Apple discovers hundreds of thousands of virus-controlled Macs

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Apple discovers hundreds of thousands of virus-controlled Macs

By Stephen C. Webster
Thursday, April 5, 2012 9:42 EDT



http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/04/05/apple-fights-hundreds-of-thousands-of-virus-controlled-macs/

Computer giant Apple released a patch this week for its OS X 2012 and 10.6 operating systems about the same time a Russian security company claimed that up to 600,000 Mac computers around the world are being controlled by a piece of malware that sucks targeted computers into a “botnet,” or a makeshift network of computers controlled by cyber-criminals.

Most Mac users are not well-versed in the trials of cyber security, with many having been lulled into a false sense of safety because the Mac platform’s smaller market-share makes it a less favorable target for hackers. But security company Dr. Web said this week that Mac users are becoming more frequent targets for identity theft and other cyber crime, and that one new piece of malware in particular is becoming a grave concern.

Dr. Web used a tactic known as “sinkholing” to trick the criminal network into sending signals to computers at the company’s security center, where technicians were able to monitor the botnet and count how many computers were part of it. They later claimed to have detected over 600,000 Mac computers participating in the criminal enterprise thanks to a Java exploit called BackDoor.Flashback.39.

Over four million websites contained links to the Flashback loader files, Dr. Web said. Those websites, knowingly or not, helped spread the malware through the users’ Internet browser, where it exploits a weakness in Java to install itself to users’ computers. Approximately 56 percent of the infected computers are in the U.S., they added.

[Poiuyt]

1. How to find out if you're infected and what to do about it

http://gizmodo.com/5899352/mac-flashback-trojan-find-out-if-youre-one-of-the-600000-infected

[truebrit71]

2. Thanks for the link...

...my kid has a Mac, just forwarded this info...

[Seedersandleechers]

6. That's fine

but how do you get to "Terminal"?

[RebelOne]

9. I would like to know also. n/t

[Aerows]

10. It's the command line

or console.

[Luminous Animal]

11. "Terminal" is in your Utilities folder.

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. Easy

In finder type it. It will come up.

Or go into the utilities folder.

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. Good question.

I'm calling this a hoax.

[CreekDog]

25. go to Applications folder then select the Utilities folder

Terminal is in there.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. My mac is squeaky clean

after you do, update your OS with the patch.

For the record, having Norton on it would have made buckus difference and given this is a Java exploit, I expect WIN and Linux machines to be affected next

[dixiegrrrrl]

14. oh noes...not my Linux!!!!!

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. Yes your linux

this is not an OS exploit, it is a JAVA exploit.

So unless cisco patches it.

[KamaAina]

18. Oracle would have to patch it

they (not Cisco) bought out Sun, mainly to get Java.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. I missed that one

[Recursion]

16. Fortunately for me, OpenBSD doesn't even run Java! (nt)

[Zalatix]

3. Yowzers, never saw that coming!

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. It is a Java exploit

updating the OS as I type.

[dembotoz]

5. worms in the apple????

after years of how apple products were soooooooooooooooooooooooooo much better
because of the absence of virus and bugs and such

this makes me smile
in a mean way perhaps, but still a smile.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. Given what this is, unless Java gets updated

you are next



Yup, I can be mean too.

[MattBaggins]

33. Nope

Windows, linux and unix were fixed back in February.

[progressoid]

12. I know a guy

that told me that Macs never get viruses. A few weeks later his crashed from a virus.

That happened about a decade ago.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. I have a free virus checker on mine

they are just extremely rare... and it has to do with how many there are out there, and that the base system is harder to exploit. That said, not impossible.

[Recursion]

17. Over here in the UNIX world we have something called "privilege separation"

which means that when an attacker gains control of a service on my computer, that service alone is affected. That doesn't render my OpenBSD box immune from becoming part of a botnet (since that only requires the services of an HTTP client, ultimately), but it makes it a lot harder for an attacker to do things once he achieves an exploit.

And before people start: no, Mac OS X is not UNIX nor is it based on UNIX. The kernel is MACH and the user shell is NeXT. It comes with parts of a BSD and GNU userland, but that's not "UNIX".

[Art_from_Ark]

35. Some people would beg to differ about Mac OSX not being Unix-based:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OS_X

[Yavin4]

21. Who's The Dude in the Photo?

Do folks that create computer viruses wear masks and type with crumpled fingers?

[Egalitarian Thug]

23. Super-cyber-ninja-hacker guy.

By day a mild-mannered cube rat, but come 5 o'clock...

[HopeHoops]

24. Those people should BUY A MAC!

Well SOMEBODY had to say it.

[cthulu2016]

29. very nice

[HopeHoops]

31. It had to be said.

[DireStrike]

26. I'm surprised more people don't target mac users for financial crimes

smaller marketshare, bigger pocketbooks.

[MadHound]

34. What makes you think Mac users have bigger pocketbooks?

I actually bought my current Mac, in part, due to economic considerations. Namely, the lack of downtime that you find with PC's due to crashes, viruses, etc. And the fact that Macs have great longevity. For example, the Mac that I'm currently using is nine years old and still going strong. The Mac I had before that is nineteen years old, still running, but the internet finally became too fast for it. I also have a Mac 128(or Mac I), the original Mac from 1984, and guess what, it's still running.

Quality, in the long run, always makes economic sense, especially when you don't have the money to purchase a new PC every three years when your old one dies.

[Logical]

27. THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE! The FANBOYS said this would NEVER happen!

[Bladian]

30. And here we go. n/t

[Iggo]

32. Heheheheh.

[Seedersandleechers]

28. I'm alright

Had me worried as I use bit-torrent heavily. I also update immediately. Eighteen years and counting - never have had a virus.
Love my mac.