


This makes Apple far more vulnerable to lawsuits, and it has to take a more conservative approach towards PUPs.Īs much as I’d like Apple to be tougher on PUPs, I understand why it can’t be as aggressive as we are. It owns the hardware and the systems, and if it decides you shouldn’t run a particular program, you won’t be running that program without some significant efforts. It’s not always an easy stance to take, but it’s one we believe strongly in and are willing to spend resources defending.Īpple, on the other hand, is essentially in a monopoly position. We’re very aggressive in our detection of PUPs, and we have an amazing legal team that helps make that possible.

The answer is pretty simple: because Apple and Malwarebytes have different tolerance levels.Īt Malwarebytes, we have a very low threshold of tolerance for PUP behaviors. PUPs on the App Store?!Īlthough PUPs on Mac can be downloaded either from the App Store or the web, the question of why PUPs exist on the App Store at all is a key factor in the problem at hand. Unfortunately, we’re seeing the first signs that this is starting to change-not just for Malwarebytes, but for all security companies. On macOS, however, we’ve always been able to detect and remove PUPs. This is simply the reality of working within Apple’s ecosystem. However, due to limitations imposed by Apple, we’ve been completely unable to scan or remove PUPs from those devices (iPhones or iPads).
#MALWAREBYTES FREE FOR OLDER MAC IOS SOFTWARE#
įor the entire history of Malwarebytes software on iOS-the system that runs on iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches-there have been things we would consider to be PUPs on the iOS App Store. PUPs often come bundled with other software that you installed. PUP (n): a program that may include advertising, toolbars, and pop-ups that are unrelated to the software you downloaded. These are programs that exhibit a variety of unsavory behaviors, but that, for legal reasons, cannot be called malware. Anyone who uses Malwarebytes software is probably familiar with the fact that, in addition to things like malware and adware, Malwarebytes detects potentially unwanted programs (PUPs).
