The company found a record-high of 91.05 million new Windows malware samples were discovered in 2020 - an average of 249,452 threats per day, meaning that there were over 135 times more Windows threats than there was macOS in 2020.The macOS, or Mac OS X system, has existed for 40 years in various forms - it’s robust, and because of its regular updates, malware developers find it hard to keep up with the changes and write viruses that will successfully infect the Mac operating system.Īpple's basic malware detection is built directly into its Mac OS X operating system. GoSearch22.app, an M1-native version of the longstanding Pirrit virus, generates revenue by spamming users with pop-ups and adverts.ĭespite the rise in macOS malware, Atlas VPN highlighted that the number of attacks targeting Windows users remained much higher. 'Nowadays, hackers don’t even need advanced programming skills since they can purchase a ready-made malware code, tailor it to their needs with a little bit of coding, and establish a completely new threat.'Īlarms were raised earlier this year when the first malware native to M1-powered MacBooks (opens in new tab) was discovered in the wild, just months after the arrival of the first Apple Silicon devices. “Contributing to this record surge in threats is the fact that new malicious software is now easier to engineer than ever before,' noted (opens in new tab) Rachel Welch, COO of Atlas VPN.

Best mac malware 2018