Free Macintosh Spyware Removers Are The Proverbial Free Lunch

You’ve heard the old expression “There’s no such thing as a free lunch”? Free Macintosh spyware scanners and removers may as well be a free lunch. There’s just not a lot of them out there yet, and with one very good reason. Until lately, Mac users have felt secure against attacks by most viruses and spyware infestations. Macintosh has a long-standing reputation for being one of the most secure operating systems available.

Unfortunately, that is changing as more hackers are turning their hands to creating macintosh spyware – programs that deliberately target Mac users. Also unfortunately, the response by the most vocal of the Mac user community has been to further lull new Mac users into a false sense of security by assuring them that there is no need for free Macintosh spyware removers because Macs aren’t vulnerable to spyware. The truth is that Mac machines are far less vulnerable to spyware intrusions, but they are not completely invulnerable. If you are running a Mac with a DSL or high speed cable connection, if you use your Mac to go online or if you use a Mac that is used by more than just yourself, you should be using Macintosh spyware tools to protect yourself against spyware and malware that may be compromising the security of your computer.

In just the past few months, hackers have found and exploited security holes in the Mac OSX operating system, and most experts believe that it’s just a matter of time before spyware writers find even more. The macintosh spyware exploits have included programs that use social engineering to trick users into installing Trojan backdoors on their computers, fraudulent ‘free Macintosh spyware cleaners’ and vulnerabilities in the Mac OSX Leopard and Tiger systems that allow remote users to connect and gain root user permissions.

Macs have had the luxury for years of being less targeted than PC users when it comes to spyware and viruses. Because Macs ship with more security features enabled (or to be more precise, with ‘convenience features’ disabled) by default, it can be more difficult for a macintosh spyware writer to gain access to your computer – but it’s not impossible. All it takes is for one user on your machine to accept installation of an insecure application and the privacy of all users of that computer is compromised. And since most of the newest varieties of macintosh spyware are designed to run silently, there’s nothing telling you that your computer’s security has been compromised. Even antivirus software isn’t enough to pick up a piece of well-engineered spyware. You need to use Mac spyware tools that are specifically designed to detect key logger programs, Trojans and malware that could be running in the background, recording everything you type.

Recent Macintosh Spyware Threats

Spyware is software which installs itself onto your computer using stealth, dishonesty or social engineering, and then proceeds to send information from your computer to a third party without your permission or knowledge. It includes backdoor Trojans, password stealers, keyloggers and botnet worms, and can cause data theft, damage your network and lose you money. Some of the most recent Macintosh spyware threats include:

PokerStealer, a program masquerading as a poker software program that was heavily advertised on sites frequented by Mac users.

DNSChanger Trojan, OSX.RSPlug.A, OSX/Puper for OS X, a related family of Trojans that hide in a fake video file.

Return from Free Macintosh Spyware to Mac Spyware home