Apple Has Shut Down the First Fully-Functional Mac OS X Ransomware (techcrunch.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Apple has shut down what appears to have been the first, fully-functional ransomware targeting Mac computers. This particular form of cyber threat involves malware that encrypts the data on your personal computer so you can no longer access it. Afterwards, the hackers request that you pay them in a hard-to-trace digital currency — in this case, bitcoin — in order for you to retrieve your files. This ransomware, called KeRanger, was first reported by researchers at Palo Alto Networks. They also noted that Apple has now revoked the abused certificate that was used in the attack and updated its built-in anti-malware system XProtect with a new signature to protect customers.

Comments

Re:so much for the walled garden

[ComputerGeek01]

Microsoft should adopt the same model.but it would require a herculean effort to get their products up to the same standard of quality.

What, you mean authenticating applications based on a central certification authority? Kind of like what this does: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-... . Or maybe you mean not allowing the installation of any applications that don't posses a preapproved certificate, in THAT case what you want is this feature over here: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-... . God forbid you would have to learn how to manage your own certificate chains, afterall the documentation is so difficult to find: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-... . The only thing missing is the paywall, which isn't really missing since you can pay for a third party authority to verify your certificate. But as we can see by the premise of this article that isn't actually a deterrent is it?

The difference between Microsoft and Apple is the same as it has always been. Apple forces you to follow their policies, Microsoft forces you to live with the consequences of the policies you wrote yourself.

Precisely why I jumped ship from Windows to Mac

[AnalogDiehard]

Microsoft bows to Hollywood and the Feds while dragging its heels while users suffer from malware.

Apple tells the Feds to take a hike and focuses its resource to kill a nasty ransomware within a day.

Go Apple!