Malwarebytes has announced the acquisition of AdwareMedic by The Safe Mac.
AdwareMedic creator and owner Thomas Reed will join the company as director of mac offerings, leading a growing team of Mac developers and researchers at the company.
In tandem, the firm has launched the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac suite, its first product dedicated to the underserved Mac user communities. The product is designed to detect and remove malware, adware and potentially unwanted programs (PUPs).
“We’ve had repeated requests from our customers and community for malware protection on the Mac, and are now proud to unveil the first version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac,” said Chad Bacher, VP of products for Malwarebytes. “Our vision is to provide protection across all devices, regardless of type or operating system.”
Traditionally, Mac users have been viewed as safe from malware, even as new threats have been publicized. According to a June 2015 OPSWAT report, only half of Mac users have antivirus protection, and that protection does not typically detect adware. In the last two years, there has been a proliferation of new adware—including Genieo, Conduit, and VSearch—that inject ads and pop-up hyperlinks in web pages, change the user’s homepage and search engine, and insert unwanted toolbars into the browser.
“It used to be that Mac users were relatively safe from adware and malware. That’s plainly not the case anymore. The bad guys are writing Trojans and ad pop-ups for the Mac,” said Marcin Kleczynski, CEO of Malwarebytes. “So in keeping with our vision that everyone has the right to a malware-free existence, we’re offering a free Mac anti-malware product. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac has been built from the ground up for the Mac environment—it’s not just a simple port of our PC product. It’s a natural but unique addition to the Malwarebytes family.”
For the last several years, Reed has been working on adware remediation projects, which culminated in the creation of AdwareMedic. AdwareMedic has become a popular adware removal tool and has been downloaded 2.8 million times so far in 2015 alone. In June, there were approximately 450,000 new downloads and 200,000 updates.
“I’ve been a fan of Malwarebytes for years and am thrilled to be joining the team. I’m also excited about being involved in the creation of new anti-malware capabilities for the Mac,” said Reed. “Mac users need protection against what is becoming an epidemic of adware.”