Malwarebytes has forayed into the less-ventured area of Mac security by releasing Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac because it believes that the Mac user community is under-served as far as security goes and that Macs also need security now-a-days. The company also announced acquisition of AdwareMedic by The Safe Mac.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac is a result of requests from a number of customers for malware protection of Mac systems, the company revealed and that it is part of their vision to offer security and protection for all devices – no matter what operating system they are running.
Mac systems have traditionally being viewed as safe from malware, but with hackers increasing their arsenal of exploits, more and more malware for Macs are cropping up.
According to a June 2015 OPSWAT report, only half of Mac users have antivirus protection, and that protection does not typically detect adware. In the last two years, there has been a proliferation of new adware—including Genieo, Conduit, and VSearch—that inject ads and pop-up hyperlinks in web pages, change the user’s homepage and search engine, and insert unwanted toolbars into the browser.
For the last several years, Reed has been working on adware remediation projects, which culminated in the creation of AdwareMedic. AdwareMedic has become a popular adware removal tool and has been downloaded 2.8 million times so far in 2015 alone. In June, there were approximately 450,000 new downloads and 200,000 updates. Reed now brings those capabilities and his expertise to Malwarebytes.
“Adware was multiplying like the proverbial rabbits, and people were having trouble following manual removal instructions, even to the point of damaging their systems or their data in the process” says Thomas Reed who is a self-trained Mac security expert and AdwareMedic creator and owner.
Reed says that this increase in adware let him to create simple adware removal AppleScript; however, as it grew, it was difficult to maintain at which point he created AdwareMedic, an app designed to detect and remove adware from the Mac.
Like anti-virus software, it features adware “signatures” that could be updated as needed to detect new threats, and had more complex detection capabilities.
Post acquisition, Reed has joined Malwarebytes as Director of Mac Offerings, leading a growing team of Mac developers and researchers at the company.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac 1.0 will be available as a consumer download on July 15. Small business and enterprise versions will be unveiled this fall.
