Apple posts MacDefender removal info, promises fix

[steve2470]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20065881-248.html

Apple this afternoon posted instructions for removing MacDefender, the rogue antivirus software that targets Mac OS X users. Additionally the company has said it will be updating its Mac OS to automatically find and remove the software.

Apple support article HT4650, titled "how to avoid or remove Mac Defender malware" includes a description of the software, as well as steps to remove it. CNET has learned that those who come to Apple for support on the issue will be directed toward the article until the fix is delivered, which Apple says should arrive "in the coming days."

News of MacDefender, which is also known as Mac Security and Mac Protector, hit earlier this month. The fake antivirus program is designed to trick users into thinking their machine has various malware infections, which it can remove if you pay up with a credit card.

As for how widespread the issue has become, Apple has not said. A post earlier today by ZDnet's Ed Bott estimated it to be anywhere between 60,000 and 125,000 customers, based on information gathered from a source at one of Apple's support centers. That post also contained a purported memo sent to Apple call centers, wherein they were told to point affected users toward a support document explaining what malware is and to install antivirus software.

[hobbit709]

1. And just last week they denied they had a problem.

[steve2470]

2. Apple Plans OS X Patch To Kill MacDefender Scareware

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2385864,00.asp

Apple plans to release a OS X software update that will seek out and destroy the MacDefender malware or scareware, Apple said in a support notice late on Tuesday.

The support document (which, at press time, wasn't available via a PCMag.com's desktop Chrome browser, but was accessible via a mobile phone) also provides a step-by-step resolution to eliminate the MacDefender malware, which also goes under the names MacProtector and MacSecurity.

"In the coming days, apple will deliver a Mac OS X software update that will automatically find and remove MacDefender malware and its known variants," Apple wrote. The update will also help protect users by providing an explicit warning if they download this malware."

Security firm Intego reported that the application attaches itself to a computer's launch menu and has no dock icon, making it difficult to quit. Mac Defender also opens Web pages for pornographic Web sites in the user's Web browser every few minutes, the firm said. "This is most likely to make users think that they are infected by a virus, and that paying for MAC Defender will relieve them of the problem," it said.