How to find Viruses on MAC?

Find out the common myths about MAC and Viruses

There’s one common myth successfully implanted in the brains of MAC users that a MAC system cannot be hacked. Technically, any piece of application or software can be hacked and be fed with a virus. An Apple PC might be much secure as compared to a Windows, but this doesn’t mean that Apple cannot be attacked by a virus. Though on a limited magnitude as compared to a Windows operating system, MAC, can be prone to the risk of custom designed viruses such as malware and spyware.

These days, installing an anti-virus on an Apple system is not considered shameful anymore! In fact, the numbers of people who’re installing antivirus on their MAC PC are on the growth! Now how do you find out viruses on a MAC? Read on to find out more.

1. Foxit Reader virus: Foxit reader is one of the largest used PDF viewing software. In the year 2009, an application claiming to be Foxit Reader for MAC became available online, when the fact is that only Windows, Linux and U3 were the platforms for the Foxit Reader. Users succumbed to the hoax and downloaded the application which further routed them to phishing websites.

2. IBotnet: IBotnet gave MAC users a clear picture of what is to come. With this virus, people came to know the reality that even MAC systems can be hacked and that the numbers of viruses being created for MAC are on the rise. Such viruses are generally put inside a parent application, and when you install the parent software, they automatically find their way into your PC.

Above are some of the virus attacks that have attacked MAC PCs. How to monitor and remove such threats, in case they enter your PC are as follows:

3. Performance Logs: Using performance logs can help you know which directory has been modified recently. Luckily for MAC users, there are only a few directories which can be attacked by viruses. So in case there is a suspicious activity in any one of the drives, you can know that the folder is at risk. Also, if the performance log shows some files being downloaded which you are not aware of, then you might want to probe further.

4. Anti-Virus: Antivirus applications are available for MAC, so you might consider buying one or downloading it in case it is free. Further, anti-ad-ware, anti-spy-ware are some of the add-ons with the antivirus software which can be used in a combination.

Thus, keeping your system secure is a better option than letting viruses enter and later operating on it. As they say, ‘better safe than sorry!’.