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Reports have emerged of a Trojan horse or worm that afflicts Mac OS X called "OSX/Leap" or "Oompa-Loompa." more
Reports emerge of Mac OS X Trojan horse or worm
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#5
jmincey 
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Posted 16 February 2006 - 10:20 AM
All but the most delusional and rabid Mac devotees have understood that OS X is developed by engineers who are human beings who are fallible and that there is no computer platform which is invulnerable or perfectly secure. Plus the vast majority of compromises to system integrity involve the human factor (and this is true on the Windows platform as well). Malware which does not rely on the co-operation of humans is rare on any platform, though it most certainly does exist.
It has always been just a matter of time before OS X is hit with significant malware. No need to despair over this though. It was a foregone conclusion. OS X still remains one of the more secure operating systems, though it still can't approach VMS on this score.
It has always been just a matter of time before OS X is hit with significant malware. No need to despair over this though. It was a foregone conclusion. OS X still remains one of the more secure operating systems, though it still can't approach VMS on this score.
#6
GoCats!
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Posted 16 February 2006 - 10:22 AM
Of course they classify this as a virus/worm... they just want you to buy their software!! This is no worm since it requires a user to manually send it. It is not self propogating.
Plus, did you see at the end of the article... doesn't it say that the so-called virus doesn't even work b/c it has a bug in it??
"Additionally, Ambrosias Welch said the software has a bug in its code that prevents it from working and prevents infected applications from launching."
I mean seriously. Talk about republican scare tactics!
Plus, did you see at the end of the article... doesn't it say that the so-called virus doesn't even work b/c it has a bug in it??
"Additionally, Ambrosias Welch said the software has a bug in its code that prevents it from working and prevents infected applications from launching."
I mean seriously. Talk about republican scare tactics!
#9
ozotype
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Posted 16 February 2006 - 10:37 AM
This is a social engineering issue. Not a bug explotation. While you might techically call this a virus or worm or trojan, unless it exploits some form of hole in an OS, I don't consider it a legitimate problem.
It would be like calling an applescript with a JPEG icon that deletes your home folder a virus. It's malware at best, and that has ALWAYS been around on EVERY platform.
It would be like calling an applescript with a JPEG icon that deletes your home folder a virus. It's malware at best, and that has ALWAYS been around on EVERY platform.
#10
bwanderson
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Posted 16 February 2006 - 10:53 AM
In reply to:
Anti-virus software maker Sophos takes issue with this description, claiming this is the first ever virus for Mac OS X.
Anti-virus software maker Sophos takes issue with this description, claiming this is the first ever virus for Mac OS X.
Sweet zombie Jesus, what a load of crap! At BEST this is a trojan. Opportunistic jerks.
#12
jxself
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Posted 16 February 2006 - 11:05 AM
I realize that this resolves mostly around social engineering. The best way to defeat social engineering is through education.
Probably a good time to reenforce good computing habits: This is all the more reason to not use your admin account for normal day-to-day activities. (This, sadly, is the default for OS X.)
Some good advice: Open System Preferences right now and create a new user. Make that user an admin. Now, demote your own account down to a standard non-priveleged user account.
This way, when the supposed "picture" asks for an admin username & password, you can click on the cancel button. (A "picture" shouldn't require admin priveleges anyway.)
It's good computing practice not to be logged in as an admin all the time anyway.
So perhaps this was a good thing for the Mac community: Help them to be more educated and aware of safer computing habits.
Probably a good time to reenforce good computing habits: This is all the more reason to not use your admin account for normal day-to-day activities. (This, sadly, is the default for OS X.)
Some good advice: Open System Preferences right now and create a new user. Make that user an admin. Now, demote your own account down to a standard non-priveleged user account.
This way, when the supposed "picture" asks for an admin username & password, you can click on the cancel button. (A "picture" shouldn't require admin priveleges anyway.)
It's good computing practice not to be logged in as an admin all the time anyway.
So perhaps this was a good thing for the Mac community: Help them to be more educated and aware of safer computing habits.
#13
AlanOpp
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Posted 16 February 2006 - 11:12 AM
This piece of malware may very well be a Mac OS X-specific worm. A worm's principal characteristic is that it spreads from one machine to another over the Internet or an intranet. It's unclear, however, whether this malware has ever successfully used iChat to send itself to someone else. If so, it's a worm. If not, it's not. Has anyone had this happen to them? Further comments and feedback in my blog at http://www.isfym.com.
