Dynaverse.net

Off Topic => Engineering => Topic started by: Nemesis on May 01, 2006, 09:27:03 am

Title: Mac "virus attack" (more of a trojan by the description)
Post by: Nemesis on May 01, 2006, 09:27:03 am
Link to full article (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12537279/)

Quote
SAN FRANCISCO - Benjamin Daines was browsing the Web when he clicked on a series of links that promised pictures of an unreleased update to his computer’s operating system.

Instead, a window opened on the screen and strange commands ran as if the machine was under the control of someone — or something — else. Daines was the victim of a computer virus.


Considering that this is an article about a Mac vulnerability on MSNBC I would wish to see an independent version of the story not from a site linked to an Apple competitor.
Title: Re: Mac "virus attack" (more of a trojan by the description)
Post by: Death_Merchant on May 01, 2006, 11:07:08 am
This was a worm that appeared and was covered in the press 2 months ago. Perhaps some "news" agency was looking for an uptick in there hits log?

Spreads by iChat file exchange & must be running as admin for any potential problem. Also as I recall, it was bugged such that it couldn't propagate even if you were silly enough to authenticate it.

There were no other reports of such instances in the wild.
Title: Re: Mac "virus attack" (more of a trojan by the description)
Post by: Nemesis on May 01, 2006, 04:26:10 pm
Quote from: Death_Merchant on May 01, 2006, 11:07:08 am
This was a worm that appeared and was covered in the press 2 months ago. Perhaps some "news" agency was looking for an uptick in there hits log?

Spreads by iChat file exchange & must be running as admin for any potential problem. Also as I recall, it was bugged such that it couldn't propagate even if you were silly enough to authenticate it.

There were no other reports of such instances in the wild.

Thanks for the info, I don't actually follow Apple very much and hadn't seen this one.  I did have my doubts. 

This appears to be rather like the "ambidextrous" Windows/Linux virus that doesn't actually work under current Linux kernels.  Linus Torvalds actually engineered a kernel that it would work on so he could play with it.  Just "proof" that it could be done.  I wonder if this is just coincidence or if someone is orchestrating it for publicity?