'Pulse Secure' will damage your computer

Pulse Secure is a legitimate software suite that is being used by thousands of organizations and installed on millions of systems. The product offers secure access to the specific company's internal network, thus allowing its employees to connect to resources stored in a data center or on the cloud. So, why are some Mac users reporting seeing an alert prompt stating that 'Pulse Secure will damage your computer,' and should they be worried?

The short answer is that their Mac devices are under no threat when it comes to Pulse Secure causing any damage. The macOS security features most likely flagged the application due to an outdated digital signature or certificate. Usually, this problem is fixed easily by updating the application to a newer version that has been signed properly.

Now, if the 'Pulse Secure will damage your computer' alert appears while the user has never installed such an application on their Macs, then things may be a bit more serious. Most likely a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Program) is trying to impersonate the legitimate product to maintain its presence on the system. PUPs are dubious applications that often act as both adware and browser hijackers. They also can spy on the user's browsing activity, collect device details, and conduct more undesirable activities on the Mac.

While installed on the device, these PUPs will cause a flood of intrusive advertisements while forcing certain settings of the user's Web browser to start opening a questionable promoted address simultaneously. PUPs, in fact, are the main reason while Apple introduced the '[App Name] will damage your computer' warning. Dealing with these nasty applications manually may be tricky. Oftentimes, PUPs establish LaunchAgents and Daemons as persistence mechanisms.

To make sure that your Mac is completely free from any intruder applications, it is recommended to install a professional security solution and let it run a thorough scan of the system.