“Malwarebytes has discovered a previously unknown piece of Mac malware that could easily fool less- technical users,” Ben Lovejoy reports for 9to5Mac.
“Thomas Reed, lead researcher at Malwarebytes, told us that he found the malware on a scam page hosted on the official Advanced Mac Cleaner website,” Lovejoy reports. “It does rely on a naive user approving a request to install Advanced Mac Cleaner on their machine, but doing so also installs a second app known as Mac File Opener.”
“If a user tries to open a file for which they don’t have a corresponding app, it will be opened by Mac File Opener which then presents a reasonably convincing fake version of the normal OS X dialog box advising that no suitable app is installed,” Lovejoy reports. “The fake dialog box links to the macfileopener[dot]com website, which downloads other junk PCVARK apps, such as Mac Adware Remover or Mac Space Reviver.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Tell your less-technical family and friends to stick to Apple’s Mac App Store.
SEE ALSO:
Don’t waste your money on OS X snake oil for your Mac – July 28, 2015
How to detect and remove MacKeeper and keylogger malware on your Mac – July 17, 2015
Controversial MacKeeper security program opens critical hole on Mac computers – May 12, 2015
What ‘MacKeeper’ is and why you should avoid it – January 21, 2015
How to uninstall MacKeeper from your Mac – December 19, 2014