Malwarebytes Rolls Out Anti-Malware Tool For Macs

Security vendor Malwarebytes has launched an anti-malware tool for Apple Mac users amid growing security concerns for the Mac OSX operating system following an increasing number of attacks.

The release of the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac is the first time that the company has provided a security product for Mac users, which allows them to both detect and remove malware from their machines.

Requested

The new product is designed to detect and remove malware, adware, and PUPs (potentially unwanted programs). All of these capabilities have apparently been “repeatedly requested by customers.”

The company has also acquired a product called AdwareMedic by The Safe Mac to shore up these securities provisions. The deal also sees AdwareMedic creator and owner Thomas Reed joining Malwarebytes as Director of Mac Offerings, where he will lead a team of developers and researchers dealing with the growing security problems surrounding the Mac community.

“I’ve been a fan of Malwarebytes for years and am thrilled to be joining the team. I’m also excited about being involved in the creation of new anti-malware capabilities for the Mac,” said Reed. “Mac users need protection against what is becoming an epidemic of adware.”

Malwarebytes revealed Apple Mac customers were very keen to get their hands on the anti-malware tool, that is commonly found on Windows machines.

“We’ve had repeated requests from our customers and community for malware protection on the Mac, and are now proud to unveil the first version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac,” said Chad Bacher, VP of products for Malwarebytes. “Our vision is to provide protection across all devices, regardless of type or operating system.”

“It used to be that Mac users were relatively safe from adware and malware. That’s plainly not the case anymore,” said Marcin Kleczynski, Malwarebytes CEO. “The bad guys are writing Trojans and ad pop-ups for the Mac.”

“So in keeping with our vision that everyone has the right to a malware-free existence, we’re offering a free Mac anti-malware product,” he added. “Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac has been built from the ground up for the Mac environment – it’s not just a simple port of our PC product. It’s a natural but unique addition to the Malwarebytes family.”

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac 1.0 will be available as a free consumer download here. Small business and enterprise versions will be unveiled in the Autumn.

Security Concerns

Apple used to have a good reputation when it came to security, but it still had the occansional vulnerability. Last year  for example, it emerged that Apple had to develop a patch for a serious vulnerability called “Rootpipe”. That flaw reportedly gave hackers admin privileges on a compromised Mac. To make matters worse, the hackers could exploit the flaw to give themselves the highest admin level, known as root access.

Last July Apple also fixed a number of bugs and security flaws in an update to OS X Mavericks, and there have been many other flaws and vulnerabilities over the years as well.

In 2012, Apple was criticised by security researchers who claimed it did not react fast enough to kill off a prevalent malware strain, called Flashback.

But of late, the security landscape for the Apple Mac has worsened. Last month, it was revealed that Apple had known about major zero-day flaws in its iOS and OS X operating systems for at least eight months, and the flaws were still present.

Researchers also warned that cybercriminals could use an iOS vulnerability to hack Apple Pay.

Despite the growing security worries, a June OPSWAT report revealed that only half of Mac users have antivirus protection, and that protection does not typically detect adware.

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