4 Dangerous Mac Viruses to Stay Away From
Viruses inside your Mac are something that you abhor and detest. Once they lurk inside your computer system, it makes sure that your computer slows down, bugs, down, infects all your files and software, and even destroy your computer. You probably end up buying a new one because your other Mac computer was infected. However, these can be avoided by getting yourself an anti-virus software.
But what if your anti-virus software turns out to be a fake? What if you were scammed by somebody online who lured you and even convinced you to buy an anti-virus program but its turning out to be the opposite? Instead, it’s turning out to be a virus? Yes, people online are very scary nowadays. These types of people will do what it takes to bring you down and infect your computer by tempting you to try their software. How can you protect yourself from the fake software when you’re just a regular person who doesn’t have any facts or familiarity about legitimate anti-viruses? More importantly, how can you compare legitimate applications or tools from bogus applications?
In this case, you need to get immersed from the most popular viruses that are penetrating Mac computers nowadays.
MacDefender
This virus is a new malware that has been recently detected by an antivirus firm, Intego. Known as the “MacDefender”, it’s a fake anti-virus software that victimizes Mac OS X users who are using Safari. The company explains that this malware is a compressed ZIP file using a JavaScript, which is currently spreading around Google searchers.
Once the users perform a search on Google or any other search engine, they are redirected to a site that shows a fake Window screen with an animated image showing a malware scan. You are lured into thinking that your computer is infected, so you should click the JavaScript where you should download the file. Once the file is decompressed, an installation begins and will prompt you to continue the installation process.
After its installation, the program launches and it will show you a professional looking interface, with a menu bar and an icon. This software is actually believable as it alerts you of viruses that were found inside your computer. The interesting part is that users are scammed by telling them to purchase a license for the program by providing credit card number and other details. Users are actually charged for the program which does not actually work at all.
To protect users from the MacDefender malware, they should delete any processes that is connected to the malware, delete the applications folder, its login items, and check for any associated files inside your computer and get rid of them as well.
MacSecurity
This bogus Mac antispyware program is another threat that you users should definitely avoid. At first glance, you think that the file is harmless because it shows that it’s a legitimate solution and tells you that it will keep your Mac free from viruses. This fake program is heavily promoted through malware that comes from fake online scanners and infected websites. Once you install this virus into your Mac, you’ll be getting a lot of annoying pop ups from fake Mac Security. After scanning your computer, it convinces you that your computer was actually infected by a fabricated “malware” or a “virus” so you are advised to purchase its full version.
To manually remove the program, locate its activity monitor and stop running the Mac Security. Search for all of its associated files and instantly delete them, including the software itself. Also, beware of this fake program because it will also scam you by obtaining your credit card information.
MacProtector
For those who have not heard of this fake anti-spyware, then you should know its risk now. The MacProtector is advertised through several websites that pretends to be fake online scammers. Once you click it and scans your computer, it will tell you that your Mac is infected, so you are lured to download the MacProtector program. When the download is done, it automatically installs the program.
After its installation, your computer reboots and the program will start running, eventually scanning your computer. After scanning, a pop-up shows that your computer has several viruses and you need to clean the infections. You are also redirected to purchase a license of the program. The scam starts once you supply your credit card number and you’ll be paying for a program that actually doesn’t work.
The annoying part is that the MacProtector launches every time you login to your Mac. To remove the application, you should terminate its process through the Activity Monitor and delete some of its associated files inside the computer.
MacShield
This latest virus has been categorized as a fake security program by experts. So how do you get this virus? This is distributed by fake websites and often shows a fake scanner page. Like any other fake programs, you download and install the program, thinking that it’s a legitimate anti-virus program. After that, it shows dozens of error messages, telling you that it is currently performing a fake scan. It will also lure you into buying the full version the MacShield so that the software will work perfectly.
To avoid your Mac from having infections, you should remove MacShield as soon as possible by using the same methods like the other three viruses.
How To Protect Your Computer From These Viruses?
If you do not know how to compare and detect fake programs, then you’ll be having a lot of problems later on. That is why you should be fully aware of these fake programs, how they look like, and avoid them as possible. Do your research on the Web and be knowledgeable about them.
More importantly to protect your Mac from these viruses, you should get full protection from a very reliable anti-virus. The Mac Keeper is a reliable software that provides this tool. This anti-virus tool is designed to keep your computer protected by unwanted risks and threats, just like these four viruses mentioned above. If you are doing a lot of things on the Web and innocently click programs that you think is safe at first glance, the Mac Keeper’s anti-virus tool will help you shield from infecting your Mac.
Keep your Mac protected and safe at all times by selecting the right anti-virus software!
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