HandBrake App Targeted with Malware to Impair Mac PCs

HandBrake is a frequently utilized tool available for free that edits as well as converts videos which may be on Mac computers. Last week, however, anybody who downloaded the app might've unknowingly contaminated their Mac PCs with malicious software. Actually, cyber miscreants loaded Proton, a RAT (Remote Access Trojan) after replacing the installer, HandBrake so they would acquire full hold over the infected Mac while filch passwords saved on the machine.

HandBrake's developer team issued an alert through the tool's support forum and online site on May 6, cautioning Mac operators if they took down and loaded the app between 2nd May and 6th May this year that they require scanning their PCs for malicious software.

Cyber-criminals hijacked just one download mirror supported on the website download.handbrake.fr even as it makes little impact on the main server for download. As a result, end-users who took down HandBrake-1.0.7.dmg in the dates as mentioned are 50 percent risked with downloading the file's malicious version, said HandBrake's developer group. Pcworld.com posted this dated May 8, 2017.

End-users contaminated would be endangered with theft of login details from Apple's mechanism of password management called OSX KeyChain, alternatively passwords that may be saved within any Web-browser.

While downloading HandBrake from download.handbrake.fr if Mac users view one process known as Activity_agent within the app known as OSX Activity Monitor then they would contract the Trojan thus requiring them to alter each and every password they have.

As per fact, Mac owners characteristically have lower possibilities of using an anti-virus compared to Windows owners thus becoming easy targets for cyber-crooks. During the last few years, with the threat rising, there's been a boost to increase Mac security products; nevertheless, the scale is much smaller than for Microsoft Windows. True, malware aimed at Mac OS X is much less compared to that aimed at Microsoft Windows.

In the meantime, HandBrake urges end-users to examine SHA checksum at the time of downloading fresh editions of the application via HandBrake's mirror website, although it is difficult imagining how a lot of users would really make the effort for doing so.

» SPAMfighter News - 5/12/2017