Mac malware, it's now a reality

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Recently at the Threatpost website they had an article on how some sort of 'toolbox' or whatever you want to call it has been developed that will help to create malware for the Mac. With Macs now about 15% of desktop computers in the USA I guess this was bound to happen sooner or later.

And what is really scary is I know, having used Macs for a long time, that a lot of people who use Macs are completely unready for this sort of thing. Not so long ago I talked to a guy I know who works where I work and he is taking college computer classes part time. He is working on a degree in computer science. His wife has a Mac and HE did not know how to turn on the software firewall for a Mac! Unless Macs have changed very recently the software firewall must be turned on. It is not on by default. And few people who own Macs use antivirus programs, which are available now and even free in some cases.

I don't think there is any question that Macs are weak in security in at least a few areas. The Safari web browser definitely needs to be shored up. And Quicktime always seems to have security holes. It has been demonstrated time and again that Macs can be attacked.

But nobody is listening.
 
Originally Posted By: Mystic
Recently [snip]

But nobody is listening.


Most people are unready for any kind of catastrophic event. They are ill-informed, ill-prepared, and self-content. Then there are the expert doomsayers, who do nothing rather than point out, "I told you so."

I'm for the 12th year in a row on a Mac. I suppose I have been careful and prudent in my use of these infernal devices. Never have my computers been hacked, never have I fallen victim to foul play. Of course, as a famous movie character once said, "You know what a careful fellow I am."
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I use a PC, and refuse to run AV software as it's typically a resource hog. Been infection free for many many many years. It helps that I'm very tech savvy, and am running lots of various browser additions to keep my overall threat exposure low.
The typical Mac user on the other hand has been lulled into a false sense of security. That said, most coders of the nefarious type still seem to prefer PC's as their targets, because for each idiot using a mac there are 10 idiots using PCs simply because of market dominance. Its a numbers game...so the Mac guys should only have to worry about a few threats for the time being.

God help the soul who releases malicious code that might interfere with Apple's bottom line. The first time someone makes a Mac virus that takes out people's Itunes libraries, is the last time anyone makes a computer virus ever lol...Steve Jobs will see to that :p. Expect a product akin to Microsoft's Security Essentials from apple in the next few years.
 
Well, if Steve Jobs is still the CEO of Apple when the first major Mac malware comes along, he probably would try to go after them in a big way! At this time I think a Mac antivirus program could be developed fairly easily. There are still only about 5000 known threats to Macs. A lot less than for PCs.
 
Mystic, it's already happened years ago. Back in the early 90's Mac's had a terrible time with malware. There was an ongoing battle between Apple's proprietary software/hardware system and hackers that wanted open market standards for the Mac. Some hackers even stole the source code for the OS from Apple and freely distributed to various software houses. Jobs threaten lawsuits so everyone gave it back w/o peeking (so they say).

The net result was a huge increase in MAC-targeted malware for the next couple of years that literally shutdown unprotected Mac's. I remember in 1991 that one branch of NAVSEA in Crystal City, VA (outside of DC) was so badly infected, that we had to shut down the entire network, delouse each Mac, and then delouse each and every one of the 3.5" floppies used in the office before we could get rid of the malware. This only took six months to accomplish as usually someone brought into work an infected floppy from home, stuck it in his/her Mac, and started the infection all over again on the network.
 
Well, the first time I remember being exposed to computer viruses was with my Apple computers, and not the Windows computers. There was a virus that was accidentally put on a CD that came from MacHome or MacWorld Magazine. So I was exposed to that computer virus. And in addition I received a notification of a possible computer virus another time. So strange as it may seem, at least as far as I can remember, I experienced Mac viruses BEFORE I was exposed to Windows viruses! Of course, that was back in the days of the older Mac operating systems.

I think Mac OS X is safer, but I defintitely do not think it is invincible to attack. That has already been demonstrated. And some Mac applications seem to be definitely weak when it comes to security. So I think anybody who has a Mac should use a standard account rather than an administrator account, use good passwords, be sure the firewall is turned on, and get an antivirus program. There is no excuse for not having an antivirus program, because there are even free ones available, such as one from Sophos, and also ClamAV (or ClamXAV) and iAntivirus. If Mac people do even this much, it will buy them some time. It may seem bad to say this, but let the people who do not even know how to turn the firewall on get attacked first.
 
I'd put OSX and Linux, etc to be in the secure category when compare to Windows. Microsoft did a poor job when introduce all these programmable interface but forgot to secure them, causing all sorts of problem when abused.

It didn't have to be this way to begin with, but when you are a monopoly, you can get away with a lot of things.
 
Now don't get mad. I know the passion here for Linux by some here. But The National Security Agency came out with some document stating that Windows 7 (and Vista) are more secure than not only Windows XP but even Linux. They said that the 64 bit version of Windows 7 was especially more secure.

I did not go looking for this. It came in my email. See ITProPortal and a article by Ray Mandaila for May 9, 2011. I am not trying to get into an argument with anybody. Whoever has strong views opposed to what the NSA said can contact the NSA. But when I saw this in my email I decided to share it here.

Of course some do not think that the NSA knows anything anyway. I tend to strongly disagree with that viewpoint but oh well. I do know that at the NSA website they used to have extensive information on how to secure a Mac Computer running Mac OS X. If that information is still there Mac users might want to take a look at it. Since this post is about Mac malware that is staying true to the post.
 
Well, you know if you got in in the email it must be true.

A lot of times I'm really not sure if you're trying to be serious or not. And, no, I'm not going to contact the NSA.
 
my friends who switched to macs gloated gleefully that they would never have a virus or malware: ever.
So my response was.. ok.. why do they make antivirus and antimalware software for them then?

This all boils down to.. it's gonna happen sooner or later.
Malware today is more about money than harming a computer.
The world runs on Windows what.. 75%? Macs now own 15% and Linux the rest.
Nobody'll attack Linux outright..it's freeware. Linus Torvalds isn't trying to shove mac os or windows down our throats!
Anyway, the malware today is designed to make you put in your info and credit card info so the jerk on the other end gets money. It's about financial gain.. They have a better shot at getting a windows person to pay $20 to remove their malware (which we all know it probably won't) and hope their computers will be safe.
Who'd want to bother with a mac? Nobody. It's not that they were any safer, although their hybrided unix backend is pretty [censored] solid, they just weren't popular enough to waste time on.
Now you see macbook's in TV shows and movies constantly. I'm sure they're using them because of styling.
My neighbor was 3 seconds away from pressing submit on the malware that popped up on her computer, fortunately she called me just to make sure and I yelled STOP!
the screens that popped up were immaculate and very realistic!
She got her malware installed by clicking on a picture from one of those gossip websites.

It's gonna be interesting to see how apple deals with the malware issues that will be coming. Apple likes to control everything.. this is something they'll have a near difficult time trying to control.. unless steve jobs thinks he can sue countries for harboring malware developers... I can see that happening actually.
 
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When I have a little time I will see if I can locate that NSA document for you. It is really not very important but I will make a little effort to find it-not much.

I think the NSA knows more about computers and software than anybody here. I know they had some really good information on how to secure an Apple Computer running Mac OS X.
 
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When I have a little time I will see if I can locate that NSA document for you. It is really not very important but I will make a little effort to find it-not much.

No worries, the link is in my previous post, direct from the NSA site; there is no mention of a recommendation as indicated by the author of the itproportal piece. Basically the author made an inference not supported by the NSA report.
 
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What system crackers are attacking on macs are Apple software that is not kernel related. Part of macbook software is BSD Linux, which is very secure ( Google, and Yahoo use it to run their servers). I hope mac users do end up with a ton of viruses on their computers. Most users are snooty, inept computer users that claim that they purchased a mac because the "Don't get viruses like PC's) All mac books are overpriced pc's that run BSD Linux underneath and then add a proprietary gui and then triple the price.
 
Originally Posted By: 97prizm

What system crackers are attacking on macs are Apple software that is not kernel related. Part of macbook software is BSD Linux, which is very secure ( Google, and Yahoo use it to run their servers). I hope mac users do end up with a ton of viruses on their computers. Most users are snooty, inept computer users that claim that they purchased a mac because the "Don't get viruses like PC's) All mac books are overpriced pc's that run BSD Linux underneath and then add a proprietary gui and then triple the price.


BSD and Linux are two very different things. BSD is MUCH older than Linux. BSD is a split of the original Unix code.

Mac OS X (there isn't an OS called "macbook software") is based on FreeBSD.
 
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