Malware protection for Apple Devices

There are reports almost daily of such things. They have yet to be true as an actual virus has never been seen in the wild for Macs or iOS devices (iPhone, iPad).

There was some rather nasty malware reported the other day, but it's not a virus. More like a Trojan. Someone has to first send you a text message. If you delete it without doing anything else, nothing happens. But if you follow the prompt to answer Y, then the links in the message enable themselves.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/phishing-texts-trick-apple-imessage-users-into-disabling-protection/

Basic user rule applies; if you don't recognize who sent it or why, just delete it.

Be wary of an often repeated myth that Apple devices are immune to malware; those that perpetuate this fallacy, perhaps with good intention, do not comprehend the broader threat landscape. Apple expend considerable resources in developing and issuing regular software security updates and patches for its products; if the myth had any substance, regular security updates would be unnecessary.

The majority of threats to which you will be invariably exposed will surface via web pages or embedded links within email or other messaging platforms. Browser-based attacks can be largely and successfully mitigated by installing a good content and Ad-blocking product. One of the very best and most respected within the Apple App Store - designed for iPad, iPhone and Mac - is 1Blocker for Safari - now released in its Version 6 guise:

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/1blocker-for-safari/id1365531024

1Blocker is highly configurable - and crucially does not rely upon an external proxy-service of dubious provenance, often utilised by so-called security products intended for Apple devices. Instead, all processing by 1Blocker takes place on your device.

Unwanted web content is not simply filtered after download (a technique used by basic/inferior products), but instead undesirable embedded content is blocked from download. 1Blocker has also introduced its “Firewall” functions - that are explicitly designed to block “trackers”. Being implemented at the network-layer, this additional protection works across all Apps. Recent updates to 1Blocker has introduced additional network extensions, extending protection to other Apps.

A further measure to improve protection is to use a security focussed DNS Service in preference to automatic DNS settings. This can either be set on a per-device basis in Settings, or can be set-up on your home Router - and in so doing extends the benefit of this specific protection to other devices on your local network. I recommend using one of the following DNS services - for which IPv4 and IPv6 server addresses are listed:

Quad9 (recommended)

9.9.9.9

149.112.112.112

2620:fe::fe

2620:fe::9

OpenDNS

208.67.222.222

208.67.220.220

2620:0:ccc::2

2620:0:ccd::2

Cloudflare

1.1.1.1

1.0.0.1

2606:4700:4700::1111

2606:4700:4700::1001

Security focused DNS providers intentionally "sink hole" known bad or malicious websites and resources - this providing an additional layer of protection beyond that provided by your device and its Operating System. These DNS services will, when used alongside 1Blocker or other reputable Content Blocker, provide defence in depth.

Rely on the defences built into the OS, and avoid downloading software from sources other than the App Store or the developer websites.

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The suggestion is to never install Anti-Virus software. Apple's own XProtect framework is constantly updated for threats.