MacRansom and MacSpy: Threatening But Flawed Pieces of Malware Spotted Online
MacRansom and MacSpy are the works of the same developer
People likely already know this, but the World Wide Web really is not a safe place anymore for the uneducated user. And serving to make the online environment even more dangerous are MacRansom and MacSpy, two recently discovered pieces of malware.
A recent report from BleepingComputer detailed the two examples of malware designed to harm the Mac, and there were some interesting things to know about them.
First off, the two cannot be stumbled upon just by browsing many of the popular sites, and instead, they are found on the Dark Web, a segment of the online world that is more difficult to get into.
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It also appears as though both of them have been made by the same developer and the websites they are found on look remarkably similar as well.
Perhaps more troubling were the two pieces of malware that are reportedly being offered to other people as well, so these could spread quickly, depending on how many other frequent visitors of the Dark Web take an interest in them.
Now, if all of these things sound frightening, people should know some other things about them that may offer at least a little bit of comfort for those who are worried about these pieces of malware potentially spreading and causing problems online.
Apparently, there are quite a few issues that have been observed with MacRansom and MacSpy. Notably, both of them are reportedly not digitally signed, and what that means is that they may cause security alerts to sound alarms, potentially saving users from their ill effects.
For now, the two pieces of malware appear to be dormant, and it is unclear if they will ever turn into full-blown problems.
Still, Mac users are urged to be more vigilant.
Even if MacRansom and MacSpy ultimately fail to cause problems, there may be others coming in the future that could pose greater threats and people will want to be ready for them.
