The Mac Security Blog
The year 2011 was the most active year for Mac malware since Mac OS X was released. It notably saw an extensive outbreak of sophisticated attacks that led users from Google image searches to web pages serving malware. Users seeking banal images – pictures of cats, trees or birds – were sent to web sites that told them that their Macs were infected by malware, and tried to get them to buy a program that would “clean up” their Macs. This malware went by many names, but was initially called Mac Defender.
2011 can be split into two unequal parts: before May 2, the day that Intego discovered the MacDefender fake antivirus, and after that day, when the Mac community realized that the malware threat had suddenly become much more serious. The Mac Defender fake antivirus used sophisticated social engineering tricks that had been proven effective on the Windows platform to trick Mac users. And Mac users weren’t ready for such deception.
As the summer ended, and Mac Defender and its variants were fading away, and when everyone thought the Mac malware situation would calm down, a second malware attack, the Flashback Trojan horse, plagued Mac users. This, too, used social engineering to get Mac users to install a Trojan horse.
In addition to malware, there were plenty of privacy issues and hacking stories that affected Apple products and Mac users. Mac OS X and third-party software required a number of security updates. A new version of Mac OS X – 10.7 Lion – was released. And Steve Jobs passed away.
It was a very eventful year.
Read the full report – download a 2.6 MB PDF file.
As the scariest weekend of the year approaches, it’s a good time to give your Mac a treat and protect it from the dangers of the Internet. Intego is offering 15% off its acclaimed Internet Security Barrier X6, which provides comprehensive protection against malware, network threats, spyware, phishing, zombies and more.
Internet Security Barrier is a bundle containing the following Intego programs:
- VirusBarrier X6: Keeps Macs safe from all known malware and network threats.
- ContentBarrier: Protects children from adult web sites, predatory chats, suggestive e-mail and more.
- Personal Backup: The one-stop backup tool for Mac OS X, backs up files, clones startup volumes, and synchronizes folders or volumes, protecting Mac users from data loss.
- Personal Antispam: Analyzes incoming e-mail, determining which messages are spam and which are valid messages, so users can work more efficiently without spam getting in their way.
- FileGuard: Creates virtual safes that provide unbreakable protection for sensitive files. Users can create as many safes as they want, each with its own password.
Save 15% on Internet Security Barrier by entering the code HALLOWEEN when you place an order on Intego’s online store. This promotion is valid worldwide, only in Intego’s on-line store, and does not apply to software sold elsewhere.
Whether you’re going back to school or to work, it’s a good time to make sure your Macs are protected from the dangers of the Internet. Get protection from viruses, malware and network attacks, tools to back up your essential files and filter out spam, or to keep your children sheltered from inappropriate web content. Intego has the programs you need to protect you and your Macs.
Intego is offering 20% discount on any Intego X6 or Dual Protection product, purchased exclusively from the Intego online store. This includes standard packs and family packs, but not upgrades, renewals or accessories. To benefit from this discount, use the following code in the Intego online store (http://www.intego.com/store/), through September 30, 2011: BACKTOSCHOOL2011.
This promotion applies to the following Intego programs:
- VirusBarrier X6
- Internet Security Barrier X6
- VirusBarrier X6 Dual Protection
- Internet Security Barrier X6 Dual Protection
- Washing Machine
This promotion is valid worldwide, only in Intego’s on-line store, and does not apply to software sold in Apple’s Mac App Store or iTunes App Store.
Learn more about VirusBarrier iOS on the Intego web site.
With OS X Lion out, a lot of people will take advantage of the weekend to upgrade their Macs to the new operating system. But before running the upgrade, you should do the single most important thing to protect your files: back them up. Ideally, you should back up your entire startup disk, “cloning” it, making a full copy that you can boot from if you have any problems. To do this, you need an external hard disk, but you can get a good-sized one for around $100. And this is a device you should own, to back up your files regularly.
If you don’t have an external hard disk, you can back up your important files – those in your home folder – to DVDs, but it takes a bit longer. You can also back up to a network volume, if you have other computers on a network, or to an online server.
You can perform all of these tasks with Intego Personal Backup, which is part of the Internet Security suite. With Personal Backup, you can make bootable backups (clones), regular backups, and even synchronize folders across two Macs. You can back up to any kind of device that your Mac can read and write data to: hard disks, network volumes, DVDs and more.
So back up your files now, then install Lion and discover Apple’s great new operating system.
Your security is important to us. With Mac OS X Lion due for release very soon – Apple said sometime in July – Intego’s developers have worked hard in recent months to ensure that all of the company’s applications will work with Lion. All of Intego’s software is ready for Lion, and some programs have been fully Lion-compatible now for several weeks.
We strongly recommend that you update your Intego software before updating to Lion, whenever Mac OS X 10.7 is released. To do this, use NetUpdate, which you can launch either from the Intego menu in your menubar, or from the System Preferences application. You’ll find the necessary updates for all of your Intego software.
The following are the version numbers of Lion-compatible Intego programs:
ContentBarrier X5: 10.5.7
ContentBarrier 10.6: 10.6.4
FileGuard 10.6: 10.6.2
NetBarrier X5: 10.5.7
NetUpdate: 10.5.7
Personal Antispam X5: 10.5.11
Personal Antispam 10.6: 10.6.7
Personal Backup X5: 10.5.9
Personal Backup X6: 10.6.2
Remote Management Console 2: 2.0.3
VirusBarrier X5: 10.5.13
VirusBarrier X6: 10.6.13
VirusBarrier Server 3: 3.2
Washing Machine: 2.4
Intego is offering all existing and new customers a 10% discount on any Intego product, purchased exclusively from the Intego online store. This includes standard packs, family packs, Dual Protection software, and full upgrades. To benefit from this discount, use the following code in the Intego online store, before August 20, 2011: X6LION-107