Is Mirai Malware A Problem For Mac

A phishing scam has targeted Mac users by redirecting them from legitimate websites to fake websites which tell them that their computer is infected with a virus. The user is then offered Mac Defender 'anti-virus' software to solve the issue.
This “anti-virus” software is malware (i.e. malicious software). Its ultimate goal is to get the user's credit card information which may be used for fraudulent purposes.
The most common names for this malware are MacDefender, MacProtector and MacSecurity.

Apple released a free software update (Security Update 2011-003) that will automatically find and remove Mac Defender malware and its known variants.
The Resolution section below also provides step-by-step instructions on how to avoid or manually remove this malware.

Resolution

Mar 19, 2019  Further, Mirai stores itself in memory, rebooting the device is enough to purge any potential infection but it is advised to change the password first as Mirai can quickly infect a device after a reboot. Like with many other malware families protecting against Mirai. When removing the files, MBAM may require a reboot in order to remove some of them. If it displays a message stating that it needs to reboot, please allow it to do so. Once your computer has rebooted, and you are logged in, please continue with the rest of the steps. When MBAM has finished removing the malware.

How to avoid installing this malware

If any notifications about viruses or security software appear, quit Safari or any other browser that you are using. If a normal attempt at quitting the browser doesn’t work, then Force Quit the browser.

In some cases, your browser may automatically download and launch the installer for this malicious software. If this happens, cancel the installation process; do not enter your administrator password. Delete the installer immediately using the steps below.

  1. Go into the Downloads folder, or your preferred download location.
  2. Drag the installer to the Trash.
  3. Empty the Trash.

How to remove this malware

If the malware has been installed, we recommend the following actions:

  • Do not provide your credit card information under any circumstances.
  • Use the Removal Steps below.

Removal steps

  1. Move or close the Scan Window.
  2. Go to the Utilities folder in the Applications folder and launch Activity Monitor.
  3. Choose All Processes from the pop up menu in the upper right corner of the window.
  4. Under the Process Name column, look for the name of the app and click to select it; common app names include: MacDefender, MacSecurity or MacProtector.
  5. Click the Quit Process button in the upper left corner of the window and select Quit.
  6. Quit Activity Monitor application.
  7. Open the Applications folder.
  8. Locate the app ex. MacDefender, MacSecurity, MacProtector or other name.
  9. Drag to Trash, and empty Trash.

Malware also installs a login item in your account in System Preferences. Removal of the login item is not necessary, but you can remove it by following the steps below.

  • Open System Preferences, select Accounts, then Login Items
  • Select the name of the app you removed in the steps above ex. MacDefender, MacSecurity, MacProtector
  • Click the minus button

Use the steps in the “How to avoid installing this malware” section above to remove the installer from the download location.

Note: Apple provides security updates for the Mac exclusively through Software Update and the Apple Support Downloads site. Magicscan software download. User should exercise caution any time they are asked to enter sensitive personal information online.

Several months ago, Americans on the East Coast awoke to discover that large swathes of the Internet, including major sites like Twitter, were totally inaccessible. The problems continued for hours; the cause was eventually revealed to be a huge DDoS attack launched against Dyn, a major DNS provider in America. The attack, leveraging an army of compromised devices like DVRs and webcams called the Mirai botnet, did no lasting damage but did draw further attention to the growing problem that botnets such as these represent.Now, Mirai has struck again — this time in Germany and the United Kingdom. Two distinctive features separate this attack from other previous assaults: the attack knocked home Internet users offline, and the botnet seems to have been modified. Rather than targeting the servers of a major DNS provider, the botnet was this time directed to attack specific router models. These included units by manufacturers Zyxel and D-Link. Many ISPs were affected, including TalkTalk, Post Office, and Deutsche Telekom. In Germany alone, nearly one million customers lost their access to the web after the botnet attempted to infect vulnerable routers with its malware. Some hundred thousand more in the UK experienced the same problem.In an effort to fix the issue, firmware updates were immediately released to guard against the threat; customers needed only to power cycle their router to receive the update. Overall, there was no long-term effect and customers were quickly brought back online. So, what happened?There is a fundamental difference between this version of Mirai and the botnet that attacked Dyn. First, the type of hardware attacked was different, meaning the worm itself required modifications to attack the framework running on the routers. Its goal was to take over these routers, eventually creating a new form of the botnet that could then be directed via a remote command and control server.However, perhaps due to an error in the modifications, the hijacking attempts failed, causing the hardware to crash instead. This repeated crashing was the root cause of the outage customers experienced. While whoever directed the attack was unsuccessful, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether they will redevelop their version of Mirai and attempt to deploy it again. As researchers have more time to understand how it works, though, the better the protections that will be put into place. It’s clear that Mirai is still here to stay.