Just to put a bit of perspective on this...
...macOS’ built-in security systems have not cracked down on adware and
PUPs to the same degree that they have malware, leaving the door open for these borderline programs to infiltrate. (Link added)
And deeper in the article...
Of all the threats seen this year, only one incident involved anything other than tricking the user into downloading and opening something they shouldn’t.
<snip>
This was the first time such a vulnerability had been used to infect Macs in any significant way since 2012....
<snip>
Beyond that what we saw was a virtual landslide of adware and PUP detections, far outpacing growth on the Windows side. While these threats are not considered as dangerous as traditional malware, they are becoming a much larger and more noticeable nuisance for Mac users, who can no longer say that their beloved systems are immune from malware.
<snip>
If 2019’s threat landscape tells us anything, it’s that it’s time to take a good hard look at Mac security and finally get serious.
The article is alarmist in that it begins by pointedly differentiating between adware & PUPs and malware and ends by branding adware & PUPs as malware even as it calls them "not...as dangerous as traditional malware" and "a nuisance."
Its language is biased (maybe even twisted) in an anti-Mac direction.
Remember, though, that that was for perspective purposes only, and even though the "enemy" has morphed from a danger to an annoyance, it was in no way meant to detract from the importance (soften the blow?) of joemike's takeaway, i.e.
- As we have always known Macs are NOT invulnerable.
- Mac users should NOT be complacent.
news...