Malware that attacks Mac OS X adds 'cousins'

After Mac Defender went to MacGuard, it was turned over by security vendors, the MacShield "cousin" was born with the same method of deceiving Mac OS X users, infiltrating the system.

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Mac Shield interface is very similar to a real security program, tricking users into spending money to buy licensing rights - Photo: ESET

MacShield is a variant of the original malicious code Mac Defender discovered in mid-May, which has the main function of faking security programs for Mac OS X but actually infiltrating the system, Pave the way for a variety of other trojans. The game "cat and mouse" is taking place between hackers and Apple. MacShield is the fifth variant after the first releases including MacDefender, MacProtector, MacSecurity and most recently MacGuard variants that can be installed on the system without an administrator password.

MacShield does not change much of the interface in addition to some message content to deceive users. However, the name MacShield forged a Centurion Technologies security program dedicated to Mac OS X operating system is easy to confuse users who lack vigilance.

Apple officially released a patch for Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) on May 31, and after 24 hours, a new variant appeared. Apple continues to update the anti-variant patch, the malicious owner thinks again. Users are advised to note information about the variant of malware and immediately update the official patch released by Apple.

Note: in the Apple-released MacDefender update, a new option called " Automatically update safe downloads list " ( Automatically updates the safe download list ) is located in the Security tab in System Preferences . This setting helps Mac OS X to automatically check after every 24 hours or after each system boot to see if there is any latest security update from Apple, reducing delays that may be dangerous to access. manual date.

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New security settings in Mac OS X 10.7 update

While it is an important setting, there is a slight error that could cause this security update to crash. When opening the Security tab window in System Preferences for more than 30 seconds, even if the new option is selected, it will be deselected. Therefore, readers should keep in mind when adjusting this setting.