While it’s true that thanks to the design of the Mac OS it hasn’t been victim to the vast hordes of Malware and Viruses that affect Windows operating systems;

There seems to be at least one virus for Macs in the wild that is doing the rounds at the moment and is doing damage.    It works by poisoning search engine results.

You read about this virus or that virus for Macs on blogs (maybe like this one even) or in the news and you go to your trusty search engine to find some free antivirus app for your Mac.  This new app, currently known as MAC Defender, uses common search terms and all sorts of other tricks to try to push itself up the rankings.  Then by trying to defend against some virus, you install this virus masquerading as an antivirus product.

More Information is available here:  http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/226845/new_mac_trojan_horse_masquerades_as_virus_scanner.html

 

First advice:  Don’t Panic.  Your Mac is most likely secure anyway.  Especially if you keep it up to date, don’t download any suspicious files and don’t mess with the security settings unless you know what you’re doing.

 

Secondly:  If you feel the need – get the legit free Mac Antivirus product from Sophos here:

http://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/free-tools/sophos-antivirus-for-mac-home-edition.aspx