Meaning malicious programs will usually be installed persistently so that the victim doesn't need to open the malicious file more than once. But, to truly be effective, these programs must run as soon as we login to our computer. Seeing each key typed will enable them to learn account passwords, intercept communications, and more. That presents a challenge: how do we defend against all of these different kinds of malware if even keyloggers come in five different flavors? Wardle's answer is to search for the behavior of malicious programs like keyloggers rather than just searching for programs themselves.įor example, a keylogger taps into the stream of events from our keyboard, allowing an attacker to intercept every key the victim types. A simple search for keyloggers finds five separate kinds of keylogger malware for MacOS devices. On his website, Patrick hosts live samples of MacOS malware for researchers to study, and the variety of malware discovered in the wild is shocking. Patrick Wardle, an ex-NSA hacker who creates MacOS security tools, studies malware written for Apple devices. Ensuring your communications aren't being intercepted by someone is a concern for anyone who values their privacy, but how much malware is really out there for MacOS?ĭon't Miss: Steal Ubuntu & macOS Sudo Passwords Without Any Cracking Malware for MacOS

It can happen from an infected file, a hacker with a USB Rubber Ducky, or, more likely, a jealous spouse or overprotective family member trying to monitor your actions. There are many ways a keylogger or malware can end up on your MacOS system. Thanks to free MacOS tools called ReiKey and KnockKnock, we can detect suspicious programs to discover keyloggers and other persistent malware lurking on our system. One way to spot malicious programs is to look for suspicious behavior - like programs listening in on our keyboard input or launching themselves every time we boot. While you might suspect your MacOS computer has been infected with malware, it can be difficult to know for sure.

How to detect malware on mac