History of Mac malware: 1982 – 2011

In late 2010, I wrote a short history of Apple Mac malware. Since then there have been some significant developments, so here’s a revised and updated version.

Before we begin, it’s worth recognising that malware on the Mac is a subject which raises strong emotions. There are some who believe that the problem is overhyped (or even non-existent!) and others who believe that the malware problem on Macs is underestimated by the Apple-loving community.

Hopefully this short history will go some way to present the facts, and encourage sensible debate.

From the early 1980s, right up until the present day, here are some of the highlights in the history of Apple Mac malware.

Mac malware timeline

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the anti-virus industry having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent security analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of computer security, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter at @gcluley, on Mastodon at @[email protected], or drop him an email.