Many browsers block pop-up windows by default. Most reputable sites don't use pop-up windows.
You can protect your computer by running antivirus and antimalware software like Bitdefender or Norton. Limiting your computer's vulnerability to malware is a crucial safe browsing habit.
Securing your computer and learning how to identify and avoid suspicious links are the fundamentals of safe browsing habits. Developing safe and smart browsing habits can protect you from malware and other threats, like viruses. Malware is one of the most common hazards to your computer when you're online, but it's easy to avoid.
In July 2020, the security firm ESET reported a group of spoofed cryptocurrency trading apps was targeting devices running macOS to install malware called Gmera (see: Malicious Cryptocurrency Trading Apps Target MacOS Users)./en/internetsafety/avoiding-spam-and-phishing/content/ How to avoid malware The malware used an updated backdoor and multistage payloads as well as anti-detection techniques to help bypass security tools (see: Fresh MacOS Backdoor Variant Linked to Vietnamese Hackers). In December, researchers at Trend Micro uncovered a macOS backdoor variant linked to an advanced persistent threat group operating from Vietnam. Other security researchers have reported attacks targeting macOS devices to plant cryptominers or other types of malware.Įarlier this month, researchers at Intezer Labs uncovered a campaign using a remote access Trojan dubbed ElectroRAT that had been stealing cryptocurrency from digital wallets on Windows, Linux and macOS platforms (see: ElectroRAT Malware Targets Cryptocurrency Wallets). The researchers say that once the malware has compromised a macOS device, it will seek to kill several processes, including Activity Monitor, which prevents the user from inspecting resource usage. A script that downloads and sets up XMR-STAK-RX, a free, open-source monero RandomX miner software package.An anti-analysis AppleScript to perform evasion tasks from certain consumer-level monitoring and cleanup tools.
"In late 2020, we discovered that the malware authors, presumably building on their earlier success in evading full analysis, had continued to develop and evolve their techniques," says Phil Stokes, a threat researcher at Sentinel Labs. OSAMiner's operators released the latest version of the cryptominer in 2020, but researchers only recently discovered the enhancements, according to the researchers' report.
The malware now uses multiple versions of AppleScript - a scripting language used in macOS devices - to support obfuscation. OSAMiner, which has been active since 2015, has been distributed through hacked video games, such as League of Legends, as well as compromised versions of software packages, including Microsoft Office for macOS, Sentinel Labs says. The latest iteration uses new techniques to help prevent detection by security tools, the researchers report. See Also: Webinar | Prevent, Detect & Restore: Data Security Backup Systems Made Easy Sentinel Labs researchers have identified an updated version of the cryptominer OSAMiner that targets the macOS operating system to mine for monero.