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Google Releases VirusTotal Uploader For OS X

Posted by samzenpus on from the check-it-out dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Google today announced the release of VirusTotal Uploader for OS X, allowing Mac users to upload suspicious files for scanning. You can download it now directly for OS X 10.8 and 10.9 from VirusTotal. For those who don't know, VirusTotal Uploader for Windows is a popular tool for submitting suspicious files to the online scanning service. The process is as simple as right-clicking any file and selecting the relevant option from the context menu."

10 of 37 comments (clear)

  1. Multi-scanner by DigiShaman · · Score: 3, Informative

    Basically, you use VirusTotal when you're unsure of a potential infection or outbreak. This site is basically a giant filter that runs the file against multiple engines and provides a score. I've seen a new outbreak where my AV didn't catch it, but 1/4th of the scanners at VirusTotal did. It was obviously so new that not all of the AV vendors had time to catch up yet within the 12 hour window or less. It happens; quite common in fact.

    --
    Life is not for the lazy.
  2. what a name! by Jeremy+Erwin · · Score: 3, Funny

    Virus Total Uploader sounds like a malware development kit. The Headline had me thinking of Google taking the IOS-Android war to new levels of barbarity.

    1. Re:what a name! by munch117 · · Score: 2
      It is a malware development kit, you know. Or rather, part of one. The bad guys use tools like this to create virus-scanner-proof malware.

      1. Create 1000 random variations of your malware.
      2. Select a variation that's given a clean sheet by Virus Total. If there isn't any, just create more variations.
      3. ?? (*)
      4. Profit.

      (*) Release the malware into the wild.

  3. Easy to use, just upload your files! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Just right click and send all your personal files to Google. They'll keep them safe and scan them for viruses.

    Big Brother doesn't have to work hard when we so willingly hand over anything and everything.

    1. Re:Easy to use, just upload your files! by ledow · · Score: 2

      Nobody's making you do it.

      And with Virustotal, you're free to calculate the hash yourself and go look up the URL it goes to (in fact, VirusTotal clients do this - generate a hash, lookup the hash, and only upload if it doesn't already exist).

      And why would you be uploading personal files to check for viruses? Surely your personal files are the ones you KNOW are clean? It's the random crap you download and are sent that you have to scan.

    2. Re:Easy to use, just upload your files! by Crash+Culligan · · Score: 2

      And why would you be uploading personal files to check for viruses? Surely your personal files are the ones you KNOW are clean? It's the random crap you download and are sent that you have to scan.

      Because doing so helps strengthen all anti-virus software which VirusTotal uses. The mistake is thinking of VirusTotal as just a big ol' multi-scanner, when under the hood it's a clearinghouse of virus and malware information for the participating vendors of detection and remedy software.

      If they get a file that only triggers 17/51 of the scanners, then the other 34 will want to know why they didn't catch it, and research it, and improve their own products in response. So uploading files to them is a way of supporting their efforts.

      --
      You cannot truly appreciate Dilbert until you read it in the original Klingon.
    3. Re:Easy to use, just upload your files! by ledow · · Score: 3

      Here's a hint then: Don't upload confidential files.

      Why does your stupidity of an unrealistic use case (uploading a file you don't want to share to an untrusted third party) render the service untenable?

      Fact is, I use VirusTotal a lot of deal with confidential information all the time. I use it to reassure myself that the things I'm handling aren't going to affect the confidential data or the programs that handle it.

      Personally, I think every PDF->Word or Word->PDF service is infinitely more dangerous as a source of uploaded confidential information that could be retained.

      And, as pointed out, you DO NOT have to use the service, DO NOT have to upload the file at all, and DO NOT have to use this client...

  4. Re:IMPOSSIBLE by BitZtream · · Score: 2

    ...

    What mac user runs as root? OSX never has by default allowed root to login, and Classic Mac OS didn't really have a concept of users. It most certainly does require you to provide your password to do administrative tasks just like SUDO. To access a root shell you must tweak some preferences so you can login as root directly or sudo bash to get a root shell.

    OSX doesn't come with MySQL, so if you installed it with no password, thats because you're a moron like your other posts imply. My machine shows postgresql listening and 2 other ports. PostgreSQL I installed the other 2 are CUPS and Xsan management ports, neither are on by default. So what exactly you're trying to refer too is beyond me.

    PHP shows version 5.4.24, but Apache isn't running by default. If you're playing with scripting languages and do stupid shit like using user input in ad-hoc SQL statements, again, thats your problem.

    Do you ever post anything that doesn't look retarded? You're not even trolling, you're just that stupid.

    --
    Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
  5. Re:IMPOSSIBLE by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 2

    Contenance my friend, contenance! Look at his name ;)

    --
    Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
  6. Here's the code by GrahamCox · · Score: 2
    In Objective-C of course ;-)

    - (BOOL) isKnownMacVirus:(NSURL*) url
    {
    return NO;
    }