Malware Software For Mac Os X

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In order to test always-on malware protection for each app, we downloaded 26 malware samples from a Mac security site representing most malware targeting the Mac from 2018 until the first quarter. In order to test always-on malware protection for each app, we downloaded 26 malware samples from a Mac security site representing most malware targeting the Mac from 2018 until the first quarter. Sep 02, 2014 Tests compare Mac OS X anti-malware products. The Mac malware situation is a much lower-pressure one than that on Windows, so many products perform very well. Jun 11, 2020  Every Mac antivirus product in this list has been chosen because it's especially designed to protect Mac systems and has scored highly at identifying and removing viruses and malware. Download Malwarebytes for Mac (the free version) and you get a 14-day trial of the premium version with automatic (real-time) virus and malware protection. After 14 days, your trial reverts to a limited disinfection scanner.

Best malware software for mac os x
(Redirected from Gatekeeper (OS X))
Gatekeeper
Developer(s)Apple Inc.
Initial releaseJuly 25, 2012
Operating systemmacOS

Gatekeeper is a security feature of the macOSoperating system by Apple.[1][2] It enforces code signing and verifies downloaded applications before allowing them to run, thereby reducing the likelihood of inadvertently executing malware. Gatekeeper builds upon File Quarantine, which was introduced in Mac OS X Leopard and expanded in Mac OS X Snow Leopard.[3][4] The feature originated in version 10.7.3 of Mac OS X Lion as the command-line utilityspctl.[5][6] A graphical user interface was added in OS X Mountain Lion and later also in version 10.7.5 of Lion.[7]

Functions[edit]

Configuration[edit]

Gatekeeper options in the System Preferences application. Since macOS Sierra, the 'Anywhere' option is hidden by default.

In the security & privacy panel of System Preferences, the user has three options:

Mac App Store
Allows only applications downloaded from the Mac App Store to be launched.
Mac App Store and identified developers
Allows applications downloaded from the Mac App Store and applications signed by certified Apple developers to be launched. This is the default setting since Mountain Lion.
Anywhere
Allows all applications to be launched. This effectively turns Gatekeeper off. This is the default setting in Lion. Since macOS Sierra, this option is hidden by default.[8][9]

The command-line utility spctl provides granular controls, such as custom rules and individual or blanket permissions, as well as an option to turn Gatekeeper off.[6]

Quarantine[edit]

Upon download of an application, a particular extended file attribute ('quarantine flag') can be added to the downloaded file.[10] This attribute is added by the application that downloads the file, such as a web browser or email client, but is not usually added by common BitTorrent client software, such as Transmission, and application developers will need to implement this feature into their applications and is not implemented by the system. The system can also force this behavior upon individual applications using a signature-based system named Xprotect.[11]

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Execution[edit]

Screenshot of a system alert that appears when Gatekeeper prevents an application from running, because it was not signed by an Apple certified developer.

When the user attempts to open an application with such an attribute, the system will postpone the execution and verify whether it is:

  • blacklisted,
  • code-signed by Apple or a certified developer,
  • the code-signed contents still match the signature.

Since Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the system keeps two blacklists to identify known malware or insecure software. The blacklists are updated periodically. If the application is blacklisted, then File Quarantine will refuse to open it and recommend to the user to move it to trash.[11][12]

Gatekeeper will refuse to open the application if the code-signing requirements are not met. Apple can revoke the developer's certificate with which the application was signed and prevent further distribution.[1][3]

Once an application has passed File Quarantine or Gatekeeper, it will be allowed to run normally and will not be verified again.[1][3]

Override[edit]

To override Gatekeeper, the user (acting as an administrator) either has to switch to a more lenient policy from the security & privacy panel of System Preferences or authorize a manual override for a particular application, either by opening the application from the context menu or by adding it with spctl.[1]

Path randomization[edit]

Developers can sign disk images that can be verified as a unit by the system. In macOS Sierra, this allows developers to guarantee the integrity of all bundled files and prevent attackers from infecting and subsequently redistributing them. In addition, 'path randomization' executes application bundles from a random, hidden path and prevents them from accessing external files relative to their location. This feature is turned off if the application bundle originated from a signed installer package or disk image or if the user manually moved the application without any other files to another directory.[8]

Implications[edit]

The effectiveness and rationale of Gatekeeper in combating malware have been acknowledged,[3] but been met with reservations. Security researcher Chris Miller noted that Gatekeeper will verify the developer certificate and consult the known-malware list only when the application is first opened. Malware that already passed Gatekeeper will not be stopped.[13] In addition, Gatekeeper will only verify applications that have the quarantine flag. As this flag is added by other applications and not by the system, any neglect or failure to do so does not trigger Gatekeeper. According to security blogger Thomas Reed, BitTorrent clients are frequent offenders of this. The flag is also not added if the application came from a different source, like network shares and USB flash drives.[10][13] Questions have also been raised about the registration process to acquire a developer certificate and the prospect of certificate theft.[14]

In September 2015, security researcher Patrick Wardle wrote about another shortcoming that concerns applications that are distributed with external files, such as libraries or even HTML files that can contain JavaScript.[8] An attacker can manipulate those files and through them exploit a vulnerability in the signed application. The application and its external files can then be redistributed, while leaving the original signature of the application bundle itself intact. As Gatekeeper does not verify such individual files, the security can be compromised.[15] With path randomization and signed disk images, Apple provided mechanisms to mitigate this issue in macOS Sierra.[8]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ abcd'OS X: About Gatekeeper'. Apple. February 13, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  2. ^Siegler, MG (February 16, 2012). 'Surprise! OS X Mountain Lion Roars Into Existence (For Developers Today, Everyone This Summer)'. TechCrunch. AOL Inc. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
  3. ^ abcdSiracusa, John (July 25, 2012). 'OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion: the Ars Technica review'. Ars Technica. pp. 14–15. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  4. ^Reed, Thomas (April 25, 2014). 'Mac Malware Guide : How does Mac OS X protect me?'. The Safe Mac. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  5. ^Ullrich, Johannes (February 22, 2012). 'How to test OS X Mountain Lion's Gatekeeper in Lion'. Internet Storm Center. Retrieved July 27, 2012.
  6. ^ ab'spctl(8)'. Mac Developer Library. Apple. Retrieved July 27, 2012.
  7. ^'About the OS X Lion v10.7.5 Update'. Apple. February 13, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  8. ^ abcd'What's New in Security'. Apple Developer (Video). June 15, 2016. At 21:45. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  9. ^Cunningham, Andrew (June 15, 2016). 'Some nerdy changes in macOS and iOS 10: RAW shooting, a harsher Gatekeeper, more'. Ars Technica UK. Archived from the original on June 16, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  10. ^ abReed, Thomas (October 6, 2015). 'Bypassing Apple's Gatekeeper'. Malwarebytes Labs. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  11. ^ abMoren, Dan (August 26, 2009). 'Inside Snow Leopard's hidden malware protection'. Macworld. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  12. ^'About the 'Are you sure you want to open it?' alert (File Quarantine / Known Malware Detection) in OS X'. Apple Support. March 22, 2016. Archived from the original on June 17, 2016. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  13. ^ abForesman, Chris (February 17, 2012). 'Mac developers: Gatekeeper is a concern, but still gives power users control'. Ars Technica. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  14. ^Chatterjee, Surojit (February 21, 2012). 'OS X Mountain Lion Gatekeeper: Can it Really Keep Malware Out?'. International Business Times. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
  15. ^Goodin, Dan. 'Drop-dead simple exploit completely bypasses Mac's malware Gatekeeper'. Ars Technica. Archived from the original on March 20, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gatekeeper_(macOS)&oldid=951827310'

macOS malware includes viruses, trojan horses, worms and other types of malware that affect macOS, Apple's current operating system for Macintosh computers. macOS (previously Mac OS X and OS X) rarely suffers malware or virus attacks,[1] and has been considered less vulnerable than Windows.[2] There is a frequent release of system software updates to resolve vulnerabilities. Utilities are also available to find and remove malware.[1]

History[edit]

Early examples of macOS malware include Leap (discovered in 2006, also known as Oompa-Loompa) and RSPlug (discovered in 2007).

An application called MacSweeper (2009) misled users about malware threats in order to take their credit card details.

The trojan MacDefender (2011) used a similar tactic, combined with displaying popups.

In 2012, a worm known as Flashback appeared. Initially, it infected computers through fake Adobe Flash Player install prompts, but it later exploited a vulnerability in Java to install itself without user intervention. The malware forced Oracle and Apple to release bug fixes for Java to remove the vulnerability.

Bit9 and Carbon Black reported at the end of 2015 that Mac malware had been more prolific that year than ever before, including:[2]

  • Lamadai – Java vulnerability[3]
  • Appetite – Trojan horse targeting government organizations
  • Coin Thief – It stole bitcoin login credentials through cracked AngryBird applications

A trojan known as Keydnap first appeared in 2016, which placed a backdoor on victims' computers.

Adware is also a problem on the Mac, with software like Genieo, which was released in 2009, inserting ads into webpages and changing users' homepage and search engine.

WBFS 2020 – If you are a user of the Nintendo Wii you can download WBFS free for Mac right now, a complete backup creation and management tool for your Wii games. This app was developed by RnSK Softronics Inc. And updated into the latest version at More than a. Mac os x 10.11 download free.

Malware has also been spread on Macs through Microsoft Word macros.

Ransomware[edit]

In March 2016 Apple shut down the first ransomware attack targeted against Mac users, encrypting the user's confidential information.[4] It was known as KeRanger. After completing the encryption process, KeRanger demanded that victims pay one bitcoin (about US$400 at the time, about US$9,150 as of July 1, 2020) for the user to recover their credentials.[5]

References[edit]

For
  1. ^ ab'Mac OS X Malware details'. Retrieved 2015-03-12.
  2. ^ ab'2015 Mac OS X Malware'. Retrieved 2016-03-21.
  3. ^'Lamadai Mac Operating System Attack'. Retrieved 2016-03-21.
  4. ^'Mac OS X Attack March 2016'. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
  5. ^'Apple Shuts down First ever ransomware'. Retrieved 2016-03-07.


Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MacOS_malware&oldid=965430784'