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Flashback Trojan Hits 600,000 Macs and Counting

Posted by timothy on from the first-they-came-for-the-windows-machines dept.

twoheadedboy writes "A Flashback variant dubbed Backdoor.Flashback.39 has infected over 600,000 Macs, according to Russian security firm Dr Web. The virulent Flashback trojan infecting Apple machines sparked interest earlier this week after it was seen exploiting a Java vulnerability, although it was actually first discovered back in September last year. The Trojan has a global reach after Dr Web found infected Macs in most countries. More than half of the Macs infected are in the US (56.6 percent), while another 19.8 percent are in Canada. The UK has 12.8 percent of infected Macs."

4 of 429 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Macs don't get hacked by ILongForDarkness · · Score: 0, Troll

    They also don't crash they just get sad.

  2. 600,000? by halfEvilTech · · Score: 1, Troll

    So what you are telling me is they managed to get all of them?

  3. OH for gawd's sake, this is insane. It's a trojan! by Catbeller · · Score: 0, Troll

    TROJAN. Trojans are installed by users who are faked out by a web page that demands they install a program using an admin-enabled account. There is no protecting an operating system from a person who installs strange programs on demand.

    It is not a virus. Viruses infect Windows machines on bootup, through flaws in the OS, opening mail, spreadsheets, or scratching yourself, and probably on exposure to sunlight or eating Splenda. There are MILLIONS of viruses in Windows. And trojans. They exist because Windows had its bloodstream exposed in '95 when Gates and company welded the OS file system to the IE browser, making Windows a target of opportunity for decades.

    There has not been a single virus on the Mac in the wild, ever. And it's not for lack of trying: the first black hat to release such a thing gets mad props forever, not to mention the thanks of the various Slavic mafias.

    You can't guard against ignorance, laziness, and lack of experience. Those things enable trojans to be installed, and always will be.

    Macs still Just Work. That's because it's Unix with a fancy hat on.

  4. Re:Macs don't get hacked by bmo · · Score: 0, Troll

    Because now that Macintoshes get trojans, Windows is suddenly secure, because schadenfreude secures machines, right?

    Nobody ever claimed Macintoshes were bulletproof. But they're still a lot less of a target than Windows. Remove the beam from thine eye before pointing out the mote in others'.

    --
    BMO