Browser preferences are among the fundamentals of regular computer use, being nifty shortcuts to personalize one’s Internet experience. This convenience works flawlessly until a piece of malware shows up. The category of harmful code called adware is the one to blame for tweaking victims’ web navigation defaults, as is the case with the Yahoo redirect virus on Mac. This article explains the mechanics of said attack vector.

Macs are just as prone to adware attacks as Windows PCs. Although these aren’t high-profile compromise incidents, they cause a great deal of trouble to users by badly affecting the web surfing facet of computing. The multi-platform and cross-browser potentially unwanted app called Safe Finder triggers a noxious redirect activity, where victims keep hitting search.safefinder.com without intending to at all.

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.

Browser hijacking is one of the top security issues in the Mac climate. The average malware attack of that sort isn’t in the severe ‘red’ area as far as the impact is concerned, which allows cybercrooks to avoid crossing the line and carry on with these campaigns for years. However, their tactics are getting refined, as is the case of the Coordinator Plus virus. The app pretends to be a useful web surfing enhancement tool but turns one’s browsing upside down.

The ever-mutating Mac malware won’t seem to stop reaching new heights in terms of its aggressive tactics combined with a fair extent of weirdness. It turns out that garden-variety adware and web search hijackers plaguing Apple’s machines on a large scale aren’t the most irksome pests on the virus heat map. Having surfaced just recently, a harmful app called WindowMix has demonstrated that malware devs’ toolkit could go way beyond mainstream attack methods.

Everybody likes freebies, coupons and miscellaneous ecommerce deals. It comes as no surprise that apps bringing these perks to one’s fingertips are generally welcome. However, a headlong pursuit of lower price can turn out to be risky business these days. With potentially harmful software like AlphaShoppers on the loose, Mac users may end up in a browsing trap accompanied by a redirect and ad-injection frenzy.