According to security company Intego, last year was quite tumultuous for Apple in terms of OS X security. The report reveals that Macs had to face the most malware attacks since OS X was released. Intego details the dangers that Mac owners faced. 2011“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, or photos of the year’s important news events—were sent to web sites that told them that their Macs were infected by malware, then tried to get them to buy a program that would “clean up” their Macs, ” explains the Intego report. This particular malware was initially known as Mac Defender but later this fake antivirus spread under many names.
Even under these circumstances, the good news is that none of the malware that polluted the OS X environment had a viral nature, which means the malwares noticed in 2011 weren’t self replicating or self moving. Most of the malware discovered or analyzed by Intego was “social-engineering Trojan horses that attempted to trick users.” The report also shows that during last year Apple’s OS X didn’t reveal any major security vulnerabilities and the majority of attacks were managed in appropriate time.
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