Watch out Mac owners...Someone is offering Mac ransomware on the Dark Web!

In the wake of the WannaCry, a flawed piece of malware that spread virally that could've done much more damage than it did, it seems like everyone wants to jump on the ransomware bandwagon.

And if you're a malware developer, what better place to try your luck if not with Mac computers, where most user still believe they are safe by default and seem to have their guard down? That seems to be the thinking of an unknown cyber criminal who developed two new type of malicious software for Apple computers: MacSpy and MacRansom.

Despite some people's misguided beliefs (fueled in part by Apple's marketing) there's been plenty of Mac malware, even ransomware. But MacRansom and MacSpy show once again that bad guys are starting to target Macs more and more, even offering them as a service to others.

At the end of May, an unknown cyber criminal, or group of criminals, launched two sites offering MacSpy and MacRansom as services, meaning they marketed them as malware that they would sell and then offer support for.

BleepingComputer writer Catalin Cimpanu first spotted the sites. Some researchers, as well as security firms Fortinet and AlienVault have since then analyzed the samples of the ransomware and the spyware or backdoor.

While both pieces of malware aren't that sophisticated, they prove that more and more malicious hackers want to target Macs.

The bottom line: users should not assume that just because they're using a Mac they're inherently safe.

Source: BleepingComputer

Upgrading to iOS 8? Avoid the iCloud Drive bugs.

The new iPhone 6 is here! As usual, with a new iPhone comes a new operating system release. For those of you downloading iOS 8, you may want to avoid using iCloud Drive. After you download iOS 8 and you begin the setup process, at some point you're going to be given the option of signing into iCloud Drive. We recommend you do not do it, as it's not meant to work properly until Apple releases the new Mac operating system.

If you use iCloud to sync documents and other things between your phone and your computer (as most people do) you will lose that sync ability if you activate iCloud Drive today. You can wait on it until October 21st - the date Mac's new operating system, Yosemite, is released. It is important to know that iCloud Drive, once activated, can't be reversed - you can't turn it off and go back.

Over all, iOS 8 is without question the most comprehensive, detailed upgrade that Apple has ever offered to its iPhone / iPad software. You are probably going to need to find somebody that can give you a tutorial on this. There are things throughout this operating system that, if you just wait to discover them, could take you six months to go through them all or find them all.

New Android software lets users unofficially tap into Apple's iMessage service, with security concerns.

A functional version of Apple's iMessage has arrived on Google's Android platform, though not with Apple's blessing, or without potential security risks.

The software is called iMessage Chat and was created by developer Daniel Zweigart. Users enter their Apple ID and password credentials and can text with registered iMessage phone numbers and e-mail addresses freely.

Per iOS developer Adam Bell, the service appears to be tricking Apple's iMessage server into thinking it's a Mac Mini -- Apple's entry level Mac desktop -- in order to send and receive the messages. Jay Freeman, the creator of the third-party App Store alternative Cydia believes the app is piping the data through Chinese servers as well.

We are urging all Android users to avoid installing this software or offering their Apple ID account credentials.

What is iMessage?
Apple introduced iMessage alongside iOS 5 in 2011. The messaging service lets users on iOS devices and Macs chat with one another like they would send a text message. The service is not tied to any carriers and has been designed to work on non-cellular devices like Wi-Fi-only iPods and iPads.

The iMessage protocol has remained exclusive to Apple devices since its debut, mainly serving as a way to keep users locked into Apple's ecosystem of devices. BlackBerry used a similar tactic with its BBM service, which was set to arrive on iOS and Android devices this past weekend, but now faces a delay.

Source: CNET