Mac Viruses and Malware - The Boro Mac Shop | Murfreesboro, Tennessee Macintosh, iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Repair

The Truth about Mac Viruses

February 22, 2012 - As of today, THERE ARE NO MAC VIRUSES.

There are now, however, a few Mac gremlins popping up online that you should be aware of. The one getting the most press right now is MacDefender (also known as Mac Guard, Mac Security, and Mac Protector). All of these, which are variants of MacDefender, are real but they are not viruses. A virus self-replicates, meaning it makes multiple copies of itself so as to spread to as many other Macs as possible.

These are known as Malware and the difference is slight but important. Malware is malicious software. Meaning any software that has evil intent. Whether simply to vandalize your Mac or to trick you into paying to remove it. MacDefender is malware, very, very slick and convincing malware.

Click here to see the MacDefender window.

It works like this, you go to a website that has been compromised and the Mac Defender software window pops up and tells you, in a very official looking window, that you are infected. It then offers to help you remove the bad software.

What it's telling you is a lie. You are NOT infected, it's just saying you are so you will panic and choose to let it help you remove the infection.

Then it asks you for money. (That's the obvious sign of fraud, that it's asking you for money!)

So, the bottom line is do not believe a random window that tells you you're infected. Only antivirus software that you previously installed onto your Mac will ever pop up and tell you about an infection. All other such notifcations are a lie. Simply ignore them and go on your way and no harm will come to you.

Click here to read the entire article about Mac malware and what to do to protect yourself from it.

Read Apple's instructions on removal of the MacDefender app.

Is it time for Mac users to buy antivirus software?

Maybe, but antivirus software won't protect you from malware like MacDefender.

That's because MacDefender requires you to participate in the mayhem. It requires you to click on it and to give it your credit card or debit card information.

So arm yourself, learn what malware is, what it can look like, and then just ignore it when you see it. If you want to begin using antivirus software I would only ask that you do NOT use Norton. It can slow your Mac to a crawl and doesn't provide any better protection than the others.

I recommend the FREE antivirus software named ClamXav.