Apple MACs under virus attack

[rb_kaustuv]

Hackers have launched a rare and troubling attack on Apple Inc.’s computers. Apple on Thursday confirmed reports of pornography Web sites where hidden software, once downloaded, could take control of an Apple computer. Apple did not immediately respond to claims that it is the first instance of a Trojan horse attack on Apple’s Macintosh platform. “We’ve been made aware that a small number of Web sites attempt to trick Mac OS X users to install malicious software on their Macs,” said Apple spokeswoman Lynn Fox. “Apple has a great track record for keeping Mac OS X users secure, and as always, we encourage people to install software only from trusted sources. “The timing of the Trojan horse suggests there are more to come, say some computer and Internet security professionals. As Apple’s popularity rises, “the bad guys are taking Macs seriously now,” wrote Bojan Zdrnja, of the Internet Storm Center, which is led by the Escal Institute of Advanced Technologies. After confirming the claims reported by computer-security firm Intego, Symantec engineer Joji Hamada wrote on Symantec’s Web site of suspicions that a wave of attacks and viruses are due. “If we see a rise in Mac malware, then we will have to assume that there are profits to be made in malware for Macs as well,” he wrote. “Stay tuned.” Not even Leopard can save you…

Source : Releaselog



Well it seems that MACs are also vulnerable

 

[debsuvra]

Old news.

Check this : *www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72183

 

[Gigacore]

Awesome news buddy.... looks like even APPLE is under attack by VIRUS...

We need some pestisides now!

 

[naveen_reloaded]

no os is perfect .... the rule is simple ..

get popular... get trojan/virus/worms running to u ..

may be thats y still lin is secure ... virtually...@!!!

 

[Gigacore]

^ Linux is Popular.. literally no viruses... but few rumors says there is a linux virus

 

[infra_red_dude]

no os is perfect .... the rule is simple ..

get popular... get trojan/virus/worms running to u ..

may be thats y still lin is secure ... virtually...@!!!

One reason why *nix are secure is coz of the way admin rights are implemented in it. Mac OS X uses a BSD variant kernel (Darwin) with admin rights more or less as in Windows (suid - giving root previlages by default)

 

[rb_kaustuv]

Old news.

Check this : *www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72183

Sorry to have overlooked it..

At the same time Gigacore keep your fingers crossed..one day you might find one mvoing thru ur linux installation ...

 

[Gigacore]

@ rb_kaustuv.. thanks for the warning... BUT just think for a while... the inbuilt security is so strong.. we dont have any sign of threats now... though if there is an virus attack on linux... the anti-virus or any other security apps will be developed by OSS community that can elimanate all the threats..

 

[Hitboxx]

So finally, its getting some negative attention.

 

[rb_kaustuv]

@ rb_kaustuv.. thanks for the warning... BUT just think for a while... the inbuilt security is so strong.. we dont have any sign of threats now... though if there is an virus attack on linux... the anti-virus or any other security apps will be developed by OSS community that can elimanate all the threats..

Yeah being a *nix user myself i agree with that..

So finally, its getting some negative attention.

Yups seems so...
Btw where are the MAC boys??
Why haven't they started flaming this thread??

 

[aryayush]

If you visited the already existing thread, you'd have seen that I posted about it in detail myself. I don't think any Mac user ever flames any thread unnecessarily.

Awesome news buddy.... looks like even APPLE is under attack by VIRUS...

At least, we are not sick. I cannot believe you could post this. You are glad that there is a new virus out there? This is "awesome news" for you? That's like being happy for the murder of a person you did not particularly like. Cheeh! Shame on you!

Thread reported.

hidden software, once downloaded, could take control of an Apple computer

No. Re-directing the browser to phishing websites is not taking "control of an Apple computer".

Talk about biased reporting.

 

[Gigacore]

^ I dont know what others feel... I said that coz i hate apple. You have to believe.. coz i posted it!

This thread is already posted by arya.... So i think it is better to close the thread.

 

[praka123]

why to hate mac?It is UNIX.ofcourse the news holds true.they made a mess with suids given for most apps inorder to make it userfriendly and the original BSD stability cannot be attributed to it(these are my views only) as apple messed with it.

 

[a_k_s_h_a_y]

big deal..... no OS is perfect.
as MAC OS becomes popular .. hackers will shift attention towards it
now Windows is soo popular that no body bothers to create viruses and applications for other OS
but that's going to change i guess.

 

[naveen_reloaded]

^^ will take a long time, my guess...

 

[aryayush]

Yeah, keep saying that and maybe you'll believe it yourselves some day. Mac OS X does not get viruses because it is less popular than Windows, not because it is any more secure! LOL!

Read this excellent little article written by someone on the Internet. I forgot the name of the author so sorry for not being able to credit him/her:

What is the biggest annoyance on Windows? It is highly insecure and can be completely compromised if not taken care of absolutely religiously. What is the most convenient feature of a Mac? It is highly secure and you do not need to worry about anything. I will spell it out for you – Mac OS X has not has a single virus in the wild since its public release in 2001. It comes with a strong firewall and has always been and still stands tall as the most secure operating system out there. Some people point it out that this is due to the extremely low market share Macs have when compared to Windows. These same people also say that Macs will never gain any significant market share and will always remain the underdog. It does not take a genius to figure out that the combined lesson from both statements is that Macs will never suffer from the problem of viruses and malware. Basically, that’s the end of the story but I’ll expound on it a bit more so that it is lengthy enough!

A lot of people claim that the reason the low market share is the only reason Macs have escaped the prying eyes of malicious hackers all this while and that the security framework of Mac OS X is just as strong/weak as Windows'. However, I can think of two controversies arising from this opinion. The first one is why it wasn’t the same case with Mac OS 9. It had an even lower market share than Mac OS X has and Windows was even less secure in the days of Windows 95 and 98. Why then did Mac OS 9 have a sizeable number of viruses out in the wild targeted and designed for it?

Another contradiction to the original theory is the fact that Mac OS X has an immense list of applications designed for it. Sure, the amount of software available for the Mac platform is a far cry from the millions of applications available for Windows but it is more than five percent, which is Apple’s share in the computer market. Both virus writers and software developers are essentially hackers who do it for the challenge of the job and the fame and money involved. How is it justified then, that software developers see the Macintosh as a viable option to devote their efforts to while virus writers do not? The sole answer is that while it is very easy to write software for the Mac using Apple’s excellent Xcode developer tools, it is just as hard to write malicious code that can seriously damage Mac OS X.

But regardless of whatever you believe, the reasons matter little at the end of the day. What matters is that millions of Mac users around the globe are surfing the Internet and downloading files without any extra protective software installed and don’t have to worry about the security of their computer, while Windows users are spending lot of time and money into keeping their computer up to date with anti-spyware, anti-adware and anti-virus software and their regular definition updates – and they are still suffering from security related problems.

I think it does a very good job of addressing Mac OS X security concerns and so do some of my friends who have read this.

What do you guys think? (I know it is impossible for some of you to be objective, but give it a try, it is not that hard.)

 

[Gigacore]

MAC dominance....

Offtopic: Arya.. why dont u participate in other threads than Apple/MAC related threads...

 

[aryayush]

Offtopic: Giga.. why dont u mind your own business...

 

[naveen_reloaded]

guys cool down...

 

[Gigacore]

@ arya.. thanks... i'll do as i say.. just asked out of curiousity