Mac malware warning:

[mjnurney]

Flashback.G injects code into web browsers and other applications that access a network, and in many cases causes them to crash. It installs itself in an invisible file in the /Users/Shared folder, and this file can bear many names, but with a .so extension. Here are some examples of users posting logs on forums about certain applications crashing. In each case, a file in /Users/Shared is present:


Intego, the company behind the popular VirusBarrier security software for the Mac, has uncovered a new trojan horse called ‘Flashback.G’ that infects Macs running older versions of Java Runtime. The software installs itself on your system without your acknowledgement when you visit a malicious webpage, then it will record usernames and passwords for sites like Google, eBay, PayPal, and more.

While those with Snow Leopard anId older version of Java Runtime are most at risk,*the trojan will also affect the latest version of Java Runtime, but users will need to agree to a certificate first.

http://www.cultofmac.com/148500/fla...runtime-software-to-steal-your-personal-data/

 

[johnim]

hi mike i thought macs couldnt get viruses

and java is a pain

 

[Tajmaster]

Awww damn! I just bought a Mac cos they NEVER get virus'! Next thing you'll be telling me is they have started to crash

:rofl3

Just kiddin Mike :grouphug:

 

[drwho]

hi mike i thought macs couldnt get viruses

and java is a pain

It's a lot more rare for Macs, but, like anything else I guess, the more people use them, the more malicious people will notice and write virus and malware for them.

The only solution would be to use a platform that no one else is really using much ... hmmm ... thinking .... eureka! I'll go home and flick my A2000 on!

 

[johnim]

its mad that people have not got better things to do than write viruses

 

[Tajmaster]

its mad that people have not got better things to do than write viruses

John, your words could not be truer :roll: I just dont get what they get out of it

 

[johnim]

maybe the virus removal software companys pay them to write the things

 

[mjnurney]

think i read somewhere that Windows has 4 million virus attacks and the mac had 50 last year..

so na na na

seriously...

view hidden files easily with TinkerTool 4.71 on OSX lion.

I've just checked , my system is clean.

---------- Post added at 18:24 ---------- Previous post was at 18:23 ----------

Java & Flash are the biggest sources on infection currently, the quicker they are both killed of the better i think.

 

[johnim]

i dont install java runtime on my pcs as have had probs with it before

 

[robinsonb5]

I just dont get what they get out of it

It used to be just a case of vandalism and bragging rights. These days, sadly, a compromised computer is a valuable asset, so the motivation now is monetary. (The upside to this is that viruses are getting less destructive over time - the goal now isn't to trash the victim's machine, it's to lurk unnoticed by the machine's owner and quietly do the botmaster's bidding in the background.)

---------- Post added at 19:01 ---------- Previous post was at 19:00 ----------

i dont install java runtime on my pcs as have had probs with it before

Yup, not a bad rule of thumb. The biggest problem is that browsing the web to its full potential practically requires running active content from untrusted sources.

 

[Harrison]

There are still those creating malicious code just for fun, to get some kind of amusement from it. For these I just don't get it, other than if it were an aimed personal attack against someone they had a vendetta. But to just put code out into the wide in the hope it would mess random people's systems up is just sick.

However it definitely is true that the majority of motivation behind it these days is illegal activities. Most infections have moved on from just trashing a system, and are designed to do something to circumvent security, gain access to systems, or to pass data back to its creator. Collecting payment information as well as contact lists is a huge market these days for crime syndicates.

I am glad Mac owners are finally having to sit up and take security a bit more seriously because they have been complacent for a very long time, thinking their platform was safe. The fact everyone accesses the internet and runs the same code to generate webpages means their is unified code being accessed regardless of platform, so everyone is at some form of risk.

 

[robinsonb5]

I am glad Mac owners are finally having to sit up and take security a bit more seriously because they have been complacent for a very long time, thinking their platform was safe. The fact everyone accesses the internet and runs the same code to generate webpages means their is unified code being accessed regardless of platform, so everyone is at some form of risk.

Yup indeed. The same goes for Linux to a certain extent. I mean, yes, a security hole in a web browser *probably* won't allow system files to be trashed, but the system files are the bit that's easily replaced. Your data - i.e. the stuff created by the same user under whose credentials the web browser is running - is the important bit!

Hell, even the Amiga's had major security flaws - the fact that's it's now relatively obscure and there's next to no payoff for exploiting them doesn't mean they don't exist! Anyone remember the APIPE: exploit in YAM that allowed a carefully crafted email to execute an arbitrary command on the victim's Amiga?