#Antivirus and porn protection for mac software#

Even Apple Macs, long considered to be immune to most computer viruses, are now being targeted by attackers, and fake anti-virus is their weapon of choice.

#Antivirus and porn protection for mac software#

Costing anywhere between $30 and $50 (€21 and €35), the software is designed to look like a genuine anti-virus product and appears to scan the machine and fix the problem. Typically, a message pops up on the person’s screen telling them their computer is infected and they have to download software to fix the problem.

In other cases, search results for popular subjects such as recent news events are “poisoned” so that links appearing near the top actually lead to sites hosting malicious software. Scareware can appear when a person receives a spam e-mail encouraging them to click on a link and the software is downloaded without their knowledge. Some gangs are making a million per week,” said Ed Gibson, formerly with the FBI and Microsoft, now a director at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the US. “The biggest moneymaker on the internet used to be porn. Sometimes called scareware, it’s designed to trick unsuspecting people into thinking their computer is infected with a virus and offers to clean their PC for a fee. Scareware takes advantage of the principle that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, writes GORDON SMITHįAKE ANTI-VIRUS software is now the leading earner for cybercriminals, a security expert has said.