The download, which clocks in at just 2.1MB, provides a File Quarantine definition for the OSX.MacDefender.A malware and all its known variants to the xprotect.plist. What’s xprotect.plist? It’s a file on your Mac that allows OS X to identify files that might contain Mac malware, and warn the user when he or she tries to open that file that they’d be better off dumping it in the trash. Apple’s has only updated the xprotect.plist a couple of times in the past through periodic Security Update patches. That’s all OS X needed. The speed with which MacDefender has propagated across the OS X ecosystem and the quickness with which the malware’s authors have adapted seems to have given even Apple pause, though, because with Mac Security Update 2011-003, Apple has given the xprotect.plist the ability to update itself with new malware definitions independently of a manual Software Update. For those of you who want to opt out of Apple’s new self-updating antimalware, just untick “Automatically update safe downloads list” under Security Preferences.

This is a big change to the way Apple handles malware, signifying the Mac’s growing status as a malware target, as well as Cupertino’s own seriousness in actively policing the Mac for threats. Either way, this is a software update you’re going to want to grab, post haste.

Were fairly unsophisticated, and they were easily neutralized by simply not entering an admin password when the installer requested. Malware authors are a cunning bunch, however, and they’re usually quick to iterate. That’s precisely what happened with the MacDefender trojan, which quickly learned how to install itself getting in the way. Shared object libraries for mac windows 10.

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Apple acted quickly to mitigate the threat, offering up XProtect, a built-in anti-malware engine. With just like a full-fledged security app, XProtect handled its first few malware tests with aplomb.

But now things are going to get a little trickier for Apple and XProtect alike. F-Secure has now found malware that can disable the XProtect updater, leaving users vulnerable to threats that would have been stopped in their tracks by refreshed definitions. The XProtect engine will continue working, its defenses just won’t be totally up to date. Things won’t get really dangerous until malware authors figure out how to completely kneecap XProtect.