
TREND MICRO DR.CLEANER FOR MAC APP CODE
In a further update, Trend Micro confirmed it had removed the data collection features across the consumer products in question, and permanently dumped legacy logs stored on a US-based AWS server.įinally, the company identified what it claimed to be a "core issue which is humbly the result of common code libraries", learning the data collection functionality was designed the same across all of its apps regardless of whether this was necessary for the app to work.
TREND MICRO DR.CLEANER FOR MAC APP MAC
In a post responding to the controversy, the Japanese firm said it completed an investigation into the six apps removed from the Apple Mac Store and concluded they "collected and uploaded a small snapshot of the browser history on a one-time basis".

Trend Micro denied all claims it was stealing user data and sending them to an unidentified server in China, branding them "absolutely false". Antivirus, have disappeared from the Mac App Store after experts, including Malwarebytes Labs' head of Mac Thomas Reed, suggested that user data was being 'exfiltrated' from these products.Įxamining the apps' code, Reed and others also claimed Trend Micro's repertoire of apps was sending data to a server in China based on the fact a domain was registered in the country - a charge Trend Micro flatly denies.Īpple, having revamped its rules earlier this year to prioritise user privacy, reportedly began removing Trend Micro's apps once alerted to the complaints two days ago, with all apps now off the store at the time of writing. Trend Micro-owned applications including Dr. Though Apple has already removed the apps in question, users who have already downloaded one of the above-mentioned apps are strongly advised to remove them from their systems as soon as possible.Several anti-malware tools developed by cyber security company Trend Micro have been removed from Apple's Mac App Store. We have permanently dumped all legacy logs, which were stored on US-based AWS servers," and "we believe we identified a core issue which is humbly the result of the use of common code libraries."įirst the popular security-scanning Adware Doctor app, and now several popular apps from a trusty security vendor stealing your data and privacy suggest that even top apps on official Mac App Store cannot be trusted blindly. "We have completed the removal of browser collection features across our consumer products in question. "We apologize to our community for concern they might have felt and can reassure all that their data is safe and at no point was compromised," Trend Micro said. However, the company again downplayed the significance of its users' privacy breach by saying that the apps "collected and uploaded a small snapshot of the browser history on a one-time basis, covering the 24 hours prior to installation." The suspicious behavior of Trend Micro apps was initially reported by a user on the Malwarebytes forum in December 2017, which was last weekend re-confirmed by security researcher Privacy_1st on Twitter, who then notified the issue to Apple. "This was a one-time data collection, done for security purposes (to analyze whether a user had recently encountered adware or other threats, and thus to improve the product & service)," Trend Micro argued. The apps were removed just two days after Apple kicked out another popular "Adware Doctor" application for collecting and sending browser history data from users' Safari, Chrome, and Firefox to a server in China.

Battery, and Duplicate Finder for Mac computers. The controversial apps in question include Dr Cleaner, Dr Cleaner Pro, Dr Antivirus, Dr Unarchiver, App Uninstall, Dr. Apple has removed almost all popular security apps offered by well-known cyber-security vendor Trend Micro from its official Mac App Store after they were caught stealing users' sensitive data without their consent.
