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Mac malware tide on the rise

New Trojan, rogue AV storm beaches

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Less than a week after researchers spotted new malware targeting naive Mac users, two additional titles have been spotted.

Security mavens at Mac anti-virus provider Intego say Trojan-horse software dubbed OSX.Trojan.iServices.B hitches a ride on pirated copies of Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Mac that are being distributed in warez channels. A program used to generate a valid serial number to unlock the Adobe app installs a backdoor on machines that makes them part of a botnet.

The discovery comes four days after Intego warned of a trojan that piggybacked off illicit copies of Apple's iWork 09 productivity suite.

The trojans aren't the only threats in the wild preying on OS X users. According to researchers at anti-virus provider Kaspersky, two new applications that claim to offer anti-malware protection for Mac users have recently been spotted. Rogue anti-virus programs have long been the bane of PC users. Now they're becoming increasingly common on the Mac platform as well, Kaspersky researcher Sergey Golovanov says.

No doubt, the debate about security of the Mac will continue to rage, with some claiming it is a harder platform to attack compared with Windows and others saying it remains relatively unscathed only because its considerably smaller market share makes it less of a target to cybercriminals. What should be fairly well settled is the reality that these Mac-tailored social engineering attacks are now a fact of life. Like their Windows brethren, OS X users who install pirated software or are otherwise careless do so at their own peril. ®

Agentless Backup is Not a Myth

Meh

Once a REAL virus shows up, id est, self replicating then there might be something to worry about. My Windows machines (Windows for Profesionals on up to todays Vista) have never gotten any infection or trojan, EVER, so I don't expect I'll have to worry one bit about my Macs.

Where I do see this as being a problem though is that with the main OS's out there you're not likely to know you have a trojan since machines are so stable anymore.

Now, it would be nice if the basic firewall currently on Leopard was more configurable and it would alert you if a service that isn't Apple verified has started. That would be a nice start. But seriously though, I worry about getting compromised on my computers about as much as I worry about getting in a fatal accident in my car.

Does it cross my mind, yes. but I don't write articles about 'Oh NO, you might get in a fatal crash going to work, STAY HOME FOR THE LOVE OF GHOD'!

Nope, I don't : )

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So funny , so funny

"The golden age of Mac security appears to be at an end, and about time." I just love seeing all this Apple hate (no doubt sponsored by the Microsoft - pay for stories group).

MDN sponsors a web page that lists links to all kinds of Apple and MS stories. No firewall or virusware for the last 2-3 years... And no virus problems. Of course there are currently NO viruses in the wild for Apple but why let a small thing like reality stop a writer, writing for anti-virus companies, write a great scare article.

If you really want background, try roughlydrafted.com for good articles with meat. If you like scary fat floating on top, I hear there are many good sites around. :-)

Just a thought.

en

PS I use both PC and Apple. However, lately, I keep the PC off the internet. Its way to dangerous out there for such an exposed machine.

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.Services, Bitches!

@SkippyBing:

totally.

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