A new malware app is making its rounds amongst Mac users. It goes under the names: Mac Protector, Mac Defender, Mac Security and people are accidentally downloading it and running it.
It’s not a ‘virus’ but more like a trojan horse.
The app pretends to be an anti-virus application (hey someone gave us a gift from the Gods), but spews out phony virus warnings saying your Mac is infected and makes your web browser display pop-up windows with gay porn and other stuff (awwh, it’s not a gift, it’s a bunch of soldiers running out of a wooden horse to hurt us).
The app ask you to pay them $70 so they can fix your computer from all these nasty bugs it found. It’s like extortion money by the mafia, you pay us protection money and your business won’t burn down to the ground by all the rampant arsonists out there.
Don’t pay the money to the dirtbag software company!
Here’s a link to instructions on how to get rid of the malware:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/remove-mac-protector
Here’s an article on BoingBoing about it with three suggestions for REAL anti-virus/malware protection:
http://www.boingboing.net/2011/05/10/beware-mac-defender.html
My friend who had her computer infected got the malware from visiting MSNBC. Even BoingBoing seems to think it was somehow pushed out by some deviously configured ad or twitter link on MSNBC.
If you’re running the Google Chrome browser it apparently is pushing out some warning about the malware threat so heed the warnings.
And as always, surf the internet responsibly. If you don’t know what a file on your computer is throw it in the trash instead of running it. It could be a big wooden horse from the Gods.