Some number of apps in the Mac App Store has been found to be stealing data without the knowledge of the user, acquiring sensitive information and sending it to the developer, adding one app which was the top paid utility found in the app store before its removal. Security researchers have independently found apps “exfiltrating” data to servers from users, all of which were available to download from Apple’s Mac App Store.
mac1
The topmost app of the list is Adware Doctor, which topped the chart for paid utilities in the Mac App Store, before being dispatched after the reports about it first arose on Friday. The app tries to remove adware threats from a Mac, including extensions and cookies in browsers, but Patrick Wardle suggests the “cleaning” process involves collecting the browsing history of the user and a list of all running processes with a list of software downloaded to the Mac. This app is also a clone of Adware Medic, which surfaced in 2015 as a copy of an app which has the same name, originally discovered by the developer of MalwareBytes for Mac.
