Setapp’s Ukrainian developer, MacPaw, has produced a Mac app that allows users to determine if their data is stored on Russian servers and, if so, whether it may be accessed by the country’s government.
MacPaw, headquartered in Kyiv, Ukraine, has assured customers that its products – Setapp, CleanMyMac X, and others – would continue to function despite Russia’s invasion of the nation.
Now, the corporation has also made available one of its own internal security solutions, which it built during the attack.
SpyBuster is a free program that may be used to scan a user’s Mac. It identifies whether any applications are Russian or Belarussian, as well as whether data is transferred to servers in those countries.
According to MacPaw, the data is essential because, under Russian legislation, authorities may order local servers to pass up any phone conversations, data, photos, or text messages from the previous six months.
The same regulations compel this information’s metadata, such as time and location, to be accessible for three years if it is stored on a Russian server.
SpyBuster allows users to prevent all data going to Russian or Belarusian servers in addition to recognizing Russian or Belarusian malware.
The app’s scan findings are processed and saved locally on the user’s device, rather than being shared with MacPaw. According to the corporation, it is then up to the user to decide whether to take actions to prevent data from being kept on Russian servers.