Just recently, I kind of fell into the trap of an online security threat. I opened a web page that seems totally innocent; it is actually the web page of a food blog. Then there was a pop-up that looks like it was from my operating system instead of the web browser, saying that it is experiencing some high online traffic that might be due to an unknown virus, and urged me to perform a scan. Some weird points,
1. It looks like a prompt from Windows and I was using Mac (with the exception of Windows for Mac software)
2. I don't remember having an antivirus software on my Mac, so why is there a prompt?
3. There wasn't a cross on the top left hand corner that allows me to ignore the prompt.
Thus, I had no choice but to start the "scan". Then I was brought to a web page that looks like WINDOWS was performing the scan for me and that was when I realized I was fooled and that it might be an online security threat, a virus or a bug or spyware, or worse a Trojan. I was worried, then I remember people telling me that Mac doesn't get viruses or malware in general because malware are usually invented to target Windows users. So immediately, I went to Google to see if that was true.
To my disappointment, I found out that Windows users are indeed more targeted, but Mac users are susceptible to malware too. I went to search for a free antivirus software for Mac and read up a few online reviews before downloading one. Installed it and performed the security scan on my computer. Thankfully, nothing out of the ordinary was found.
Anyway, lesson learnt. Always trust your common sense NOT to follow any instructions or prompts that seem fishy. And always install an antivirus software, no matter whether you are a Windows user or not.
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