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A Trojan targeting Mac computers in the wild used to be a rarity, but this type of malware is now turning up with alarming frequency. The latest virus is rudimentary, at best, although when coupled with a Mac platform vulnerability that came to light earlier this week, it could deliver an extra wallop. The Trojan is masquerading as a program for Mac OS X called "PokerGame." All in all, it's pretty straightforward -- both in the way it installs itself and in how it's executed. It is a social engineering-designed hack attack at its most basic.
What exactly is the *alarming* frequency?
Posted by: pkrug 2008-06-27 05:20:38 In reply to: Erika Morphy
I know no platform is invulnerable, but I am trying to remember when the last Mac Trojan came about - was it 2006 or 2007? Is once every one or two years "alarming"?
If I send out an email imploring people to delete their registry file or their system prefs, does that count as a trojan too? Just trying to get a handle on the "alarm" here.
If I send out an email imploring people to delete their registry file or their system prefs, does that count as a trojan too? Just trying to get a handle on the "alarm" here.
The virus software folks need the business, windoze is currently implementing their own virus protection in their OS, and freeware like AVG has taken its toll on retail virus programs
So again, we have Chicken Little saying "The Sky is Falling"
Hoping to scare uninformed people into buying virus software.
So again, we have Chicken Little saying "The Sky is Falling"
Hoping to scare uninformed people into buying virus software.
Geez, when are people going to realize that a Trojan horse is not a virus.
A Trojan is an application that preys on a user's stupidity to activate it. It requires that a user foolishly launch an unknown application (usually coming to them anonymously by e-mail), and then either enter their password or agree to a dialog box in order to give that application permission to do its stuff. Most people are not dumb enough to do this. And a Trojan isn't self-propagating.
On the other hand... A virus is code that doesn't require user intervention, and works by taking advantage of a poorly coded operating system's vulnerabilities.
There are NO viruses for the Mac. There are however many thousands of viruses that attack Windows PCs. This speaks volumes for the relative security of the Mac OS compared to Windows.
Yet many PC users falsely latch onto any news of a Mac Trojan as a sign that the pain & suffering they have been enduring (and continue to endure) is what Mac users face. And virus software developers make a big fuss about a Mac Trojan in order to scare up new business.
I just wish people would wise up to the facts.
A Trojan is an application that preys on a user's stupidity to activate it. It requires that a user foolishly launch an unknown application (usually coming to them anonymously by e-mail), and then either enter their password or agree to a dialog box in order to give that application permission to do its stuff. Most people are not dumb enough to do this. And a Trojan isn't self-propagating.
On the other hand... A virus is code that doesn't require user intervention, and works by taking advantage of a poorly coded operating system's vulnerabilities.
There are NO viruses for the Mac. There are however many thousands of viruses that attack Windows PCs. This speaks volumes for the relative security of the Mac OS compared to Windows.
Yet many PC users falsely latch onto any news of a Mac Trojan as a sign that the pain & suffering they have been enduring (and continue to endure) is what Mac users face. And virus software developers make a big fuss about a Mac Trojan in order to scare up new business.
I just wish people would wise up to the facts.
While I would agree that the definitions of virus and trojan are dissimilar, the idea that because this particular threat comes in the form of a trojan negates the need to worry is in itself worrisome. A trojan can just as easily deliver a virus or worm as it does a backdoor in this instance. Macs are not immune to these types of threats, the malicious coders just have to come up with different ways to get them executed.
As more college students and others enticed by Macs excellent qualities (and good marketing) have started buying macs, the market space has now made it somewhat more worthwhile to target this platform, so we are starting to see more articles about botnets, trojans and backdoors on the Mac platform in the media. Ignoring this trend while its still in its infancy is just hiding your head in the sand.
Mac is an excellent platform. However the idea that it is "more" secure ignores the fact that security is much more than just the root access model that differentiates Mac from Windows.
I just wish people would wise up to the facts.
As more college students and others enticed by Macs excellent qualities (and good marketing) have started buying macs, the market space has now made it somewhat more worthwhile to target this platform, so we are starting to see more articles about botnets, trojans and backdoors on the Mac platform in the media. Ignoring this trend while its still in its infancy is just hiding your head in the sand.
Mac is an excellent platform. However the idea that it is "more" secure ignores the fact that security is much more than just the root access model that differentiates Mac from Windows.
I just wish people would wise up to the facts.
Not since George Ou have I see the words Trojan and virus used so loosely and interchangeably to describe the problem and recommend a solution. Personally that while I may agree there is an issue here users need to be aware of I don't have time to write the article that should have been written for you.
Who said the Mac was "invulnerable"? Got any names?
The Quiet Little Pop of the Mac Security Bubble
Posted by: machelp 2008-06-26 07:10:47 In reply to: Erika Morphy
'Quiet Pop', indeed! Try 'non existent!'
Why is it that some alleged tech writers continue to assert that since a single Trojan (one, only one) has been found out on the plains of the Macintosh environment that Mac OS security will crumble and fall to dust? I'm wondering how alleged tech writers can compare, with the sincerity of, say, Shakespeare's Brutus, the 100,000+ viruses, trojans, malware, spyware, and crapware that is the Windows world, with a single Trojan instance, first in over 8 years, in Mac's world?
Should Mac users be complacent? Of course not. Is the Mac OS invulnerable to attack? Of course not. And anyone who believes so has the same veracity as this writer.
Like many, in the PC environment, who gleefully write about the eminent demise of all things Apple (Macs, Mac OS, iPods, iTunes, iPhones, etc), this article is just another in a ever-growing list of articles being used to create FUD - Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.
Why is it that some alleged tech writers continue to assert that since a single Trojan (one, only one) has been found out on the plains of the Macintosh environment that Mac OS security will crumble and fall to dust? I'm wondering how alleged tech writers can compare, with the sincerity of, say, Shakespeare's Brutus, the 100,000+ viruses, trojans, malware, spyware, and crapware that is the Windows world, with a single Trojan instance, first in over 8 years, in Mac's world?
Should Mac users be complacent? Of course not. Is the Mac OS invulnerable to attack? Of course not. And anyone who believes so has the same veracity as this writer.
Like many, in the PC environment, who gleefully write about the eminent demise of all things Apple (Macs, Mac OS, iPods, iTunes, iPhones, etc), this article is just another in a ever-growing list of articles being used to create FUD - Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.
