New Malware Threat for Apple Mac Users

A new malware program has been able to bypass Apple’s much-lauded security.

An e-mail phishing campaign has been created to target Apple Mac users directly. Checkpoint, who discovered this, have found that the e-mails are being sent with seemingly legitimate Apple Mac certifications. With the certifications being fake, there are of course always those who will fall victim to this.

Yes, but Apple is still better at Virus protection than PC because blah blah blah…

Yes, Apple Mac is better at stopping virus’, trojans and worms than a PC. We have not ever debated this. What is clear is that Apple’s excellent anti-virus software has never been immune to attacks. With such complacency, it is easy to understand how such an attack can be so effective.

So what does this Malware do?

The malware will provide a false report saying that an update is necessary. From this update, it will log your user details. It will then use this to spy on your internet usage and keystrokes deliberately. A keystroke logger can be highly dangerous. For example, if you visit a website and input your e-mail address, what comes next is almost certainly going to be a password. The Malware can also actually become a ‘middle man’ to all of your internet traffic. While not as apparently brutal as ransom-ware, this still proposes a very real and significant threat to your data.

Example of the Malware

As we have already said above, Apple does have an excellent reputation for the protection it offers its users. There is the caveat that with significantly fewer owners of a Mac than a PC, they are a less tempting target. This new Malware virus should, however, provide a needed wake-up call to its users that while the walls are high, they have occasionally been scaled.