Apple gets new viruses

Okay Stewie, where were you on the night of the 7th?

"The syntax is familar, but we are sure that Drashek has an alibi." This line had me bursting out in laughter. I am sorry I ever doubted you, INQ.

(Bows to the inimitable Dr. Thomas Stewart von Drashek)

Gosh, Stewie, you know you've made it when you get an honorable mention in an INQ article! What next, the tabloids? The Sun: Stewie and Madonna's Love Child!

Not even the Roman Catholic Church, that defender of old, rusty, archaic philosophies, had as blind a group of acolytes as does St. Eve of Jobs. Discloser: I'm a member of that group, No, I'm a Catholic, not a fruity-flavored dickhead.

May all your Apples get worms (and virii), you heathen apostates! May all your blasphemies be rewarded a million-fold! May your sins against God and Bill Gates be held against you and your progeny (if any of you can get a date, much less breed) for a thousand generations!

There is no such thing as viruses for Apple.. u must be mistaken.

***sticking my fingers in ears.. going lalalalala***

Neither worms or trojans are viruses, but what do details matter to a "reporter".

Honestly, you can't. This is what I have grown to learn over the years and finally accepted recently. You can't stop stupid people from willingly running a trojan. After all, a trojan is just a software form of social engineering. Stupid people fall for this. It doesn't matter what OS it is. Linux is just as susceptible. I've also come to accept that those of us that think Nick Farrell needs a new career direction won't be able to affect it. As such, we will continue to be struck with these blatantly trash article from Mr. Farrell until this increasingly worthless rag goes south. After all, you can't stop stupid.

The legend of Stewie lives on.

I have just returned from a trip working with major organisation with massive Windows IT network, with usual "I could give you network access but then I'd have to kill you" procedural security ('to protect the network'), which seemingly was incapable of not infecting USB sticks with various 'autorun' viruses (which simply showed up as files when viewed on my mac). The autorun viruses (apparently - consulting on of the several web sites with such info) if set free changed the windows shell, edited the registry, and apparently turned the machine into a keylogging bot.

Which would you prefer? Malware you actively have to install, or pervasive destructive self replicating viruses even on 'secure' networks?

Unless I've missed something really big, there are still no viruses in play that affect OS X (unless you install them yourself). That's not 'faith' it is simply how it is.

The blind faith here is that is the hope that 'it is only a matter of time before OS X becomes as crappy as Windows'. Whatever gets you through the day I guess... :)

... demonstration of author's prejudices. But puerility is simply what one has come to expect of the INQ where the Mac is concerned. Grow up, guys.

...the best way to prevent Drashek from commenting on an article is to mention him within it.

Macs finally have self replicating and self-propagating viruses!!! That must mean we are a viable platform, and the days of the PC are done for. I am sooooo happy my Mac has finally grown up to be as vulnerable and destructive as a Mircodude OS. Sniffle...wait this sucks!!!! We have to deal with the same asinine and lame jerkwade crap PC users have to deal with for the past 30 years!!!!!!!!! Wahhhhhhhhhhhhh alas poor Mac the days of your ambiguity are over. At least we will finally get the respect from PC dolts!

Come now, JPO, this malware is not self-replicating or self-propagating, and so is not a virus. It's a trojan. The only way to protect from trojans would be for Apple to lock down the system so that installed apps were completely sandboxed… something like the way the iPhone works.

There are not, and have never been, any known viruses in the wild for Mac OS X. I don't know how clear I could possible make that.

Malware != virus, if it did, microsoft would be out of existence.

Nice misleading headline though.

Or wait a minute, do you really not know the difference?

Stupid nubs.

Malware = Virus Malware = Virus Malware = Virus Malware = Virus Malware = Virus Malware = Virus Malware = Virus Malware = Virus Malware = Virus Malware = Virus Malware = Virus Malware = Virus Malware = Virus Malware = Virus Malware = Virus

Maybe if you keep saying it, it will become true.

Malware is not the same as a virus.

Moreover, the obscurity is security argument is more cogent than many allow. Assume for the moment that Macs are safer solely for reasons of obscurity. Fine. If so, won’t Apple remain at least relatively more secure for the foreseeable future?

So called experts can’t have it both ways: they can’t trumpet the continuing dominance and success of Windows and then argue that it's not more attack worthy and worry.

Apply this thinking to potatoes as a food crop: Incas grew hundreds of varieties for thousands of years, while the Irish grew very few varieties and disease wiped these out a couple hundred years later. (And because the Irish were not allowed to grow much else, famine ensued.) Monocultural food crops are vulnerable. And so are monocultural OSes.

Now apply this thinking to the emerging smartphone OS market sector: Viruses do not proliferate in the smartphone sector. Too many OS brands to make it interesting to the hackers. I do not hear anyone arguing that a monopoly in that market sector is a great plan for the future security of phone OSes.

Why do these self proclaimed experts speak so protectively about Windows security? “Getting better.” Or in so cautionary a manner about Apple? “Getting worse.” Exactly why are the Windows prospects so bright and the Apple prospects so dim? Will fighting off thousands of viruses become a simple thing for Microsoft? And will Apple keel over at the sign of a single, authenticated virus?

Both statements are delusionary.

Worse of all is the fact that self identified tech experts continue to recommend Windows for HOME use. How can they sleep at night?

Right from Minds of theBM'er, This spring: grads at Cornell U developed Most HandSome tool. FART Analyzer. Its first for world & Measures Viral count thru HS3/Temp with Db quotian that helps; LOUDER Yours Gets. Its Here & Its Fun:

http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/ee476/FinalProjects/s2009/rac82_mos22/rac82_mos22/index.htm

This IS How Plan To Rule APPLE Instills. First, Apple Jack, Then Total Apple WAR (by Intoxicated Flatating Prophets) & Finally Blame: Rich WARFARTS. Its Richs Fault, errrr:FART. You Know. Attending Cornelias' BEST Manifestation theINQ, Wasn't Easy Nor NON Ordorus(
Carbo Smudging zistors).

oh wow nick, sooooooo butthurt. sooooooooo butthurt.
"viruses" where?
windows gets 25000 new threads each day

Drashek line was gold, thanks.

Mills

Rumour has it he claims to be a journalist but, given that every week brings a new "Apple is rubbish" story, people have long ago ceased to believe he is anything other than hopelessly jealous and more than a little twisted.

I'm no fanboy when it comes to Mac's (I just sold all but one of mine and went back to Debian), but really, Mr Farrell - GROW UP, you bring your own profession into disrepute.

It is like driving to the underpass, paying for a quickie and getting an STD and then ranting that STD is EVERYWHERE.

Getting malware on a Mac requires:
a) Going to a porn site.
b) Downloading the software.
c) Click INSTALL.
d) Type in your password.
e) Click yes, you are sure.
f) INSTALL
g) Run app.

Windows?
a) Turn on machine.

That is the difference.

Maybe in some neighborhoods, you can get an STD by randomly going to the market to buy bread - not so on the Mac side.

The point is that APPLE IS NOT IMMUNE. Cry all you want about the finer points of malware definitions. I've had several PCs over 10 years, all of which were connected to the internet. I always put some sort of minimal antivirus/firewall software on them, and that was sufficient to keep me from getting any infections. So what's the problem? Why can't Mac users just do the same thing, have the same results, and SHUT UP? No, Mac fanbois feel like they have something to prove.

The main reasons why PCs have more malware than Macs do not include security... even if there is a difference.
Reason #1: Market penetration is different by about a factor of 10... more bang for your malware buck.
Reason #2: PCs have more cheap options, and subsequently attract the less tech-savvy that don't know they're buying a piece of junk... and the less tech-savvy tend to click on EVERYTHING.
Reason #3: PC users tend to download more third-party stuff, as more of it is written for PCs than Macs... and third-party stuff includes malware.
Should I go on, or do you all get the idea?

The PR you do for us is amazing. This months cheque is in the mail.

New Pacific Order. Look it up.

Apple's OS is just some code, that's all it is.

A bit like the code in my car's ecu.

Do I get attached to the code in the ecu of my car? No of course not, just like I don't *care* about the code in my pc.

Why do some Mac'ers feel emotional attachment to their machines?

FAO - the person who was on a windows network site, you could let their tech support know they have a problem.

PS - Keep up the good work Farrell!

As apple becomes more popular it is just a matter of time before they are targeted as much as Windows. Virii are the paparazzi of the OS world and they are starting to notice Panther, Puma, Abyssinian, whatever kitty system is making its way onto the fringes of the market share radar. As a PC user in Mac country I say flame on to my post, mine is still bigger and more popular than yours no matter what you tell yourselves.

Virus, Worm, Trojan.... I don't care what you call it, it's still ignorant Apple user PWNED !!

The Apple Fanboi might think the dis-stink-shun matters, but the ignorant Apple buyer who bought the machine on the PR assumption that (s)he needs not worry about security is just as screwed as if they were on anything else.

Whether they get Zombified by iWork or MalWarted by these exploits the end result is the same, because they were told they were safe, they thought they were safe, they don't take precautions and the end result is the same wether they caught a virus or a work or a trojan. It's not like being sick by a parasitic worm makes you feel anymore smug puking your guts out than if it were a virus that infected you, the result is the same, you're sick, and often simply because you didn't take precautions.

Only fanbois of either camp would be arrogant about the ignorance.

The days of saying 'we don't have to worry about any of those things' either on Linux or OSX are over.

BTW, this will be a great help to the economy, go buy new security software for whatever platforms you run at: wwwwwwwwww.makesomemoneyoffthesituation.profit

But, seriously, it's iPhone, not Iphone. Damned reporters act like they are credible and they make a stupid mistake like that. If this gets removed, you are probably afraid of constructive criticism.

...You must be new around here, kid - read up!

Mac users who say they are completely immune to attack are just plain wrong. However, I believe they are correct when they say it's not a major concern at all. To say that an exploit is an exploit no matter what you call it, to paraphrase a comment above, doesn't make much sense, in my opinion. To me, that's like saying leaving your door unlocked and thus being fairly confident that you're going to get robbed is the same thing as having someone knock on your door, answering the door, letting the person into your home, showing them where the valuables are, leaving them to do what they will, and thus being fairly confident that you're going to get robbed. I don't believe that's a reasonable comparison. No home is safe to idiocy. Equally, no computer is safe to idiocy. Is a Mac safe if the owner tells someone their password? Of course not. Equating a Mac and PC because both can be compromised seems nonsensical when one requires simply being connecting to the internet and the other requires the user to jump through hoops to allow the malware into the system.

Windows and the Mac OS are simply different systems with different risk levels. Can Windows be as secure as the Mac? Why not? Microsoft would just have to change how its OS works, but it doesn't. No one is saying Macs are better because they're that way by divine providence. Apple has simply made a choice to do things a certain way. Consequently, many steps have to occur for malware to get in...idiotic steps by the user. Will this always be the case? Probably not. However, for years people have been saying that the Mac will become vulnerable...just wait and see. Well, we've all been waiting -- both Mac and PC users -- and nothing of any significance has happened. People have using Macs for 25 years, most of them with no security software, and most of them have not once had a problem. I know a number of Mac users who say they will be the first to buy anti-malware software when this becomes a real threat. In the meantime, they say they are going to enjoy their Macs and how they get their work done. They won't put money down for security software or install this software that will take up some system resources and slow down their computers, however slightly, when there is no real threat at this time.

As for the comment about why Mac users get so emotionally attached to their Macs, i think you hit the nail on the head without realizing it -- you equated it with cars. (I'm not referring to the "code" in their cars' computers.) How many people do you know who love their cars? Some people would say it's ridiculous to love a car as they see a car as simply a way to get from point A to point B; it's just transportation. For whatever reason that may not make sense to you, can't you see that it might be the same for Mac users and their Macs? For you, a computer is just a machine to get you from point A to point B with your work. It's a tool. For Mac users, it's more than that. Why can't you live and let live?

To me, the Mac bashing about all of these issues comes across as envy by PC users. I believe that if these PC users were really content with their Windows systems, they'd look at Mac users and their "belief" that they are more or less immune to attacks and they'd either chuckle to themselves and move on or try to discuss the issues respectfully with the Mac users. Perhaps they feel that maybe they made the wrong choice -- or didn't have a choice because of a workplace decision about using PCs -- and could have been doing work for years without being plagued by malware issues. Perhaps they feel they could have been enjoying their computers rather than just tolerating them as so many PC users claim that's what they do. Perhaps they just don't understand that enjoyment of the Mac I just discussed. So feeling trapped in their PC world, they have to tear down others who have been having a more enjoyable experience to date, regardless of whether that may change someday. You know, I don't fully get the love of cars. I really like some cars, but I don't go nuts about it. Yet I don't tear down those who do love their cars. Live and let live. Anyway, that's how it appears to me.

Appleinsider forums are full of malware deniers. I have tried explaining to other mac users but the deniers ignore the facts. See timeline on RHS here for OSX risk story... http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/articles/2006/02/macosxleap.html

The risks are low but real. Mac users have had worms and trojans. Also the majority of malware on both PC and Mac uses Social Engineering. Market share has made the PC the bigger target, however Apple market share has grown and as the more expensive Macs have a more affluent demographic they are becoming an attractive target.

The Apple user is potentially more likely to make a mistake as he is less concerned by the malware risk. It only takes one slip to become infected and malware doesn't run around filling your screen with system bomb messages these days.

Oh and if you have worms for your platform then you have a type of virus that doesn't need human intervention.

It looks to me like the Mac is becoming a target for script kiddies at the moment but if those kiddies get skills and find an employer the OS X will be in the same mess as the rest of us.

Surf smart or prey for apple to stop selling as many MacBooks.

Ive been using computers since I got my commodore Vic 20 many moons ago.

Ive NEVER seen a virus on a mac. I dont doubt that there might be one or two out there, ive just never encountered one.

On the other hand I have seen them caught on a weekly basis by AVG on my PC.

The only faith required here is that a virus's DO exist for the Mac. Ill believe they do - but I have no evidence of the fact.

Yea, right, and Slovenia is not a terrorist target... ...Because NO ONE GIVES A FLYING FART about it!

I just turned on my PC it got infected WITHOUT being connected AND while being turned off! All partitions with a copy of Windows won't boot and now only Linux boots :(

No guessing there, guess UNIX saved the day. I think I might have to go Mac now!
They say OS X is sweeter and way more powerful than UNIX and if UNIX didn't get the bug, then I guess Mac OS X is for me then :D

I'm a fairly heavy duty internet user but the only steps I take to secure my machine is to install free AVG, make sure the security updates are installed as they appear and do a sweep with MalwareBytes every 4 months or so.

That...and not clicking on every thing that tells me to click on it.

Now with this approach I come across maybe two potentials a year but AVG hits them first. Its no biggie.

I also repair PCs for a living. The only major virus/malware I come across on PCs are the PC AntiVirusPro 2009 scareware types. They only get about cos most users just react/click instantly in a panic when scary pop-ups start flashing everywhere.

I thankfully see very few PCs with no AV on them at all. Those that dont get cleaned up and the user educated.

I've been using IBM-compatibles for 26 years. I've had one virus on a PC in that time. It was on DOS and called Cascade. Therefore Windows has no viruses! I haven't had spyware either.

I have had a virus on a Mac back in the days when a good Mac setup was two floppy drives and System 4.1. It was called nVir I think. It caused occasional system bombs. Therefore I conclude Macs, in my experience, have more viruses than Windows.

Wisdo, to claim the Mac has never had a virus is utter bull. For a starters Apple even shipped a Virus on one of thier OS update disks back in the days of 7.11, hell MS has never been that bad. If I remember correct it was a varient of nVirB, but well, that is some time ago.

The main problem with this current security issue is the arrogance of Mac users, as this thread is a nice example of. The biggest threat to PC security is actually users installing dodgy codecs and clicking yes to "you have a virus, click here to remove it" sites. And that is the exact same way in which these people are targetting Macs.

Security on any system has little to do with the OS, and a damn shedload more to do with users actually being smart enough to be careful. The sad thing is, many users simply aren't. Be they on a Mac, or a PC. That vulnrability is the same everywhere.

Their is nothing on this earth that can bring the OSX to its keens! Ask Steve and you’ll see jeje... Hey I saw a TV commercial last night that said Apples computers are immune to malware and viruses so this is all B!@#it! Jeje. Dream on.

Is just a matter of time before an Apple pandemic happens. We all know that here.

Listen, if I make a program which asks for admin rights, then deletes all data on your hard drive, is that a virus?

Nop! Until people realise that not all programs are accurately named (I'm looking at you, BritneySpearsNude.exe), these kind of attacks are un-preventable.

Also, I may have just made that word up.

The funny part in all this is that when there is vulnerability for OSX, people are going to have to run anti /spy/mal/viri ware on their IPhone.
Then to make things even more funy!!!
The iphone cant multi task!
it just cracks me up how people dont realize the corners they get themselves into