According to a state-of-cybercrime report published last week, at least 4.3 million computers were infected with infostealer malware in 2024. The report also stated that as many as 3.9 billion passwords may have been “sourced from infostealer logs,” based on the research firm’s observations.
Intego frequently reports on stealer malware for Mac. Information-stealing malware designed to infect macOS has become increasingly common over the past couple of years. In fact, stealers are now the most common form of Mac malware that we observe in the wild.
Among the most frequent sources of infection is Google search results. Threat actors buy up sponsored advertisements that Google places above the actual search results. These often look like legitimate ads for whatever the user might be seeking; victims click on ad links, end up on a lookalike site, and unknowingly download and install Trojan horses designed to look like legitimate apps—largely because they placed too much trust in Google to not lead them into harm’s way.
The same thing can, of course, happen with other search engines as well. In fact, even Apple’s own App Store has been known to let in dangerous apps—including a fake password manager that may have been used as an infostealer Trojan. This is why it’s so important to always stay on guard, and to use a trusted third-party antivirus solution like Intego VirusBarrier.
If you believe your Mac may be infected, or to prevent future infections, it’s best to use antivirus software from a trusted Mac developer. VirusBarrier is antivirus software that has won numerous awards, and it is designed by Mac security experts. Its real-time scanning provides the continuous protection that your Mac needs. VirusBarrier runs natively on both Intel- and Apple silicon-based Macs, and it’s compatible with Apple’s latest Mac operating system, macOS Sequoia.
One of VirusBarrier’s unique features is that it can scan for malicious files on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch in user-accessible areas of the device. To get started, just attach your iOS or iPadOS device to your Mac via a USB cable and open VirusBarrier.
Windows PC users can also use Intego Antivirus for Windows to keep their computer protected from malware.
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