When it came to viruses, and later malware, Mac users had it easy for many years. Viruses and malware were things only PC users had to worry about. This last week, Internet security company Bitdefender released the news that a new Mac malware was not only making the rounds, but it's a pretty nasty piece of software.
Yes, of course, but not overtly so if (a) you didn’t download a piece of software called EasyDoc Converter and (b) you have the latest version of the free (and really great) MalwareBytes Anti-Malware for Mac.
EasyDoc Converter is a faux-application that is designed to do one thing: install a piece of malware on your Mac called Backdoor.MAC.Eleanor. Backdoor.MAC.Eleanor is really nasty.
When installed, it creates a hidden Tor service that allows attackers to have full anonymous access to the infected Mac. They do this through a remote PHP web server. From there, the attackers can do pretty much anything they want. They would have full access to anything on your computer. Anything. They could also execute code to perform services, such as accessing your iSight camera. They can send email from your Mac. In short, they can do anything you would be able to do on your Mac.
The chances that you are infected are very slim. There is a free solution, and that’s the above mentioned MalwareBytes Anti-Malware for Mac. MalwareBytes has already been updated to detect and fix Backdoor.MAC.Eleanor. We highly recommend you download and use this software!
Next week, we will go over simple precautions that you can take so that malware has almost zero chance to infect your Mac!
