Macbook Pro Viruses Are Here to Stay

Some Apple Macintosh fans are still reluctant to part with the persuasion that Macs are bulletproof against viruses. Things have changed and malicious code has evolved and mutated over the years, so it’s about time to put up with the new reality. The truth is that Mac computers, including the premium MacBook Pro laptop series, are susceptible to malware infections nowadays. The only good news is that the operating system they run, macOS, isn’t anywhere near Windows in terms of the scope of attacks targeting it thus far.

One of the major virus distribution campaigns raiding MacBook Pro’s for several years now has to do with the malware codenamed Crossrider, or OSX/Shlayer. It has been making the rounds through booby-trapped Flash Player installers, dropping a copy of Advanced Mac Cleaner, a notorious scareware program. The resulting payload leads to constant fake system scans that report numerous problems with the host Mac in order to dupe the victim into purchasing the license.

Another nasty malware sample haunting MacBook Pro laptops recently is known as OSX/MaMi. It is a multipurpose culprit that adds a new root certificate and thereby gets the intercept the user’s encrypted communications. The infection can also facilitate MITM (man-in-the-middle) attacks and allow criminals to execute arbitrary commands on the plagued Mac remotely.

The dominating cluster of viruses zeroing in on MacBook Pro machines, though, is adware. These pests don’t impair as much damage to hosts as the above-mentioned baddies, but they are certainly nuisances. Mac adware operates via malicious browser add-ons and plugins that generates myriads of advertisements on pretty much every web page the victim goes to. Some of them redirect web browsers to pseudo search engines and thus allow their authors to monetize the “pilfered” traffic.

Most viruses affecting MacBook Pro are distributed by means of bundling. Therefore, checking what’s being additionally promoted in an installation client is the rule of thumb, especially if you are installing freeware or shareware. Keep this in mind to stay safe and ensure that your Mac usage routine is hassle-free.