#Run exe on mac with mono install#

Normally, a Mono framework installed in the system is required to compile or load executables and libraries. 'Currently, running an EXE on other platforms may have a bigger impact on non-Windows systems such as MacOS. The hackers have worked around this by bundling the EXE with a free framework called Mono. Normally, a Windows executable file can't and won't run on a Mac.

We think that the cyber-criminals are studying the development and opportunities from this malware bundled in apps and available in torrent sites, and therefore we will continue investigating how cyber-criminals can use this information and routine.' 'We suspect that this specific malware can be used as an evasion technique for other attack or infection attempts to bypass some built-in safeguards such as digital certification checks, since it is an unsupported binary executable in Mac systems by design. Lurking inside the package, however, was an EXE file that could deliver a hidden payload.Ī spokesman at Trend had the following to say about the discovery:

#Run exe on mac with mono install#

Recently, researchers at Trend Micro discovered an app on a popular Torrent site that was promised to install a macOS program called Little Snitch, which is a firewall app. Apple promptly fixed this weakness when Wardle reported it, but the hackers did not stop looking for new ways to infect Mac systems.

In 2015, macOS Security Expert Patrick Wardle reported an almost shockingly simple method hackers could employ to get around the Mac Gatekeeper system, which is the first line of defense against malware. He simply bundled two executable files: One signed and one not signed.