Apple takes on Mac Defender Scam

After days of silence Apple is now addressing the high-profile virus that is threatening to ruin the pristine virus free world of the Mac OS.

In the coming days, Apple will deliver a Mac OS X software update that will automatically find and remove Mac Defender malware and its known variants, the company stated. The update will also help protect users by providing an explicit warning if they download this malware.

The company is fighting what security experts say may be the most pernicious types of computer virus to ever target its users.

The malware, called MacGuard, falsely tells the user that their computer is infected with a virus and to remedy it, users should enter their credit cards and other personal information.

What makes it especially lethal is the ease with which it can creep into the user environment.

Unlike the previous variants of this fake antivirus, no administrator's password is required to install this program, explained security firm Intego. Since any user with an administrator's account - the default if there is just one user on a Mac - can install software in the Applications folder, a password is not needed.

An e-mail belonging to ChronoPay financial controller Alexandra Volkova has been traced to Mac Defender and Mac Security Scareware incidents, according to a new web security report.

ChronoPay owns the mail-eye.com domain and pays for virtual servers in Germany that run the mac-defence.com and macbookprotection.com domains.

Mac malware was directing users to pay for software on the two domains. The e-mail unveiled was linked to both domains.

The WHOIS information for both domains includes the contact address of fc@mail-eye.com. Last year, ChronoPay suffered a security breach in which tens of thousands of internal documents and emails were leaked. Those documents show that ChronoPay owns the mail-eye.com domain and pays for the virtual servers in Germany that run it. The records also indicate that the fc@mail-eye.com address belongs to ChronoPay's financial controller Alexandra Volkova, the report by Brian Krebs of Krebs on Security reported.

Apple will issue a software update for Mac OS X that will remove the malware and its variants.

In the meantime Apple suggests following these steps to remove the malware.