Just when a Mac user thought it was safe to go out again, comes more bad news! MacDefender has evolved into a more dangerous variant called MacGuard – all within a day of Apple announcing its prevention plan.
MacGuard now, unlike its earlier avatar MacDefender, does not require a password for installation and makes parts of the current Mac Defender prevention plan from Apple obsolete and ineffective.
The new variant comes in two parts. The first part is a downloader tool that, after installation, downloads a payload from a web server. The second part of the malware is a new version of the MacDefender application called MacGuard, reports Intego. a company which specializes in providing security software for the Apple Mac computer. Seeing a potentially growing market for Mac security products, it also provides a paid antivirus software for Mac computers, unlike Sophos, which provides a free antivirus software for Mac.
Unlike the previous avatar, this evolved rogue does not require an administrator’s password. Since any user with an administrator’s account – the default if there is just one user on a Mac – can install software in the Applications folder, a password is not needed.
To-date a typical Mac user was safe in his/her belief that he was always safe, but now that belief could come crumbling down, any time soon.
The never-ending anti-malware war seems to be just beginning for Apple, and this is bound to create marketing head-aches for Apple, who did all it could do to shout out from roof-tops that a Mac computer was secure, unlike a Windows computer.
I am sure this all must be rather embarassing for Apple, but it has to realize that this is the price it will have to pay for an increasing market share.
