A “ransomware” malware coming from a BitTorrent client has arrived to the OS X platform last week, which is claimed to encrypt hard drives of infected Mac’s. The ransom part comes when the malware demands payment for decryption of the hard drive.
The ransomware is included in the infected version of Transmission, a BitTorrent client as mentioned earlier. The malware is known as “KeyRanger, which will maliciously encrypt hard drives three days after the infected version of Transmission is installed. While this phenomenon comes as a norm on Windows where viruses and various malware will encrypt user data without warning and asking for a payment (ransom) to retrieve the data, KeyRanger is the first known ransomware targeted on Mac OS X.
Transmission has recommended users to update the app to its latest version, 2.92, which Transmission claims to have KeyRanger actively removed via that update. 9to5Mac too came up with a solution for worrying users and affected users:
“Users worried about being impacted by the ransomware should look for the ‘kernel_service’ process in Activity Monitor. This process is named like a kernel system program as a disguise, but it is actually the KeyRanger malware.”
The site claims that the best bet to ensure KeyRanger is removed from your system is to restore a backup of your system before Transmission was installed. Nevertheless, Apple has also made some moves to ensure that the infected version of Transmission won’t install. This is done via Apple’s Gatekeeper security system. This issue might cause a blow to the OS X platform, which is known to be highly secure compared to Windows.
Do you have Transmission installed on your system? Time for a checkup. PaloAlto Networks has come out with further solutions if you happen to be affected. Till then, stay tuned!
Source: 9to5Mac