Don't Get Fooled by MacDefender a Fake Anti-Malware Program

It seems one of the old Windows-based malware tricks started targeting Mac users too. For last few weeks Macintosh users have been tricked by a malware named MacDefender and it seems the number of victims increases rapidly. The same program also appears in some other names like Mac Protector or Mac Security to trick. This software appears like a legitimate security program and prompts Macintosh users to install it by showing some fake malware alerts. Once the user installs the software, it starts asking them to register the program to remove the infected malware and ask credit card details to complete the registration. The same program is suspected to have the ability to steal your sensitive information stored and can disable any legitimate security programs installed. So your Mac will be vulnerable to more attacks in the future.



This part shows how this fake MacDefender tricks Macintosh users to get installed. It is clearly understood that if a user knows the pattern of this attack, he can prevent this program from being installed. I hope this article will help Mac users to identify the threat and prevent infection. This infection mainly happens when you browse suspicious websites (websites contain malware. You may notice an alert like Mac or Windows security found some critical activity in your system and you are in danger. To overcome this, you will be advised to run an online scan.


You will be prompted to click OK to start the scan. Once you click OK, infection begins.


Here you will see a classic Windows security scan screen. This picture is from the older fake MacDefender and the most advanced versions use the Mac interface to show scan. So beware of this malware actions. It is a JavaScript trick to trap users and it is not a real scan on your Mac.


Now users will see a fake Mac security scan result showing infections. This is also a page created by JavaScript, either you disable JavaScript to get rid of this page or close the browser.


Any action will start a download.


Now the program will start an installation window.



Now, this fake Antivirus program asks the admin password to continue its installation. Most Mac users will be tricked to give their admin password. It is clear that the success of this program is due to the ignorance of  users.


Now the installation completes and this fake MacDefender starts to execute.




Users may see something like the image displayed above. This article is provided for informational purpose only and we strongly request users to do not get into the trap created by this fake MacDefender.

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