Thread: MAC USERS PLEASE READ!

Software Update will give you the most accurate indication of which updates need to be installed.

FWIW I manage a network of 60 macs and when I ran the commandline checks on Tuesday none had been infected.

Apple crafting weapon to vanquish Flashback virus

Originally Posted by OffTrack

Software Update will give you the most accurate indication of which updates need to be installed.

FWIW I manage a network of 60 macs and when I ran the commandline checks on Tuesday none had been infected.

Apple crafting weapon to vanquish Flashback virus

I love how it's a weapon. Is that Apple speak for bash script?

Originally Posted by Judo

I love how it's a weapon. Is that Apple speak for bash script?

You say "bash script" like it's a bad thing? The interwebs would be a hollow shell without scripts. We wouldn't even be having this conversation if it weren't for php scripts.

And of course Apple didn't say "a weapon". The headline is from a AFP (Agence France-Presse) news feed which was published verbatim in Australia by Fairfax press outlets.

The article posted to support.apple.com (not a blog post btw) contained the following content. Note that "weapon", "fight", "battle", "wage holy war", "get medieval upon" or variations upon that theme are nowhere to found.

About Flashback malware

Summary
A recent version of malicious software called Flashback exploits a security flaw in Java in order to install itself on Macs.

Products Affected
Java, Mac OS X 10.6, OS X Lion

A recent version of malicious software called Flashback exploits a security flaw in Java in order to install itself on Macs.

Apple released a Java update on April 3, 2012 that fixes the Java security flaw for systems running OS X v10.7 and Mac OS X v10.6. By default, your Mac automatically checks for software updates every week, but you can change that setting in Software Update preferences. You can also run Software Update at any time to manually check for the latest updates.

Apple is developing software that will detect and remove the Flashback malware.

In addition to the Java vulnerability, the Flashback malware relies on computer servers hosted by the malware authors to perform many of its critical functions. Apple is working with ISPs worldwide to disable this command and control network.

Additional Information
For Macs running Mac OS X v10.5 or earlier, you can better protect yourself from this malware by disabling Java in your web browser(s) preferences.

FWIW Apple has been very proactive in protecting users against malicious software via a new sandbox security model. As an example the version of "Preview" (an all purpose lightweight document reader/editor that handles pdf, docx, excel, etc) bundled with OSX 10.7 will only open files directly selected by the user. This prevents PDF or Word documents opening external documents on your hard drive or the net. The downside of this is that using the pdf based navigation of RAVE (running freeraved on OSX) simply doesn't work with Preview. Acrobat still works because it hasn't as yet adopted the new sandbox security mode.

http://downloads.sophos.com/home-edi...vosx_80_he.dmg

the link above is to sophos antivirus for mac home edition, which is free for personal use and full featured with no nag screens and a low resource impact.

doesn't kill hacintoshes either

Ive never bothered installing any antivirus software on any mac Ive had & Ive been running Macs since the G4 Powermac. I think the any freebie antivirus software itself is probably as much a virus as a virus.

Also seriously, I don't get why any Mac users need to run Windows, For the times you do need Windows like Nanocom updates etc an elcheapo $500 netbook is all you need. Why stuff up a good computer by putting Windows on it.

Each to their own.

That said I HATE Lion , Does anyone know if you can use an old install DVD & run Leopard on a New Macbook pro that came with Lion preinstalled !!

Originally Posted by goingbush

I think the any freebie antivirus software itself is probably as much a virus as a virus.

like they say

you can lead a horse to water but...

the old days have just about sunk into the sunset and there are getting to be more and more things to be concerned about running osx

sure no real viruses but getting to be some smart trojans out there

i agree that lion is a pox but it is mainly designed to engage new users not old set in their ways noodle heads like you and maybe me...

Originally Posted by OffTrack

You say "bash script" like it's a bad thing? The interwebs would be a hollow shell without scripts. We wouldn't even be having this conversation if it weren't for php scripts.

I meant bash script in quite a literal sense. As in the scripting language referred to as "bash". I agree, scripts of all kinds are leet. Why do anything more than once, when you can script it?

Originally Posted by incisor

like they say

you can lead a horse to water but...

the old days have just about sunk into the sunset and there are getting to be more and more things to be concerned about running osx

sure no real viruses but getting to be some smart trojans out there

So true.... and unfortunately as OSX gains more marketshare, the vultures of the internet will see it as a more and more attractive target..

Operating system market share

MAC roughly 6% market share against Windows around 85% ... any wonder up til now M$ has been the target.

More and more people moving to MAC, particularly with the "MAC's don't get Viruses" myth..... They are a soft target.

It's true a pure virus on OSX is very unlikely.... but lots of other ways for these scum to steal from you...and they are getting trickier.