The antivirus company Dr. Web has found a new Mac malware, according to The Safe Mac.
http://www.thesafemac.com/dr-web-announces-new-iworm-malware/
http://www.thesafemac.com/dr-web-announces-new-iworm-malware/
Dr Web finds new Mac malware
- Thread starter Mystic
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The thought that macs are virus free computers is a joke. People buy them thinking they are simply the best. On a computer bases roughly 97% of all PCs are windows. That last 3% are Apple Mac and Linux.
For people who steal personal information with computers it only makes sense to target windows as you have such a larger pool of potential targets.
The only thing that is keeping Apples image alive is the lack of total users. If I recall right apple had a virus even before 2000. 1987 I believe it was but that's off memory and its probably not correct it would replicate a text onto all floppy disks placed in it and they when the floppy was used on another Mac it would also infect that computer too.
For people who steal personal information with computers it only makes sense to target windows as you have such a larger pool of potential targets.
The only thing that is keeping Apples image alive is the lack of total users. If I recall right apple had a virus even before 2000. 1987 I believe it was but that's off memory and its probably not correct it would replicate a text onto all floppy disks placed in it and they when the floppy was used on another Mac it would also infect that computer too.
Keep telling yourself that Security by Obscurity is the reason Mac has less viruses.
You know what the most widely used Web platform is? Linux/Apache.
You know what the most widely hacked Web platform is? Windows/IIS.
It is much harder to write malware for a *NIX than it is for Windows. The fact that there is point and click malware generators for Windows says how easy it is.
Windows is just a horrible OS from the UI, to the core, to the security.
You know what the most widely used Web platform is? Linux/Apache.
You know what the most widely hacked Web platform is? Windows/IIS.
It is much harder to write malware for a *NIX than it is for Windows. The fact that there is point and click malware generators for Windows says how easy it is.
Windows is just a horrible OS from the UI, to the core, to the security.
I own an iMac and I also use Windows so the security of both operating systems concerns me. There does seem to be an increasing amount of malware for the Mac. I don't know what that means. There is still little malware for a Mac but it has been demonstrated that malware can be written for Mac OS X. The worse was the Flashback Trojan that infected something like one out of every 100 Mac computers running Mac OS X.
My best guess based on experience is that Macs are somewhat safer than Windows but malware can be developed if the malware writers really want to develop that malware. So they must not be interested because there are so few Mac users compared to Windows users. But Mac users tend to be somewhat more wealthy than Windows users so I think the malware writers are missing an opportunity. Because my experience is that most Mac users do not use antivirus software and some do not even know how to turn on their firewalls.
Personally the first time I remember having any contact with malware was with Apple Computers before Mac OS X.
One thing that concerns me very much is that the hackers seem to be turning their attention to server computers. If servers can be attacked successfully that is a bigger achievement than just hacking a desktop personal computer. And we are seeing that servers can be hacked.
From what I have been able to find out vulnerabilities on Linux server computers that bring about Heartbleed and Shellshock are incredibly important and probably should be front page news. The hackers don't need to hack personal computers if they can get passwords, credit card information, etc., from the server computers.
And contrary to what some have said these vulnerabilities may not be patched. Heartbleed was still affecting many Linux servers months after it was first reported. So the servers were not being updated.
Shellshock is much more serious. Somebody somewhere probably needs to WAKE UP!
My best guess based on experience is that Macs are somewhat safer than Windows but malware can be developed if the malware writers really want to develop that malware. So they must not be interested because there are so few Mac users compared to Windows users. But Mac users tend to be somewhat more wealthy than Windows users so I think the malware writers are missing an opportunity. Because my experience is that most Mac users do not use antivirus software and some do not even know how to turn on their firewalls.
Personally the first time I remember having any contact with malware was with Apple Computers before Mac OS X.
One thing that concerns me very much is that the hackers seem to be turning their attention to server computers. If servers can be attacked successfully that is a bigger achievement than just hacking a desktop personal computer. And we are seeing that servers can be hacked.
From what I have been able to find out vulnerabilities on Linux server computers that bring about Heartbleed and Shellshock are incredibly important and probably should be front page news. The hackers don't need to hack personal computers if they can get passwords, credit card information, etc., from the server computers.
And contrary to what some have said these vulnerabilities may not be patched. Heartbleed was still affecting many Linux servers months after it was first reported. So the servers were not being updated.
Shellshock is much more serious. Somebody somewhere probably needs to WAKE UP!
There's more to it than just the installed base. Can Macs get viruses and malware? OF course! Some of the very first computer viruses were MacOS (pre OSX) targeted.
However, Windows is a lot easier target for malware writers and they can gain a lot more control of the system just due to the inherent design. Its getting better since XP, but a malware author can still DO more damage from outside a Windows box than a *nix (Mac included) box. This is something itguy08 and I finally agree on ;-)
However, Windows is a lot easier target for malware writers and they can gain a lot more control of the system just due to the inherent design. Its getting better since XP, but a malware author can still DO more damage from outside a Windows box than a *nix (Mac included) box. This is something itguy08 and I finally agree on ;-)
I do think Macs running Mac OS X are somewhat safer than Windows. Heck, a lot of Mac users do not run any antivirus software and I have met a few who did not even know how to turn their software firewalls on. But it is important I think to still have an antivirus program and turn the firewall on. The Sophos Antivirus is even free.
If a person was running VirusBarrier on their Mac OS X computer when the Flashback Trojan was spreading, the MALWARE WOULD NOT INSTALL ON THE COMPUTER! The people who developed the Flashback Trojan did not want to be discovered.
But Mac OS X is still just human technology and malware can be and has been developed for it. Even if Macs were as common as Windows computers I don't know if there would be as much malware as with Windows computers. But there would probably be considerably more malware than today.
And some software on a Mac is more vulnerable to malware I think than the operating system. The Safari web browser is okay but does not impress me in a lot of ways when it comes to security. Quicktime has had a lot of security issues. And I have heard of security issues with iTunes. Some of these problems can be avoided by using a different web browser like Firefox or Chrome.
So security is a concern with Macs but not like with Windows. There are other issues with Macs. When a new operating system comes out your printer and/or scanner might not work for a while. And you may have been using an Apple program like Aperture or iPhotos and Apple decides they are going to stop supporting that software and go to a program called Photos. You never can tell what they are going to do.
If a person was running VirusBarrier on their Mac OS X computer when the Flashback Trojan was spreading, the MALWARE WOULD NOT INSTALL ON THE COMPUTER! The people who developed the Flashback Trojan did not want to be discovered.
But Mac OS X is still just human technology and malware can be and has been developed for it. Even if Macs were as common as Windows computers I don't know if there would be as much malware as with Windows computers. But there would probably be considerably more malware than today.
And some software on a Mac is more vulnerable to malware I think than the operating system. The Safari web browser is okay but does not impress me in a lot of ways when it comes to security. Quicktime has had a lot of security issues. And I have heard of security issues with iTunes. Some of these problems can be avoided by using a different web browser like Firefox or Chrome.
So security is a concern with Macs but not like with Windows. There are other issues with Macs. When a new operating system comes out your printer and/or scanner might not work for a while. And you may have been using an Apple program like Aperture or iPhotos and Apple decides they are going to stop supporting that software and go to a program called Photos. You never can tell what they are going to do.
Originally Posted By: Noobie
Not more resistant, just less profitable or "potential targets" as 3800Series said.
OS design has nothing to do with it, just the installed base?
That is like saying the least reliable car is the one that has the most sales....
Quote:
It’s unclear from Dr. Web’s report exactly how the malware gets installed.
How do we know the OS is insecure by this admission? Perhaps the user was tricked into installing it.
Not more resistant, just less profitable or "potential targets" as 3800Series said.
OS design has nothing to do with it, just the installed base?
That is like saying the least reliable car is the one that has the most sales....
Quote:
It’s unclear from Dr. Web’s report exactly how the malware gets installed.
How do we know the OS is insecure by this admission? Perhaps the user was tricked into installing it.
It looks like the method used by iWorm to get on Mac computers has been found.
http://www.thesafemac.com/iworm-method-of-infection-found/
A person should never use pirated software and should stay away from torrent and file sharing websites.
http://www.thesafemac.com/iworm-method-of-infection-found/
A person should never use pirated software and should stay away from torrent and file sharing websites.
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