Mac Defender: Pay Attention But Don’t Panic
Online crime falls mostly into four categories: self-spreading malware (like viruses); malware that attacks vulnerable Web browsers when you visit a site (drive-by attacks); malware that tricks you into installing it (like Mac Defender); and online scams and Web attacks that don’t hack your computer (eBay scams, phishing, search-result poisoning, and so on). Macs are still unlikely to see the first or fully-automated versions of the second. Mac users have always faced the fourth. But as our numbers grow, it’s only natural we will see more of the third.
I think most longtime Mac users have experienced that installing anti-virus software causes far more problems it solves, so it’s ironic that in this case it still seems to be true. Not worrying about malware would have protected you from Mac Defender.
