Expert: Mac Malware Invisible By Lack Of Anti-Virus

Because Mac users install anti-virus software is difficult for anti-virus companies to estimate how big the problem of Mac malware is actually. That says Bogdan Botezatu, an analyst of the Romanian antivirus company BitDefender. Previously, Apple had yet know that users could install a virus, but now it no longer does so.

"Apple is promoting these products as virus-free. They say you do not need a virus scanner, because they know that people hate anti-virus software. The tools often slow down your computer, so they themselves will not promote," Botezatu said front Digital Trends . Mac OS X, according to the analyst to deal with more serious vulnerabilities than all the different Windows versions added. Because Microsoft has always been attacked over the years would have learned to respond quickly to security threats.

Having vulnerabilities still says nothing about attacks on the platform. However, when it comes to Mac computers is missing important information to say something about this, the analyst noted. "The absence of virus scanners on Mac OS X hides the reality, because the malware is not reported. We know it happens on Windows because it is visible to us here, but with Mac OS X, there is often no anti-virus to give something back report. "

In addition, Mac users would not know that their computer is infected, because most malware these days is hardly noticeable."It's the same as with the PC. Hackers realized how silent they are, the longer they go unnoticed. Modern Mac and Windows malware slows down your computer, unless the bitcoin-miners are," said Botezatu. The large market share of Windows would, according to the analyst still ensure that cyber criminals are targeting this platform.