New Mac malware in the wild evades security software, researchers

MacDailyNews ^ | July 1, 2019

[Swordmaker]

New Mac malware in the wild evades security software, researchers

Roger Fingas for AppleInsider:

Newly uncovered Mac malware is not only in the wild, but trying to avoid detection by security researchers, according to one such firm.

Dubbed “CrescentCore,” the malware comes as it usually does —in the form of a DMG file pretending to be an Adobe Flash Player installer, Intego said. If someone launches its contents, the software will check to see if it’s running inside a virtual machine — a way researchers often quarantine their subjects.

The malware also checks for several popular antivirus tools, and if it detects them, will simply stop running. If there’s nothing in the way one version will install “LaunchAgent,” described as a “persistent infection,” while another will install either “Advanced Mac Cleaner” or a Safari extension.

Joshua Long for Intego:

The team at Intego has observed OSX/CrescentCore in the wild being distributed via numerous sites. Mac users should beware that they may encounter it, even via seemingly innocuous sources such as Google search results.

The new malware was first observed linked from a site purporting to share digital copies of new comic books for free—one of many shady sites that flagrantly violates U.S. copyright laws.

Potentially harmful download links are commonly found on digital piracy sites that claim to offer download links for cracked copies of software, popular movies, and other copyrighted content that cannot be legally obtained for free. It is quite common for links on such sites to send users to malware, scams, or both.

[dayglored]

Hi Swordmaker,

Looks like my Mac is clean -- Malwarebytes scanned and didn't find anything. Whew.

[daniel1212]

Where is the assembly labor, clerical time to order and purchase, not to mention handling costs for the rebates, then amortized warranty expense, and future support in those figures? Where is the price of the Windows 10 Pro costs? Did you ignore the part of the specification from my client “name brand”? No, nothing in your list meets that very specific specification that a BUSINESS requires for an order for 10 reliable BUSINESS computers, not some home computers in which the user does his own maintenance.

Sorry, i was focusing on something comparable in the hardware aspect. Lenovo, HP, among others, do have business desktops with the Ryzen 3 2200G chip , which seems to offer the most value right now. If a business were to build their own, W/10 Pro would cost 140.00.