Slashdot Mirror
Apple Quietly Goes After Mac Trojan With Update
Th'Inquisitor was one of several readers to point out coverage of Apple's stealth security fix, included along with the recent Snow Leopard 10.6.4 update. Graham Cluley of Sophos first noticed the update to protect Mac computers from a Trojan, and the fact that Apple didn't mention it in the release notes. The malware opens a back door to a Mac that can allow attackers to gain control of the machine and snoop about on it or turn it into a zombie. "You have to wonder," writes Cluley, "whether their keeping quiet about an anti-malware security update like this was for marketing reasons." While he certainly has a point that Apple benefits by its users' belief that the platform is secure, you also have to wonder whether any such publicity from a security company has a marketing subtext, as well.
You seriously think this could possibly be the first trojan for a mac os? Sounds like a mac user to me.
Yeah, because a file that you have to manually download and install is TOTALLY the same as the drive-by malware and / or remote kernel exploits that IE / Windows users know and love. And before you go back to licking Steve Ballmer's asshole, you may want to note that there's a difference between a virus and a trojan.
BREAKING NEWS!!! Stop The Presses!
"Apple has updated XProtect.plist - the rudimentary file that contains elementary signatures of a handful of Mac threats"
How dare they not tell us about such an important change... With such dramatically huge changes like this one going undocumented I just don't know how much longer I can trust these guys.
Many Mac users don't mind being back doored.
I need to install this security vendor's third-party software to protect myself from installing third-party software.
BTW what's the ETA on the next Slashdot complaint on the iPhone/iPad closed ecosystem?
but they did have it in the notes. the article is wrong.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
That's true, PCs must be safer. This explains why there is a much higher percentage of PC users with zombied PCs than Mac users with zombied Macs (no citation, sorry -- I'm just going by my gut here).
Also, people who break their computers are stupid. Why do they always expect the computer to work the way they want it to?
I mean, computers invented humans to do work for them right?
He could be a Linux Zealot too...
Avoiding Microsoft as much as you can is the best anti-virus by far.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
Mac users are very fond of pointing out this distinction, leaving out that trojans and malware, and social engineering, these days are the overwhelming majority of Windows issues as well.
Yes. Yes they are.
Now please list the count of Windows trojans vs. mac trojans. I'll get you started with the Mac count:
1 (or is this trojan actually in the wild yet?)
After all, we are talking about active trojans in the wild...
Do you not think that a system with a few orders of magnitude fewer active security threats might not, in fact, be more secure for the average user.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley