate programs have to be 'code signed' to establish their validity and integrity. By checking a file's code signature, Gatekeeper can warn you if a program is malware or if someone has tampered with an otherwise benign installer.
These code signature checks are a vital security step. But Reed, who is the director of Mac and mobile platforms at the security firm Malwarebytes, has noticed that once a program passes a code signature check and gets installed, macOS never rechecks its signature. This means that attackers who buy a legitimate certificate from Apple—or steal one—can potentially trick Mac users into installing their malware. And if it manages to infect other legitimate programs after being downloaded, it could evade detection indefinitely.
'Once you have opened an app, you will never get a code signature check ever again on macOS,' Reed says. 'So even if it has been maliciously modified or damaged and the code signature is invalid, the OS will not check it again. That provides a big open window for malware persistence. If the malware can infect some of your apps that are already on disk then it can get in there and stay hidden—you’ll never think to look for it there and it can run in the background without you being any the wiser.'
'A script kiddie could pull off something like this.'
Thomas Reed, Malwarebytes
In some cases, updating an application might trigger a code check or write over any malicious manipulations, but Reed says this isn't reliable, since many developers only build in a code signature check for the update code and not the base application itself. Reed says that developers could help reduce the potential exposure by building in voluntary periodic code signature checks throughout the life of an app. As a result of this research, Reed himself added code signature verification to Malwarebytes Mac products so they now perform a check every time they launch. 'It's doable,' he says. 'It's an extra step, but it's not that resource intensive.'
Though some other applications have this feature, Reed says it's still very rare. Apple could also adjust macOS to more regularly check code signing, but the company did not return a request from WIRED for comment on whether it has any plans to consider the change.
Reed says the issue has been present since OS X Leopard, released in 2007. He notes, though, that advances in how macOS handles permissions and secures different operating system layers could actually help make it easier for Apple to implement code signing validation. The company could cut down on the total number of checks the operating system has to do, for instance, by skipping the system processes that are unalterable even with root access to the device.
Reed hasn't seen any malware that capitalizes on the opening so far, which he views as an opportunity to raise awareness now about the need for voluntary code checks. As part of his research, Reed tested how difficult it would be to write malware that manipulates other programs to hide inside them; all it took was combining a few development tools he found online.
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'Nobody had connected the dots as far as I could see, but it’s pretty easy. The fact that I was able to do it in a few hours means that a script kiddie could pull off something like this,' he says. 'And it’s not that there’s a vulnerability in those apps, it’s just that if they’re not doing code signature checks, which most apps don’t, then you can slip your code in there.'
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Lily Hay Newman is a staff writer at WIRED focused on information security, digital privacy, and hacking. She previously worked as a technology reporter at Slate magazine and was the staff writer for Future Tense, a publication and project of Slate, the New America Foundation, and Arizona State University. Additionally... Read more