So given this, and the apparent increase in Mac threats – which is doubtless tied into Apple’s machines becoming more popular – anyone who has been following all this will likely have become more concerned about Mac security, and rightly so. Witness, for example, the recent revelation of a new strain of Mac ransomware (the first such sighting in some four years). However, we’ve also seen a regular drip of articles about Mac malware hitting the headlines. Of course, we must also bear in mind that this is just a single report, and it’s unwise to put too much emphasis on any one source in isolation.

These kind of efforts aren’t nearly as serious or dangerous as the full-fat malware out there, but they can certainly be unpleasant in at least some cases, hijacking your browser, changing your default search engine or perhaps serving up sponsored results to the benefit of the author. The big caveat here is that much more malware is still aimed at Windows PCs, with the Mac getting hit more with adware and potentially unwanted programs (PUPs), or ‘malware light’ as Malwarebytes dubs it. That stark headline isn’t the full story, though.

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