The vast majority of macOS malware in the wild today are in the form of trojans: apps that pretend to be legitimate apps - typically pirated copies of commercial apps, or third-party apps downloaded from unsavory paces like CNET Downloads, VersionTracker, or MacUpdate with installers that have been stealthily modified by those download services to bundle malware with them.Īnd the majority of such macOS trojan malware is adware that modifies the behavior of web browsers to spy on your browsing behavior and inject ads into pages displayed by the web browser.Īnd all of them require the user to be tricked into interactively downloading and installing them, as well as interactively entering administrator credentials when prompted, to successfully infect a target Mac. For these reasons, it never was able to spread far, even on the few occasions it was found in the wild. And it required the receiving computer's user to interactively click a link in iChat to download it to their computer, interactively open the downloaded file, and interactively supply administrator credentials to install it for it to be successful.

It was limited to local networks (like your home network) and couldn't spread over the internet.

Only one so far in all of these years, named Oompa-Loompa (also called OSX/Oomp-A or Leap.A), actually fits the true definition of a virus - and even then, very loosely, because it was never actually able to spread in the wild over the internet. The only OS X viruses in existence are proof-of-concepts written by security researchers to prove that it could be done. XProtect Explained: How Your Mac’s Built-in Anti-malware Software WorksĪbout System Integrity Protection on your MacĪpple has in-depth documentation about all of the security and privacy protections baled into their platforms right on their website if you’d like to learn more: Apple Platform SecurityĪnother thing you should consider is that there have been zero OS X viruses in the wild since its initial release back in 2001.Ī computer virus is a type of malicious software that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code.

Here are a few different technologies included in Apple’s operating systems that restrict access to critical resources and protect you (there are others I haven't bothered to mention): You do not need third-party antivirus software on Macs.Īpple’s modern operating systems are Unix-based operating systems with advanced core architectures and strong multi-layered security and privacy protections designed into the system from the lowest levels up, rather than as an afterthought as with some other mainstream operating systems. It's completely unnecessary and isn't an anti-malware utility.

How can i scan my mac for malware