macOS now comes with a vulnerability scanner called mrt. It’s installed within the MRT.app bundle in /System/Library/CoreServices/MRT.app/Contents/MacOS/ and while it doesn’t currently have a lot that it can do – it does protect against the various bad stuff that is actually available for the Mac. To use mrt, simply run the binary with a -a flag for agent and then a -r flag along with the path to run it against. For example, let’s say you run a launchctl command to list LaunchDaemons and LaunchAgents running: launchctl list And you see something that starts with com.abc. Let me assure you that nothing should ever start with that. So you can scan it using…
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Snow Leopard & Malware
An article on ZDNet that states that Snow Leopard has anti-malware built into it (thanks Dee-Ann): http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=4104&tag=nl.e589 Side note: I wonder whether or not they read the EULA for their pre-released software? I realize that release date is really just a few days from now, but come on guys… Just wait a couple of days to post these things…
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Malware: The PC Users Worse Enemy
I originally posted this at http://www.318.com/TechJournal How to Know You Have it and What to do About Removing It What is it? Malware, short for Malicious software, is the macro concept behind names like “Adwareâ€, “Spywareâ€, “Hijackersâ€, “Toolbars†and “Dialersâ€. Malware is a growing PC-related assault epidemic (doesn’t effect Macintosh too much yet). How you get it? Malware tends to sneak into your life (usually in a hidden or invisible manner) via third party software (software from less-than well known developers) disguised as added functionality to your work flow and your internet experience (and other bells and whistles) in order to execute many malicious tasks that are bad for business.…
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Malware: the Cat and Mouse Game
I originally posted this at http://www.318.com/TechJournal Spyware is software that covertly gathers user information through the user’s Internet connection without their knowledge, usually for advertising purposes. Adware refers to any software application or program displaying advertising banners or Pop-up. Adware is often considered spyware (although not always) and is typically installed without the user’s knowledge. Malware is a general term that encompases both of these and often viruses and trojan horses, which can cause computers to become slow due to the amount of processing power that these applications can take and the number of them that can infect computers. Malware applications are typically bundled as a hidden component of shareware…