WireLurker? No thanks! 3 quick tips to harden your Mac

  

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Malware for Mac has started kicking in recently.

Some days ago a new variant called Wirelurker has infected some Macs and, through them, numerous iPhones. Following a few simple suggestions you can reduce the risk of an infection and of losing important data on your iMac, iPad or iPhone.

1. Stick with the default settings: OS X default Security & Privacy settings allow to install only apps downloaded from App Store and identified developers. You can change this settings to "Anywhere"; you can also workaround it by clicking "Open it anyway"  to allow an installation only once without changing the defaults. You should never install an unidentified application unless you're 100% sure it's a legit one, such as OnyX.  If an application isn't certified, Apple can't guarantee its origin and it could disguise malware. If you just need to test an unidentified application, do it in a virtual machine.
2. Enable Apple Firewall and Activate Stealth Mode: Apple Firewall is disabled by default. For you to enable it, you'll have to access System Preferences/Security & Privacy/Firewall and click the padlock icon. Afterwards, you'll have to enter your administrator password for you to enable your firewall. That done, enable Stealth Mode from Firewall Options. Stealth Mode prevents the computer from responding to any ping or any port scanning attempt. An attacker can't even know your Mac is there, because every packet sent will be dropped. 
3. Don't click shortened links if you're not 100% sure about their origin: Like I've said in my post URL shorteners and URL unshorteners- cut it out and see it through, shortened URLs can often lead to spam sites and sometimes may hide malware.
4. Never install pirated software: What you get isn't what you see there. If you just have to use it for testing purposes, do it in a virtual machine.