Apple’s Advice: How to Stay Safe in Wake of 'Mac Defender' Threat

In responding officially to the Mac Defender threat targeting users of its OS X operating system, Apple has posted the standard procedure for either avoiding the trap, or uninstalling the malware.

While not recommending any antivirus software, Apple promises to address the danger posed by Mac Defender via software update.

Said update will make its way to Apple customers ‘in the coming days,’ Apple said. Until then, users can stay on the safe side by following Apple’s how-to guides to either slide past Mac Defender, or uninstall it.

The tech giant advises customers that, “If any notifications about viruses or security software appear, quit Safari or any other browser that you are using. If a normal attempt at quitting the browser doesn’t work, then Force Quit the browser.”

Since Safari can also automatically download and even launch an installer if the user has set it to ‘open safe files,’ Apple recommends to cancel the installation process and avoid entering an administrator password.

“Delete the installer immediately using the steps below,” Apple says, outlining the final steps to avoid the threat.

1. Go into the Downloads folder or your preferred download location.
2. Drag the installer to the Trash.
3. Empty the Trash.

For those who’ve already been tricked into installing Mac Defender, there’s an altogether different approach.

Although broken down in many more steps, the user’s task to remove the malware is basically to just quit Mac Defender and uninstall it by dragging it to the trash.

Infected users can also remove Mac Defender from the list of login items, although this is not mandatory, Apple says.

Users can review the official procedure here.

The Mac maker outlines that users should only look for official security updates from Apple at the Apple Support Downloads site, or through Software Update.

A final piece of advice from Apple - “User should exercise caution any time they are asked to enter sensitive personal information online.”