Author Topic: One of Most Popular Mac Apps Acts Like Spyware  (Read 1679 times)

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Offline Sanguine

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One of Most Popular Mac Apps Acts Like Spyware
« on: September 08, 2018, 09:26:23 pm »
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Apple prides itself on prioritizing user security and privacy. It counts the iOS and Mac App Stores, where customers can download an array of trusted, vetted software, as cornerstones of that initiative. But while the approach does minimize situations where users get tricked into downloading something nasty on the open web, malware inevitably slips through. In this case, that appears to include one of the most popular offerings in the Mac App Store.

Security-scanning app Adware Doctor currently sits fourth on the Mac App Store's list of top paid apps. But after a researcher who goes by Privacy 1st released a proof-of-concept video detailing suspicious behavior in the app, Mac security researchers Patrick Wardle of Digita Security and Thomas Reed of Malwarebytes independently investigated it as well.

The researchers found that Adware Doctor collects data about its users, particularly browsing history and a list of other software and processes running on a machine, stores that data in a locked file, and periodically sends it out to a server that appears to be located in China. (....

https://www.wired.com/story/adware-doctor-mac-app-store-spyware/

Offline Fishrrman

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Re: One of Most Popular Mac Apps Acts Like Spyware
« Reply #1 on: September 08, 2018, 11:45:28 pm »
On the Mac, I use MalwareBytes anti-Malware for Mac.

It's free, and it works.
There's no need to use anything "more" or anything else.

Since OS X was first introduced back around 2003, there has never been a "virus" (per se) found "in the wild". A few created and demo'ed in "closed environments", perhaps, but not "free and loose".

There is (of course) Mac malware and adware, and that's what MalwareBytes snags. I found this out myself -- first piece of malware picked up in 30 years, MB identified it and removed it.

MB is a free download.
It will "prompt you" to sign up for the "pay for" version, but you don't have to do that.
Just keep saying "no thanks".
The prompts will end after 30 days and it will "convert itself" into a permanently-free version and can be run that way.