How to Scan Mac for Malware. Scanning your Mac for malware should never require pulling out your credit card. Unfortunately, Mac malware can disguise itself as a removal tool, demand payment in exchange for protecting your computer. As we talked about in, you may have been led to believe that you don’t have to worry about computer viruses on your Mac. And, to some extent, there’s truth to that. While your Mac can definitely be infected with malware, Apple’s built-in capabilities are meant to make it less likely that you’ll download and run malicious software. Apple introduced malware detection to the Mac OS with Snow Leopard (Mac OS 10.6). This system consists of the quarantine of any app downloaded from the Internet, the use of Code Signing certificates to verify that an app is coming from a legit source, and regular security updates that include databases of known malware targeting the Mac OS. Because of this system, called File Quarantine and occasionally referred to as XProtect: • Apps in quarantine display a dialog window reminding you where the app came from and asking whether or not you’re sure you want to open it. • Apps with no code signing certificate, depending on your Gatekeeper settings, may display a message saying the app can’t be opened because of your settings. (For software you know is good you can bypass this by control-clicking the app and selecting Open from the resulting contextual menu.) • Apps that are known malware cannot be opened at all. You’ll be met with a message offering the option to toss the app in the trash. And this is why Macs remain mostly virus and malware free.
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September 2018
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