In plain words
Think of login items like a list of people you trust to enter your house when you are not around. Normally, you would keep this list in a safe place, like a locked box. But what if someone found a way to add their name to this list without you knowing? That is basically what a malicious login item does. It gets your computer to run some code automatically when you log in, without you realizing it.
How it actually works
The new way that Apple stores login items is like using a different kind of locked box. It is meant to be more secure, but researchers at Objective-See found out how to understand what is inside this new box, which helps in detecting if someone has added bad login items. This is important because bad login items can be used by attackers to gain access to your computer without your knowledge, using something called persistence¹, which means they can stay on your system even after you restart it.
What it means for defenders
Defenders, like security software, need to be able to look at these login items to make sure no bad guys have added themselves to the list. Now that researchers know how to parse² the new login item files, they can make tools to automatically check these files for any malicious login items. This helps in stopping attackers who try to use persistence to stay on a system.
Terms
- ¹ persistence
- , Persistence refers to the ability of an attacker or malware to remain on a system even after it has been restarted or the user has logged out.