apple trojan | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Fri, 06 Apr 2012 06:18:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png apple trojan | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Apple OS attacked by Trojan Malware https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/apple/jules/apple-os-attacked-by-trojan-malware/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/apple/jules/apple-os-attacked-by-trojan-malware/#respond Fri, 06 Apr 2012 06:18:49 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=85972 One of the man reasons Apple users feel superior when they boot the Mac, is the supposed lack of viruses. There’s no doubt that locking hardware to software with the Unix operating system has security advantages, but is it invulnerable?  New reports suggest not. KitGuru dresses like Colombo to investigate. The idea of a BotNet is that …

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One of the man reasons Apple users feel superior when they boot the Mac, is the supposed lack of viruses. There’s no doubt that locking hardware to software with the Unix operating system has security advantages, but is it invulnerable?  New reports suggest not. KitGuru dresses like Colombo to investigate.

The idea of a BotNet is that a computer can be used to visit various web sites – without the knowledge or permission of the owner. In other words, you think your computer is sitting there waiting for you to click a mouse or launch an Angry Bird, but – in fact – it is busy hitting hundreds of web sites.

At the low end, it might be used to boost traffic to a particular site. At the other end of the scale, it can be used as part of a Denial of Service (DoS) attack – designed to bring down the systems at a major corporation or government.

One of Apple's problems with its operating system, is that not 100% of the components required to run a computer are made by Apple. For instance, it needs to be able to run Java – presently owned by Oracle. A security vulnerability in Java was detected earlier in the year and a patch was released for non-Apple systems on Valentine's Day by Oracle. Unfortunately, those security plugs were not applied to the Apple bathtub until 8 weeks later.

Experts say that the level of infection is probably around 600,000 Apple Macs – with half of the infected population living in the US of A.

Security firms with a ‘zero sized chunk of the fastest growing OS market', like Kaspersky and F-Secure, were quick to jump on the band wagon with ‘See, see, we told you we were needed – please spend money with us' messages of support. At least F-Secure wasn't just throwing stones at the glass house, but also manage to post instructions that allow Apple victims to know whether their Mac needs hospitalisation.

In the real world, one of these men is much more likely to be infected with a virus than the other

KitGuru says: While this is a great story for the security community, the safety of Apple systems is hardly in doubt – and they are still significantly more solid than Windows-based PCs. Sure, you have to live without some features that PC users take for granted, but the idea that a ‘wild hoard' can come crashing through your OS is unlikely.

Comments below or in the KitGuru forums.

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Apple confirm malicious software attacks on userbase https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/apple/carl/apple-confirm-malicious-software-attacks-on-userbase/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/apple/carl/apple-confirm-malicious-software-attacks-on-userbase/#comments Wed, 25 May 2011 07:37:44 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=46504 Apple can sometimes be slow to respond, but they have published a support note this week saying that there have been a series of attacks on Macintosh users – namely the spreading of fake ‘security' products. Macintosh owners have been subjected in recent weeks to a rogue anti virus application which pretends that a machine …

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Apple can sometimes be slow to respond, but they have published a support note this week saying that there have been a series of attacks on Macintosh users – namely the spreading of fake ‘security' products.

Macintosh owners have been subjected in recent weeks to a rogue anti virus application which pretends that a machine is infected to get a ‘cure' – which means a purchase of the software via a credit card. Apple have taken some time to acknowledge this issue.

Apple say they will offer a tool to clean infected systems and to prevent future infections. Their support note explains “In the coming days, Apple will deliver a Mac OS X software update that will automatically find and remove Mac Defender malware and its known variants.  The update will also help protect users by providing an explicit warning if they download this malware.”

It looks legitimate, but its not. be warned

The people behind this malicious software package are looking for credit card information and personal details. They are paid per install and some collect an extra fee if an order is taken to purchase the ‘Mac Defender' software.

Sophos, a legitimate security software developer have a free anti virus client available for the Macintosh. Symantec and BitDefender have security software available which require a payment.

Graham Cluley said this about Macintosh based Malware “We don't see as much Mac malware as Windows malware. Not by a long shot. But that doesn't mean that Mac users can afford to have their heads in the sand about protecting their precious computers, unfortunately, so long as Mac users don't properly defend themselves they will increasingly be perceived as a soft target by cybercriminals.”

Kitguru says: Hopefully this isn't the start of a new raft of malicious software for Macintosh owners. We doubt many PC users will feel much sympathy as they have been dealing with similar problems for many years.

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