Author Topic: Free Spyware for MAC (Read 6066 times)

PenelopeB · « **on:** March 01, 2008, 08:18 »

Does anyone know of a good free spyware software download for MAC. I think someone is snooping.

I googled but there is a ton of them.

Thanks
P

Jack Schiffer · « **Reply #1 on:** March 01, 2008, 09:27 »

Macscan Trial version
http://macscan.securemac.com/buy/

dbvirago · « **Reply #2 on:** March 01, 2008, 18:44 »

google spybot. Don't know if they have mac version, but it works great for pc.

digiology · « **Reply #3 on:** March 02, 2008, 01:40 »

I'm curious. What makes you think you have spyware on your MAC? What symptoms are you experiencing?

PenelopeB · « **Reply #4 on:** March 02, 2008, 07:30 »

I am getting pop ups now, sometimes my cyberduck is on (open) even though I haven't done any ftp uploading for over a week, sometimes things are running real slow, sometimes my mac shuts itself off (not while I'm working) and sometimes you can hear the drive turning while nothing is running.

&... my son used my mac while we were away for "god knows what and where!"

My mac is a G4 and we are on broadband internet now (was on dial-up until last summer)

maunger · « **Reply #5 on:** March 02, 2008, 07:50 »

I keep pretty close tabs on the mac world and i've not seen any news of spyware on the mac. Not saying it isn't possible, but i just haven't heard of any.

Macs are unix boxes inside... there are many unix processes that can run in the background at random times that might spin up your drive while you think nothing is going on so i wouldn't consider that the true test.

if you want to watch what is using your computer, go to the Applications / utilities folder and open Activity monitor - make sure you click on the title for "CPU" to sort the list by what is using your CPU - so when it gets "really slow" you can see what process is running the most and slowing you down.

Don't know what would cause Cyberduck to open on its own unless he set it up to do something on an automated schedule. Look into cyberduck to see if it has a scheduling feature (i don't use it). Many of the FTP tools do.

if you really want to dig, do some research on the "chron" job for the mac, it is what does all the internal scheduling of processes - maybe there's something in there.

But i seriously doubt you have any spyware or virus - they just don't exist yet that we know of for the mac. That's what makes mac so wonderful!

digiology · « **Reply #6 on:** March 02, 2008, 14:50 »

I just checked out the prefs in Cyberduck and there is an option (preferences/ftp/default protocol handler) to "select the default application to be opened for files or links pointing to an FTP location". Mine is set to "finder" but maybe yours got switched somehow. I use Cyberduck at home and on all the Macs at work and have never had it launch on its own that I am aware of. Its does automatically search for updates so maybe thats triggering it?

This thread prompted me to do some research though and I did find some software (on www.versiontracker.com) that scans and removes a known trojan called "DNSChanger Removal Tool - 1.1". Here is the Product Description:
The DNSChanger Trojan Horse, also known as OSX.RSPlug.A and OSX/Puper, has been found on numerous pornographic websites disguising itself as a video codec. Once downloaded and installed, DNSChanger changes the DNS settings on the computer, redirecting websites entered by the user to malicious sites. If personal information is entered on these malicious websites, it can lead to identity theft.
Upon launching DNSChanger Removal Tool, click the Scan button to scan for the DNSChanger trojan horse. DNSChanger Removal Tool will scan your computer for the DNSChanger trojan horse, and alert you if it is detected. If the DNSChanger trojan horse is detected, DNSChanger Removal Tool will give you the option to remove it. If the DNSChanger trojan horse is detected and removed, you will need to restart your computer to clear out the bad DNS entries added by the DNSChanger Trojan Horse.

Does anyone have any experience with the above software? Some of the other spyware software can seriously impede the performance of the OS so I would be very cautious using any of this stuff. I could not find much on the Apple Discussions either (i didn't look very hard though)

One app that can breathe new life in a Mac is Cache Out X. (http://versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/14850)

Let us know how it goes.

The Corey · « **Reply #7 on:** March 09, 2008, 23:46 »

Quote from: dbvirago on March 01, 2008, 18:44

google spybot. Don't know if they have mac version, but it works great for pc.

Nothing like a PC user to answer a Mac question

( I use PC as well)

Little Snitch
http://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/index.html

This is a program that tells you when a other program are trying to is trying to access the internet. I use it so I know which programs I install are are trying to "Phone Home" and it allows me to block these connections, allow the connections once, or allow forever. Be careful though, if you block an application that needs to access the internet, say itunes, it won't function correctly ( but it is very easy to change any of the blocking rules) . If there is a stealth operation that is trying to access the internet, Little Snitch will make you aware of it.