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Our Blogs Fuzzy Logic More malware coming for Macs
Our Blogs Fuzzy Logic More malware coming for Macs | More malware coming for Macs |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Saturday, 03 November 2007 | |
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Page 2 of 2 Ok, so back to what Zeiler was saying. The problem here is that if the user is voluntarily downloading a video plug-in because he or she wants to see a video clip on the Internet, whatever its content, when the box comes up asking for your administrator password, which always happens when you are trying to install something on Mac OS X, you are going to type in your password, especially if you are not a really tech savvy IT user. Featured Whitepaper
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What kind of red flag is that? It’s just a much less frequent and annoying version of “Cancel or Allow”. You still do have to make the decision to either “Cancel or Allow” as the Apple ad poking fun at Vista had the PC guy’s security dude saying to every question the Mac guy was asking. None of the steps Zeiler described which are quoted above are “dumb”, they are totally standard behavior for downloading and installing anything on a Mac. And if you’re trying to download a plug-in to watch a video, whatever kind of video it is, you’re going to type in your password. The creators of this trick won’t stop at porn sites, they could set up fake YouTube clone sites with apparently tons of video, but when a Mac user tries to watch the first one, they’ll get hit with a ‘ video plug-in download required’. No doubt plenty more variations on a theme, with other types of plug-in download required, will follow. After all, online criminals with access to resources, botnets, servers in safe countries and money will have no hesitation in creating these kinds of fake sites to target Mac users this way. Now, Zeiler says in his article that: “No system can be made immune to malware that employs “social engineering” – that is, user gullibility -- to do its dirty work. That’s as true of Macs as any computing platform. A new Trojan targeted at OS X is an incremental increase in the malware threat to the Mac, but nothing to panic over.” Zeiler concludes by saying that: “Mac OS X may not be invulnerable, but the hackers have not yet shown it’s so easy to crack that ordinary users need live in fear”. That’s true too. Everyday Mac owners don’t need to live in fear, unlike PC owners who battle malware, viruses, Trojans and more on many fronts with much protective software. Mac users just need to be careful which sites they visit and what they download, as PC users do, but more than ever before. Taking on the security precautions of activating the firewall, regularly downloading all security and other updates for all your Mac’s software, and exploring your other security options is a just simply a good idea in an ever more unsecure world. And what about Mac users who use their Mac with Windows? These Mac users need to be just as security savvy as PC users when running the PC side of things. The PC side of some Macs would be malware infested like PCs are today, while the Mac side stays pure. This is not a good thing for any Mac user affected this way, at least not for the PC side of their Mac. One new Trojan, OSX.RSPlug.A, does not a flood of Trojans or viruses or malware make. But it’s one more than before, and it can steal your login credentials and help to steal your identity. It clearly won’t be the last. |
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