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If this happens, you can close the page and install an ad blocker like AdGuard to block the malicious ads.
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Less than reputable sites can display malicious ads that redirect your browser to sites that display the Update Flash Player fake alerts to generate advertising revenue. You are seeing the Update Flash Player pop-up ads because your device is infected with malware, malicious push notifications, or a site you have visited has redirected your browser. This was offered so players could play the franchise ahead of the release of Half-Life: Alyx.Why am I seeing the Update Flash Player pop-up ads? In other Mac news, Valve recently announced the entire Half-Life catalog was free for Mac and PC users for the next couple of months. The publication also notes that in most cases, it was advertising landing pages that bought Mac users to the next stage of the distribution chain, luring them to install the fake Flash Player update. Ten percent of Shlayer attacks are in France and the UK for Mac users.Īccording to Securelist, the proliferation of Shlayer shows the macOS platform is a good source of revenue for cyber criminals.
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Europe doesn't get a pass either with 14 percent of Shlayer attacks occurring in Germany. Mac users in the United States should be on the lookout as 31 percent of the attacks from Shlayer are in the States. Kaspersky says that this particular malware accounts for 30 percent of all malicious detections generated by its Mac antivirus products. Since that debut, about 32,000 variants have been collected by researchers at Kaspersky, along with 143 separate domains that have been used to control infected machines. The malware first surfaced in February 2018. The malware lures the users to install the fake Flash Player update by promising pirated videos, which are also said to be fake.ĭespite the simple attack method, Shlayer continues to be so common that it's the number one threat encountered by macOS users of Kaspersky antivirus software. The malware found its way onto the victim computers by tricking them into installing a fake Adobe Flash update.
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Anyone whoever required proof that malware didn't have to be sophisticated to be prolific should look at the macOS malware known as Shlayer.
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