Trendy Mac Malware in the Wild
Companies that specialize in developing online security solutions have spotted that the most recent trend for malware spreaders is to advertise their malicious software as security software. The number of malware attacks, on both Windows OS and Mac OS has increased lately by a staggering 338%.
According to ScanSafe, company that describes itself as “the world’s leading provider of web security-as-a-serviceâ€, its security software has blocked 338% more attacks during Q3 of 2008, compared to the same period of 2007. The amount of Trojans and password stealing malware found in the wild has more than doubled (an increase of 267% has been noted).
As a rule of thumb, users running Mac OS do not have to worry about viruses and malware as much as people who use Windows OS. Even though Mac operating systems are safer, security oriented users go ahead and purchase a security solution for their machine. And this is where their problems start!
One such phony security solution is MacGuard. The MacGuard home page looks legitimate enough – there are no obvious indications that you will be scammed or infected. That is until you visit the Winiguard home page. Not only will you notice that Winiguard can do all the things that MacGuard claims it can, you will also notice that the two web pages are identical word for word. The only difference is the fact that when you click the “download now†icon on the MacGuard web page, nothing happens; as opposed to the Winiguard page, where a download does initiate, but you are certainly not downloading security software.
If you really want to download a security solution for your machine, you are well advised to pick a trustworthy product that has been on the market for some time and has proven its efficiency. Do not take every word you read on some obscure web page for granted! If you do, you will end up as the 30 million people that thought they were getting security software, but instead downloaded malware on their machines (as reported by Panda Security).
According to ScanSafe, company that describes itself as “the world’s leading provider of web security-as-a-serviceâ€, its security software has blocked 338% more attacks during Q3 of 2008, compared to the same period of 2007. The amount of Trojans and password stealing malware found in the wild has more than doubled (an increase of 267% has been noted).
As a rule of thumb, users running Mac OS do not have to worry about viruses and malware as much as people who use Windows OS. Even though Mac operating systems are safer, security oriented users go ahead and purchase a security solution for their machine. And this is where their problems start!
One such phony security solution is MacGuard. The MacGuard home page looks legitimate enough – there are no obvious indications that you will be scammed or infected. That is until you visit the Winiguard home page. Not only will you notice that Winiguard can do all the things that MacGuard claims it can, you will also notice that the two web pages are identical word for word. The only difference is the fact that when you click the “download now†icon on the MacGuard web page, nothing happens; as opposed to the Winiguard page, where a download does initiate, but you are certainly not downloading security software.
If you really want to download a security solution for your machine, you are well advised to pick a trustworthy product that has been on the market for some time and has proven its efficiency. Do not take every word you read on some obscure web page for granted! If you do, you will end up as the 30 million people that thought they were getting security software, but instead downloaded malware on their machines (as reported by Panda Security).
