Trojan.MacOS.CryptoMiner.UR

Once praised as the most secure ecosystem, macOS has recently become the target of an increasing number of successful cyberattacks, including such aiming to hijack CPU resources and mine cryptocurrencies. Trojan.MacOS.CryptoMiner.UR is a generic detection for a crypto-mining malware threat that sneaks into computers unnoticed and then starts performing its harmful agenda. This type of Mac virus is designed to operate in the background and “hijack” the affected systems to mine some of the trending cryptocurrencies, like BitCoin or Monero, yet without the owner’s knowledge or approval.

Some of the most popular crypto miners for Mac discovered in the past years typically spread through infected MacUpdates, fake gaming apps, or corrupted copies of legit Internet browsers. Other sources of such infections are spam email attachments, which malware creators disguise as important documents or files. Infected image files and links to malicious websites can also deliver complicated crypto-mining Trojans. Yet, these tend to target corporate networks that have way more resources that can be exploited by cybercriminals. Trojans like Trojan.MacOS.CryptoMiner.UR will probably become more sophisticated in the future and use more tricky ways to avoid detection. Fortunately, for now, most certified anti-malware applications for Mac can detect and remove these threats.

Mac users can look after some specific symptoms that could reveal a crypto miner’s presence on their devices. A key indicator to observe is CPU usage, which can be checked by opening a resource monitor through the operating system’s Activity Monitor. If Trojan.MacOS.CryptoMiner.UR has been installed on a macOS system, CPU usage would be abnormally high or suddenly elevated without a particular reason. Users may also notice unexplained spikes in that indicator related to visiting certain websites or generally high CPU usage even when all apps are closed.