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Zombie Macs Launch DoS Attack
Cludge writes "ZDNet has a story (and several related articles) about how Symantec has discovered evidence of an all-Mac based botnet that is actively involved in a DOS attack. Apparently, security on the exploited Macs (call them iBots?) was compromised when unwary users bit-torrented pirated copies of iWork 09 and Photoshop CS4 that contained malware. From the article: 'They describe this as the "first real attempt to create a Mac botnet" and note that the zombie Macs are already being used for nefarious purposes.'"
What the hell are you talking about?
Malware ie: trojans have been around for ages. This has nothing to do with the overall security of the OS and everything with the security threat the user is to themselves.
If a user is tricked into installing malware on a machine, the machine is infected with malware.
It's a shame people think Macs are somehow magically protected against viruses and other nasty computer stuff, merely by virtue of the manufacturer and operating system. It's probably more of a shame that Apple has, in the past at least, marketed Macs as being (more?) immune to viruses than PCs - something which somewhat true, but only for statistical reasons.
It's like STDs - if you're careless and go sticking your junk everywhere without taking precautions, you'll probably catch something cruel, eventually.
Sounds like someone has their panties in a twist. You might forget that strict permission levels don't imply security when the person behind the keyboard is an idiot.
Om, nomnomnom...
Purposefully installing malicious software does not indicate a vulnerability. The user intentionally installed a piece of software that is doing exactly what it is designed to do.
There isn't an operating system on the planet that can protect you (or itself) from fraudulent user activity.
Platform advocacy is like choosing a favorite severely developmentally disabled child.
I'm a user who doesn't run applications downloaded from completely untrustworthy sources like pirate p2p networks and you're correct -- I don't need a virus or malware checker.
Fixed that for you.
There are shills on slashdot. Apparently, I'm one of them.
Sorry, how does conficker spread again?
No, the funny part is that the users who torrented and installed pirated copies of iWork 09 and Photoshop CS4 got exactly what they deserved. Instant karma.
Any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.
It's a shame that the level of intelligence and knowledge of the posters to Slashdot seems to still be in decline.
I would think that anyone who wants to use this "revelation" as some kind of troll against OSX would at least be able to differentiate between a virus and a trojan.
There's a decent chance there will be some kind of unpatched OSX vuln that will be exploited ala what you see on a Windows machine, but until then you should just stew in silence and wait for your opportunity to post your "See OSX is no better than Windows" messages and then you wont look like such ignorant fools.
If you can install software on a computer, you can install software that is malware as well. I doubt anyone can fault Apple for allowing end users to install software that they choose to install.
Except this isn't a Virus. It is a Trojan.
Any OS can be infected with a Trojan even Linux.
I find it anoying that under Linux most software really expects to be installed as root.
Maybe there needs to be a new level called app for applications but then you have to problem of libraries.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
I suspect that this botnet has been created by a geek that is sick to death of uneducated Mac fanboyism, and in a small way, I have respect for that.
No, it wasn't. This botnet was created by a computer criminal who saw an opportunity to capitalize on people who install pirated software either because they are to clueless to know the risks or because they have deluded them selves into thinking it is riskless act. The lesson we can all learn from this is the following:
"If you download pirated software off the internet and install it on your computer you run the risk of installing along with it carefully crafted malware that your security software or whatever other precautions you are taking may not be able to protect you against."
Note that this basic lesson is true on all incarnations of Mac OS X, Windows, Linux or any other network enabled operating system you can download pirated software for.
Now please crawl back under your rock and learn to write better trolls...
Only to idiots, are orders laws.
-- Henning von Tresckow
While what you say it's true, taken in the context of Slashdot, it's a double standard. Whenever a trojan hits Windows, people are talking about how poorly designed Windows security is and how the user usually always runs as "administrator". People bring up how on Ubuntu and OS X, you have to sudo or login to do administrative things. Apparently that only works to a certain extend. I use and love my Macbook Pro but let's have some fairness here (not specifically you but Slashdot in general).
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I'm just guessing, but I think when he said "Technologically Uneducated Users" he was talking about Mac users, not developers. You might have missed the last 25 years where Macs claim to be more user friendly and cater to a less technologically inclined user-base, lending significant support to his suggestion. In short, not all Mac users fit that profile, but the ones that do are contributing to the negative image that OSX and Macs in general enjoy among a significant portion of the populace. Think "AOL", except replace the service itself with something worthwhile, and decrease the percentage of "Technologically Uninclined/Uneducated" users in the user-base from >99% down to about 80% or less.
More importantly, however, I think that he was implying that the users that claim that Macs are completely impervious to malware and that therefore Mac users need not take any precautions against infection are making the Mac community, and by extension the Mac OS, a laughing stock of the computer technology community. In short, the OS is technologically impressive in many ways, but a vocal portion of the users frequently make claims about it that are factually impossible and socially irresponsible. Not that this is exclusive to Mac, just better advertised and frequently sanctioned by the manufacturer.
Oh, was that my outside voice?
That is very true, Free and Open Source from signed repositories is the safest way of getting software.
Besides, you must behave different if you are going to install some weird binary from the Internet (which is not the case with Windows or Mac). That will scare off the newbies and more advanced users will know of dangers anyway. So the impact from similar malware in Linux will be limited, not to mention various distributions, DE's and suchlike.
Guys guys guys... you're missing the point. It doesn't matter if the attack was social or security based. The fact is it is a Mac based botnet. That's it. No double standard here, just reporting that a Macintosh based botnet is up to no good. The bottom line is that security is up to the user. I could go %sudo ALL=NOPASSWD: ALL in my /etc/sudoers and security goes right out the window. It's all in control of the user. People are (as a collective) just not that smart. There can never be a secure system as long as there are users of the system.
There is no patch for human stupidity. Just goes to show that if you do illegal file sharing you need good antivirus regardless of platform.
I think that "IBM clone" pretty much a meaningless term, these days, don't you? Especially since Macs have switched from PowerPC (actually made by IBM, as I'm sure you know) to Intel (whose chips no longer bear much resemblance to the IBM chips of the past). Hell, Macs don't even use BIOS's anymore. Hell, IBM doesn't even make desktop pc's anymore. Anyway, sorry, this is way too persnickety, but these mac/pc/secure/insecure flamewars get my hackles up.
Rule of Slashdot #0: You and people like you are not representative of the larger population. - A.C.