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First Scareware For the Mac

Posted by kdawson on from the rogue-cleaning-tool dept.

I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property sends us news from F-Secure of what they claim is the first rogue cleaning tool for the Mac. MacSweeper is a Mac version of Cleanator, hosted from a colo somewhere in the Ukraine. The article points out that the company's About page is lifted verbatim from Symantec's site. With the Mac's market share closing in on double digits, perhaps it's not surprising to see the platform targeted with crapware as PCs have been for years. The F-Secure author adds as a footnote that a journalist said to him something you don't hear every day: "I visited the macsweeper.com website. I know I probably shouldn't have but I used a Windows PC so I knew I wouldn't get infected."

7 of 301 comments (clear)

  1. gamespot gave it 11 out of 10 by User+956 · · Score: 5, Funny

    With the Mac's market share closing in on double digits, perhaps it's not surprising to see the platform targeted with crapware as PCs have been for years.

    I didn't realize Kane & Lynch had been announced for the Mac platform

    --
    The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
  2. Re:Not the smartest journo by Chyeld · · Score: 5, Funny

    Real security experts telnet to port 80 and hand craft their HTTP requests. It's the only way to be sure!

  3. fixed that for you by joeyspqr · · Score: 5, Funny

    "I visited the macsweeper.com website. I know I probably shouldn't have but I used a Mac so I knew I wouldn't get infected."

    oh wait ...

    --
    +1 fashionably cynical
  4. Re:Not the smartest journo by MrKevvy · · Score: 5, Funny

    re: "If the site hosts mac malware then it is a pretty good bet they already have established "businesses" in the field of windows malware."

    If the site was detecting the user agent or using some other method of determining platform and delivering targeted malware based on it, I doubt they would have also been delivering a fake Mac scan to a Windows browser as they did in the article.

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    -- Insert witty one-liner here. --
  5. double digits? by BeanThere · · Score: 5, Funny

    There are now 10 or more Mac users?

  6. First Scareware? by Macrat · · Score: 5, Funny

    I thought Symantec released the first Scareware for Macs?

  7. Re:Hi i'm MacSweeper Developer, listen to me by Lewrker · · Score: 5, Funny

    Dear Sir,
    thank you for make clear mistake. I find myself have found an inheritance of 50 BILLION DOLLARS (AMERICAN). I rely my confidence on your arm in relate your website macsviper.kom be legitimate business as of identity yours will be made clear as mine is, for this I will need your kindest help with transfer five hundred dollars of administration price, for which of as of now I am not in relation available.
    Sincerely yours,
    Ba Ba Baa, Nigeria