Most have heard the generalization that Macs are safer than Windows users because the nefarious hackers target the most widely used operating system first. Well in that case, Android is by far the most widely used operating system for all mobile devices worldwide according to Wikipedia Usage share of operating systems, and concludes, “most desktop and laptop computers use Microsoft Windows, while most supercomputers use Linux, although these categories are not similar in their use cases at all.” Surprisingly, in 2015, Wikipedia quotes Gartner’s article, Windows comes up third in OS clash two years early, showing that iOS/OSX users now account for 297 million (12.3%), thereof OS X is 21 million, coming in second, way behind Android’s 1.3 billion (53%), making Windows number 3 with 283 million (11.7%). This has resulted in learning that hackers are now targeting Macs as well as iOS devices, with malware attacks, the latest one, called EasyDoc Converter which according to Apple Insider, “can access the FaceTime camera, download files, execute commands, and even send emails with attached files.” Fortune says, “the fake application is designed to sucker people into installing it, giving attackers full anonymous access to infected Apple machines.”
However, for Mac users, if the Mac Gatekeeper is set up properly, your Mac is protected from this malware attack. The cybersecurity firm Bitdefender announced this new malware attack in an article published on its website, calling it “Backdoor.MAC.Eleanor”. This app is not available in Apple’s Official App Store. The safest place to download any application is using the Apple Official App Store for Macs or iTunes App Store for your iOS device. To be sure your Mac is properly set you can do this yourself by following the directions Apple recommends, or contacting Connectech to analyze all your devices to be sure you are protected. If you choose to download from other sources, be sure you trust the source. Otherwise, you have been forewarned if you have read this post.