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New MacDefender Defeats Apple Security Update
XxtraLarGe writes "Apple released a security update yesterday designed to rid Macs of the menacing MacDefender malware that has plagued users for nearly a month. But mere hours after the update, cyber-criminals released a new variant of the malware that easily defeated Apple's belated security efforts. That didn't take long."
Apple's security update include a new daily malware definitions update. So this is hardly the easy defeat that the description is hinting at. More like the beginning of a long drawn out war...
It's a new piece of malware, as far as definitions go. It will be blocked tomorrow when the tool checks for new definitions.
It still requires that you dismiss the "this file appears to be a file downloaded from the internet from [address], are you sure you want to run it?" dialog box. Plus, with no admin password it's local user only (which is still bad, just not root capable).
Alas, the arms race begins. At least it's only trojans.
I wonder how long it will take them to patch it this time. It almost seems like the creators of the malware were prepared and had something ready to go even before it was fixed.
the menacing MacDefender malware that has plagued users for nearly a month
My personal laptop is a Macbook pro, and I have only heard of this through the media. Has anyone actually seen this first hand?
XML is a known as a key material required to create SMD: Software of Mass Destruction
Tommy: What's coursing?
Turkish: Hare coursing. They set two lurchers – they're dogs, before you ask – on a hare. And the hare has to outrun the dogs.
Tommy: So, what if it doesn't?
Turkish: Well, the big rabbit gets fucked, doesn't it?
Tommy: [pauses and thinks] Proper fucked?
Turkish: Yeah, Tommy. Before zee Germans get there.
It's only downhill from here. Apple got itself a critical mass of un-skilled users sufficient to follow in footsteps of Microsoft. The price of popularity is quite well defined.
Once an operating system reaches a certain percentage of the market share, it becomes a viable platform for malware. In other news, I have been using computers since the 286 days and I have yet to get a virus of any kind on any of my personal machines. Why? Because I'm careful. Malware only exists because people aren't careful. No operating system can prevent people from doing something dumb, so stop ragging on Apple (or Microsoft, or IBM, or whoever else you want to crucify) -- this is a problem with people, not software. Always has been.
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
.. have they figured out how to install it without asking an admin user for permission?
..
Until that happens, it's not really a security issue, it's still a social engineering hack. And no platform is immune to social engineering hacks because there are always end users dumb enough to unlock the front door for whatever puts on a good show and let it walk right in and take over.
If someone figures out a way to bypass Installer and run unsigned code without at least throwing a warning, then I'll worry
Malware is a numbers game. Windows used to be the main player by a much larger margin and criminals knew that code over a poor or rare windows exploit generally infected far more computers than even some of the worst mac exploits.
As Mac OS gains more and more users (and similarly any other platform like IOS, Android, and *gasp* Linux) they become more and more vulnerable because rarer and rarer exploits still result in powerful botnets.
Apple has never been "virus proof," they just never had the numbers to make a lot of exploits worth the coding time.
Well, back to rejecting software patent applications.
What viruses, as a matter of interest? Or do you mean trojans, which are not the same thing at all - which are an issue for any OS, regardless of security since it's a social engineering issue (less so for Linux I would imagine, since the user base tends to be skewed towards people who can spot a trojan from a mile off).
It's hardly just "security through obscurity" - you make it sound like OS X was designed like a car with the doors and windows unlocked, when it clearly wasn't. It's not perfect, but it is pretty good, and it does receive regular security updates in anticipation of attacks against it, it's just not until now that we've seen anything widespread, and even then it's been pretty limited - an ineffective trojan that is easy to remove (takes about 3 minutes total, or less) that requires you give it your express permission to install (and your admin password). The new one is modified to be local user only, so doesn't even have root.
It's not great, clearly, since any malware targeting your platform is a pain in the ass, but you're painting it like OS X has been sitting here doing nothing for the 10 years it's been around and only escaped by standing behind Windows - the legions of security updates and software policy on the OS itself would beg to differ.
Not that even the very best and most secure OS could stop this malware (having never "seen" it before), since it's entirely a social engineering security bypass. The conman tricked his way past your security guards and is stealing your TV.
Usually while doing a Google image search. I was searching for everything from ships to aircraft, so this doesn't appear to be just a porn/warez problem.
Still, there's a major difference between this and Windows malware. The "Install me now" routine pops up, but you have to voluntarily enter your username and password for it to infect you on the Mac. You can become infected on Windows just by surfing the wrong website. But I suppose it's only a matter of time before the scumbag malware makers of the world find a way around that.
Life is hard, and the world is cruel
No software can protect the user from themselves. If someone is determined to download something and install it, how do you prevent that short of locking the system like iOS? I really don't want to see that happening to OS X.
As the island of our knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance.
It is still amusing to watch idiots proclaim "menacing" malware something first of all that requires you to download it and install it on your computer and second even when you do it does nothing menacing to your system :D.
OS X still has 0 viruses, which what I care about. If someone wrote a virus for OS X, something that installs without my intervention and approval, then I would be alarmed. Otherwise, I don't care about the social engineering attacks. Idiots will always fall prey to those.
So yes, I still feel infinitely safer using anything but Windows as far as viruses are concerned.
As the island of our knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance.
We know it's not a virus. But whether you like it or not, the word has become a generic term meaning "malware" to the layman.
Traditional, self-replicating, can-spread-through-no-other-means file-infector viruses on Windows are not particularly common these days. They exist, and there's generally one or two in the "top 10 things to watch for" at any given point in time but pure viruses don't represent the majority of malware and haven't done in some time. Typically, you'll find they also act as trojans and worms.
This doesn't stop such things causing harm.
How does it actually prove this? It's a trojan, the user is tricked into downloading it, and has to accept a system dialog that tells them that they are running an untested program downloaded from the Internet. The trojan doesn't do any privilege escalation, and it's trivially easy to remove. There's no way to prevent such programs in any OS other than the 'total lockdown' (e.g. iOS approach). I'll believe that the low market share argument holds when we start seeing genuine worms mass infecting OSX boxes in the wild, requiring no user intervention other than connecting the box to a non-firewalled internet connection, or visiting an apparently innocent webpage.
Ah, so it's ok to be fast and loose with the definitions and so on as long as it makes Apple look bad (vulnerability to viruses and worms is a considerably different kettle of fish to being vulnerable to trojans), but when it comes to Android malware, there's a sudden flood of "it's not that bad" and "it's a trojan, it's not *infecting* apps on the Android Market, how can it do that?!".
Just checking.
I'll concede the point if you'll go and post the same "it's ok to muddy it up" response to all those Android folks doing damage control over there.
Specificity is important, especially where security is concerned.
Ever.
You can educate, but you can only put in just so many policies to prevent stupid before you turn the computer into a brick.
The only way to stop this is for the user to stop clicking on everything in sight, like dumb Windows users have been doing for the past 15 years.
Some people simply shouldn't have computers at all, for their own safety.
--
BMO
Then the next story out of Redmond was "Yay. Now we can try to restrict chipmakers to one model of computer maker!"
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
Fuck Windows too. This is Slashdot. I have a four digit user ID. What operating system do you think I use, dipshit?
Given the 90s timeframe and your level of anger I'd say you are obviously a very disappointed OS/2 user. ;-)