Apple to Issue Mac OS X Update to Remove 'MacDefender' Malware
Apple has
posted a Knowledge Base article that addresses the recent MacDefender malware issue and also reveals they will be addressing it in the next few days through a software update
In the coming days, Apple will deliver a Mac OS X software update that will automatically find and remove Mac Defender malware and its known variants. The update will also help protect users by providing an explicit warning if they download this malware.
Apple describes "MacDefender" as a recent phishing scam that has targeted Mac users by redirecting them from legitimate websites to fake websites which tell them that their computer is infected with a virus. The user is then offered Mac Defender "anti-virus" software to solve the issue.
Apple also offers instructions and tips for avoiding installation of the malware and how to remove the malware. Apple had previously been criticized for not allowing their support staff from addressing the issue in retail stores.
Popular Stories
Apple today released several open source large language models (LLMs) that are designed to run on-device rather than through cloud servers. Called OpenELM (Open-source Efficient Language Models), the LLMs are available on the Hugging Face Hub, a community for sharing AI code. As outlined in a white paper [PDF], there are eight total OpenELM models, four of which were pre-trained using the...
Apple is set to unveil iOS 18 during its WWDC keynote on June 10, so the software update is a little over six weeks away from being announced. Below, we recap rumored features and changes planned for the iPhone with iOS 18. iOS 18 will reportedly be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, with new ChatGPT-inspired generative AI features, a more customizable Home Screen, and much more....
Apple has announced it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Eastern Time), with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube as usual. The event invitation has a tagline of "Let Loose" and shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Apple has dropped the number of Vision Pro units that it plans to ship in 2024, going from an expected 700 to 800k units to just 400k to 450k units, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Orders have been scaled back before the Vision Pro has launched in markets outside of the United States, which Kuo says is a sign that demand in the U.S. has "fallen sharply beyond expectations." As a...
Apple is finally planning a Calculator app for the iPad, over 14 years after launching the device, according to a source familiar with the matter. iPadOS 18 will include a built-in Calculator app for all iPad models that are compatible with the software update, which is expected to be unveiled during the opening keynote of Apple's annual developers conference WWDC on June 10. AppleInsider...
Best Buy is discounting a collection of M3 MacBook Pro computers today, this time focusing on the 14-inch version of the laptop. Every deal in this sale requires you to have a My Best Buy Plus or Total membership, although non-members can still get solid second-best prices on these MacBook Pro models. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a...
Top Rated Comments
Easy there killer, there are posters here that still think Apple invented the zipper ;)
It is really more of a scam that requires the active duping and input of the user. Although it does qualify as malware...
Don't get me wrong. It IS possible for Macs to get viruses. But this isn't one.
You can't be serious.
Nope, MS releases updates that search for and remove common malware (it's called the malicious software removal tool).
The simple fact is that the biggest security weakness in any modern OS is the organic bit sat in front of the keyboard: Users do stupid things!
On windows, people are well aware of the perceived risks and most average users run AV software (it's difficult to buy a PC nowadays that doesn't come with it bundled and on Vista and Windows 7 you get nagged to death if you don't have it installed). This might not catch zero day exploits but the AV vendors catch up pretty quick and any malware is caught and removed early if the user is stupid enough to click through a security warning on a dodgy software install.
However, on OS X, the average user is sat there thinking: Everyone knows Mac's can't get viruses so I'm perfectly safe doing anything I want on the internet (they don't care about the differences between malware, viruses, trojans, worms, etc: to them, anything that does bad things to their computer is a virus).
Now when they get the "enter an administrator username and password" prompt, they probably don't even pause for thought as they are perfectly happy with their false sense of security
The harsh reality is that no computer is immune from malware that's willingly installed by the user and good security practice is as important on OS X as Windows: Don't have "run safe files after download" set in safari, and never, ever, give a program your admin credentials unless you know exactly where it came from.