Cyber security company F-Secure has acquired Little Flocker, the behavioral analysis-based monitoring app for Macs, developed by iPhone forensics expert and security researcher Jonathan Zdziarski, who joined Apple last month.

The Helsinki-based firm announced the news in a press release posted to its site, where it revealed that Little Flocker would be built into a new security product it's releasing, called XFENCE.

Little Flocker

Little Flocker protects Macs by using advanced behavioral based analysis, and monitors apps that attempt to access confidential files and system resources. It also detects and blocks Mac ransomware. F-Secure will build Little Flocker's next-generation security engine into its new XFENCE technology. XFENCE will complement F-Secure's existing endpoint solutions to provide advanced behavioral Mac protection for both corporate and consumer customers.

F-Secure said that the "myth" of Macs not requiring protection against ransomware, backdoors, and other software was fading away, due to "Apple's popularity among senior-level employees and other high-value targets". By acquiring Little Flocker, it said it hoped to further enhance its products' existing cyber security capabilities for the sophisticated detection of zero-day attacks.

For businesses, the core technology is to be combined with F-Secure’s security cloud and packaged into its Protection Service for Business, a security solution with centrally managed computer, mobile and server security with integrated patch management and mobile device management. Consumer customers can make use of the Flocker technology with F-Secure Safe, the company's multi-device security product.

Little Flocker developer Zdziarski announced in March that he was joining Apple's Security Engineering and Architecture team. Known as "NerveGas" within the jailbreaking community, Zdziarski had provided input on a number of important iOS-related security matters over the years, including Apple's high-profile battle with the FBI over unlocking an iPhone used by a shooter in the 2015 San Bernardino attack.

Top Rated Comments

arilev Avatar
110 months ago
I have this app. I'm amazed at what it picks up. For example, App Store wants to access my camera when it starts up, I'd like to know why!
The camera can be used to snap a photo of prepaid/gift card codes so that you don't have to enter a crazy long string of numbers manually. Lots of people pay for their App Store and iTunes purchases this way.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thisisnotmyname Avatar
110 months ago
I was unaware of that, do you have any links that detail this?

Thanks
You should check out a site called Mac rumors, they covered it...

https://www.macrumors.com/2016/03/06/mac-ransomware-transmission/
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tuukkap Avatar
110 months ago
I like Zdziarski so I went to F-Secure and read about it. Sounds useful. Read up on their vpn-service Freedome as well. They offer a vpn-service to private persons and then they use technology to block protocols in their customers traffic. As a customer you will not know this unless your read their fine-print. And logging they do of course.

So from a Privacy-prespective F-Secure suck. I don't like them not being upfront with their vpn-service as well.

I'll scrutinise their EULA for XFence before I decide if it's interesting.
[doublepost=1491497352][/doublepost]

It's an honest question. Be nice :D
Hi, please read https://www.f-secure.com/en/web/legal/privacy/freedome-no-nav for more information about privacy with Freedome. Working at F-Secure, I can say that our company does care a LOT about privacy, and at least I do not consider us sucking so much in that sense :) We jump a few extra hoops to further anonymise the collected data.

Yes, you probably get even more privacy by using something like Tor, but Freedome is offering security as well. Related article here: https://www.opswat.com/blog/malware-spread-tor-exit-node
Without trying to advertise too much, there was also a university research recently (linked in the article), where Freedome was found to be amongst the better VPN clients for security: https://arstechnica.com/security/2017/01/majority-of-android-vpns-cant-be-trusted-to-make-users-more-secure/

Finally, Finland has pretty good privacy laws but like any country, the legislation still pose some requirements for providing these services.
[doublepost=1491810684][/doublepost]
I'm in the same boat. I'm guessing we early adopters get the shaft for supporting him at the beginning. As an Apple employee he pretty much has to wash his hands of the whole affair, and the new corporate overlords aren't going to give a **** about the few of us who knew about it before now.
Hello, one of the corporate overlords here, and giving a world about the few of you. No plans on shafting anyone ;) Instead we have been discussing about how to reach you early adopters to find a way for you to keep running and updating the product. Would love to hear from all of you and get valuable feedback in future too, so stay tuned.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
whothefvck Avatar
107 months ago
The long way to show hidden Mac OS X files is as follows:
[LIST=1]
* Open Terminal found in Finder > Applications > Utilities.
* In Terminal, paste the following: defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES.
* Press return.
* Hold the 'Option/alt' key, then right click on the Finder icon in the dock and click Relaunch.

Well, that is indeed the long way of achieving it.
Try pressing CMD + SHIFT + . (dot) in the Finder.app. It toggles hidden files. Quicker and easier.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tuukkap Avatar
110 months ago
Great to hear. Your stock went way up for actually being engaged with the community. I follow Mikko on Twitter, which is how I found out about the acquisition.

Honestly I'm sure the number of Jonathan's paying customers is so small that it might not be worth the effort. But I do appreciate that you at least know we exist. I don't actually think you owe us anything. With Jonathan going to Apple, the product was effectively dead anyway due to their IP and PR policies. I'm just glad the functionality is finding a home where the polish and ease of use can continue to improve for non-bleeding edge users.
Thanks :)

We will be contacting all of you existing LF customers via email hopefully still this week, based on the customer list we were provided. More information in the email, but basically you will have access to F-Secure XFENCE so no worries.
[doublepost=1491990536][/doublepost]
I actually had a reply from Jonathan and he assured me that f-secure would honour existing LF licences, so perhaps if they are watching this forum they could let us know exactly what we need to do ? unless of course he gave them our contact info from the purchase details ...
No need to do anything yet, we have the contact list and as mentioned above, will contact you soon :)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrSkoTA Avatar
110 months ago
Indeed, Macs are not completely immune but so far we've had no ransomware out in the wild.
Um, Wut!?! To my knowledge there has been Mac Ransomeare. One of them was from downloading Transmission from the source!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 26 on iPhone Feature

Here's When iOS 26 Rolls Out Today in Every Time Zone [Update: Out Now!]

Monday September 15, 2025 12:00 am PDT by
Update 10:06 a.m.: iOS 26 is rolling out now, though it may take a bit for all users to see it, so keep checking! Today's the day! Apple is about to release iOS 26, which will deliver the biggest redesign since iOS 7 and bring a range of new features and improvements to iPhones worldwide. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at last week's iPhone event that...
Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple Reportedly Plans to Launch These 10 Products in 'Coming Months'

Sunday September 14, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple's annual September event is now in the rearview mirror, with the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple Watch SE 3, and AirPods Pro 3 set to launch this Friday, September 19. As always, there is more to come. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple plans to release many products in the...
apple n1 chip

Apple's New N1 Chip in iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Has a Wi-Fi 7 Limitation

Saturday September 13, 2025 10:01 am PDT by
The latest iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air models are equipped with Apple's all-new N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread connectivity. However, the chip has a Wi-Fi 7 bandwidth limitation. According to FCC documents reviewed by MacRumors, the N1 chip in all of the new iPhone models supports up to 160 MHz channel bandwidth for Wi-Fi 7, short of the...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

Apple Says Installing iOS 26 Might Impact Battery Life

Monday September 15, 2025 10:56 am PDT by
In the iOS 26 release notes, Apple is warning iPhone users that installing the new software might have a temporary impact on battery life, which is normal. A new support document explains that major iOS updates require background setup like indexing data and files for search, downloading new assets, and updating apps. Further, Apple says that new features could require more resources,...
iphone 17 lineup

iPhone 17 Models Launch on September 19 With These New Features

Friday September 12, 2025 7:58 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 lineup and ultra-thin iPhone Air in stores on Friday, September 19, and the company has already shown off the new devices at its fall event, which ran with the the tagline "Awe dropping." The iPhone 17 series brings a host of new features and enhancements. Here's a rundown of the biggest upgrades and changes: iPhone 17 Display Changes The iPhone...
iphone air all colors

iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro Now Facing Extended Delivery Estimates

Saturday September 13, 2025 11:43 am PDT by
iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air pre-orders began on Friday in the U.S. and many other countries. iPhone 17 Pro Max delivery estimates quickly slipped beyond the Friday, September 19 launch day for those who had yet to place an order, and now the rest of the new models have started to follow suit. As of shortly after 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time today, select iPhone 17, ...
iPhone 17 Pro Air Boxes

iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro Boxes Revealed

Sunday September 14, 2025 1:36 pm PDT by
T-Mobile President Jon Freier today shared real-world photos of Apple's boxes for the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 models, which launch on Friday. Image Credit: Jon Freier Apple has typically included iPhone box renders in its product environmental reports, but it did not do so for the latest models. However, Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program page does offer some images of the boxes, ...
iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday September 15, 2025 5:45 am PDT by
Following three months of beta testing, iOS 26 was released today, September 15. The update is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer, and it is available to install via the Settings app, under General → Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight new features included in iOS 26. Even more new features and changes are outlined in Apple's release notes for the update. Some of ...