A clever and dangerous piece of malware called MacDefender has been targeting Mac users for weeks, and the problem seems to be getting worse.
"[MacDefender] has been very prevalent the last couple of weeks," an AppleCare technician told SecurityNewsDaily in a support call today (May 18). "It looks pretty real, but it's just a scam trying to trick you into giving money." There's a real antivirus application called MacDefender, but the fake one pops up in your browser when you click on an infected website or image. It tells you your Mac is infected by malware and that you need to install the bogus software — in fact a Trojan — right away. It even asks for your administrative password if you've got one. Once you've installed the Trojan, it demands that you pay for it with a credit card, and navigates to porn sites until you do.
Whoever is behind this malware campaign, however, is smart enough to know that Mac users are going to be looking for genuine solutions. As noted above, among the Trojan's many aliases is "Apple Security Center." (Another common one is "Mac Protector.") As the problem continues to spiral, third-party applications have been created, including one called MacDefenderKiller, that are designed specifically to rid your computer of this persistent danger. And one Apple Support Communities forum includes directions from participants as to how to effectively rid MacDefender from your computer. Technews Daily
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