Macs hit with BitTorrent-embedded malware attack

[MacBeth]

For years, Mac users have long been rightfully smug about their platform's relative immunity to virus and malware attacks, but it's inevitable that those days will eventually come to an end. (As the Mac gains in popularity, it also earns more attention from malware developers, and it's this lack of malware being actively developed, not some special, inherent security, that have really kept the Mac a "safe" platform for the time being.)

Now we're seeing one of the first moderately-sized exploits to take advantage of Mac users. The iServices.A Trojan horse is an attack being distributed via BitTorrent, where it's disguised as a bootleg copy of the new iWork 09. Once installed, the malware takes administrator access and connects to remote servers over the Internet, where it can be given additional instructions as the author commands, from installing additional malware to stealing information off the Mac in question. The malware creator can also take complete remote control of any compromised machine.

Security firm Intego said that just 20,000 machines had been infected as of January 21 but that the risk of ongoing infection was "serious, and users may face extremely serious consequences" if they are stricken with the malware.

Mac users are suggested to use common sense -- that is, don't try to download and installed pirated software -- and to update any antivirus definitions immediately. If you're a Mac user and aren't using security software, well, this might be a good time to start.

As well, if you've been hit by this piece of malware, a removal tool is available here (at the link below). (Please note: I have not tested it.)




tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/117188

[Calluna]

Well, anyone who tries downloading pirated software from a site like BitTorrent deserves what they get. Not much sympathy there. That applies for Mac or PC users. If you download questionable software from questionable sites, of course you're bound to wind up with malware of some sort.

As for running security software on a mac, there aren't any reliable antivirus software packages out for macs...when there really haven't been any viruses that target macs, the software companies stopped selling mac packages. I think only one sells something that works on Macs, and that's just to catch PC viruses so you don't spread them if you share a lot of files with other people that use PCs, but they aren't anything that actually infects the Macs.

The big one going around, apparently, is the PC worm right now, conficker. Though, as many warnings as I've gotten from various sources about it infecting lots of computers, nobody has yet told me what the worm actually does, or how you would recognize you're infected if you got it. They just send you to a microsoft site to download some update or free scan for it that doesn't work for Firefox users.

[wheelspinner]

Agree with Calluna - there's an element of schadenfreude about software pirates getting infected by a Trojan. I bet Apple aren't losing much sleep over it.

Being a concurrent user of both platforms, it does seem to me that the Mac is inherently more secure. For example the FileVault utility that forms part of the delivered OS allows you to secure your hard drive in the event of theft, without any noticeable decline in performance or amenity. If the software update process is anything to go by, the Mac OS receives for fewer security patches than Windows.

In the end, nothing is hack-proof. The best you can do is avoid risky activity and be prepared for the worst.