Mac-targeting Rogue Significantly Raises Call Volume at AppleCare
Earlier this month Intego, company that specializes in providing security solutions for Macs, was reporting that a rogue security application is making the rounds on the internet and that the rogue is targeting Macs via SEO poisoning attacks – poisoned Google image searches. The rogue in question hides under various names – MAC Defender, MAC Security and MAC Protector; or MacDefender, MacSecurity and MacProtector. The name is irrelevant; they all look the same.
Intego said when it uncovered the rogue that it looks very well designed and professional. There are several screens to go through, the buttons look good, and the rogue gives off an air or professionalism. Furthermore, the grammar and spelling is correct, which is somewhat unusual for rogues but is in keeping with the professionalism theme we’ve got going on here.
The news is that more and more users come face to face with the rogue. Proof comes from AppleCare, who said that call volume increased 4 to 5 times because users call and ask about MacDefender, or any of the aliases the rogue hides under.
It’s not just AppleCare that’s seeing an increase of users getting in touch because of the MacDefender rogue. Intego said that “we are contacted by a huge number of customers who are worried about this fake antivirus, and have dozens of samples, including a number of variants of the scareware.”
The fact that the MacDefender rogue is impacting more and more users is bad news. It is also a wakeup call for the users who thought that unlike PC users, they don’t have to worry about malware. The bad guys are targeting Apple’s Mac OS X just like they are targeting Microsoft’s Windows operating system. If there were no Mac malware and security threats, companies like Intego would not be in business.
And speaking of Intego, the company’s VirusBarrier X5 and VirusBarrier X6, as well as VirusBarrier Express and VirusBarrier Plus detect the fake AV and its variants.
For additional information on this rogue check out this Intego article and this YouTube video.
Intego said when it uncovered the rogue that it looks very well designed and professional. There are several screens to go through, the buttons look good, and the rogue gives off an air or professionalism. Furthermore, the grammar and spelling is correct, which is somewhat unusual for rogues but is in keeping with the professionalism theme we’ve got going on here.
The news is that more and more users come face to face with the rogue. Proof comes from AppleCare, who said that call volume increased 4 to 5 times because users call and ask about MacDefender, or any of the aliases the rogue hides under.
It’s not just AppleCare that’s seeing an increase of users getting in touch because of the MacDefender rogue. Intego said that “we are contacted by a huge number of customers who are worried about this fake antivirus, and have dozens of samples, including a number of variants of the scareware.”
The fact that the MacDefender rogue is impacting more and more users is bad news. It is also a wakeup call for the users who thought that unlike PC users, they don’t have to worry about malware. The bad guys are targeting Apple’s Mac OS X just like they are targeting Microsoft’s Windows operating system. If there were no Mac malware and security threats, companies like Intego would not be in business.
And speaking of Intego, the company’s VirusBarrier X5 and VirusBarrier X6, as well as VirusBarrier Express and VirusBarrier Plus detect the fake AV and its variants.
For additional information on this rogue check out this Intego article and this YouTube video.
