Malicious actors are becoming growingly proficient in masquerading harmful software as must-have benign utilities for everyday use. Such rogue apps are among the top threats for Mac computers these days, with samples like Smart Mac Booster splashing onto the landscape and wreaking quite a bit of havoc. Get the lowdown on how this wicked scheme works and what to do if the contamination has occurred.

Affiliate marketing is a great thing that bridges the gap between software publishers and buyers. Unfortunately, this industry is susceptible to abuse by malicious actors who seek to earn commissions in an unethical way. This is the kind of exploitation seen in a malvertising campaign that involves deceptive popup ads saying “Your Apple iPhone is infected” to push VPN tools for iOS or macOS devices.

While some cyber gangs employ phishing emails to defraud users of money and data, others set up sites that report inexistent problems with the visitors’ computers to hoodwink them into following untoward recommendations. For instance, the Pornographic Virus Alert from Apple scam popups occur on web pages controlled by crooks who are trying to dupe Mac users into contacting fake tech support.

There is a competition going on between Microsoft and Apple – that’s common knowledge. However, this doesn’t mean that products by either company are off limits to the aficionados of the benign “rival”. Lots of Mac users opt for popular Microsoft products, such as Office and Skype. The Microsoft AutoUpdate service keeps these tools up to date. Cybercrooks may abuse it, though. Here’s how.

There are numerous facets and shades of Mac adware. Some of these junk apps fully live up to their categorization, displaying ads on most web pages the victim visits. Others use a different tactic that involves an unauthorized overhaul of one’s browser settings to reroute the traffic. The Bing redirect virus targeting Mac, as the name suggests, falls under the latter cluster.

MacKeeper is a system utility that claims to improve the performance of Mac computers by cleaning up junk files, freeing memory, and removing malicious software. It also purports to safeguard user data through encryption and backup features. However, there are a few things about this app that raise red flags. These include a controversially aggressive marketing strategy and scare tactics being employed to peddle subscriptions.