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First ever virus for Mac OS X discovered


heavyLox

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* info link

http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/art...macosxleap.html

 

First ever virus for Mac OS X discovered

OSX/Leap-A worm spreads via iChat instant messaging software

 

OSX/Leap-A uses an image of a JPEG icon to try and fool users.

OSX/Leap-A uses an image of a JPEG icon to try and fool users.

 

Experts at SophosLabsâ„¢, Sophos's global network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, have announced the discovery of the first virus for the Apple Mac OS X platform. The virus, named OSX/Leap-A (also known as OSX/Oompa-A) spreads via instant messaging systems.

 

The OSX/Leap-A worm spreads via the iChat instant messaging system, forwarding itself as a file called latestpics.tgz to contacts on the infected users' buddy list. When the latestpics.tgz archive file is opened on a computer it disguises its contents with a JPEG graphic icon in an attempt to fool people into thinking it is harmless.

 

The worm uses the text "oompa" as an infection marker in the resource forks of infected programs to prevent it from reinfecting the same files.

 

"Some owners of Mac computers have held the belief that Mac OS X is incapable of harboring computer viruses, but Leap-A will leave them shellshocked, as it shows that the malware threat on Mac OS X is real," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Mac users shouldn't think it's okay to lie back and not worry about viruses."

 

Sophos customers have been automatically protected against the worm since 12:25 GMT, 16 February 2006.

 

"This is the first real virus for the Mac OS X platform," continued Cluley. "Apple Mac users need to be just as careful running unknown or unsolicited code on their computers as their friends and colleagues running Windows."

 

Sophos advises all computer users, whether running PCs or Macs, to practise safe computing and keep their anti-virus software updated.

 

*read more about the Virus...

http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses/osxleapa.html

 

 

 

yeayyyy now macs can be wack like'em PCs...

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come on you had to know it was coming all you mac users claim your macs are safe like i said so many times in previous post the only reason you were safe is because hackers did not want to waste there time on making a virus because MACS only have 25% of the computer operating system market sense the new one came out using the UNIX kernal they just had to do it and its just a basic trojan virus made at the command line

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i like uVirus a little more

 

hahaa fuck macs

i gotta listen to my boss yackety yackin all the friggin time about macs are so kewl, they never get viruses you windows users are dumb.

 

i gotta mac. fuckin g5

and it's a bitch.

half the programs are bugged to the gills

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Guest Sparoism

Yeah, I read about this a week ago. Shit's crazy. From what I read, it all started from a post on a Mac forum that claimed to have pics of the new, unreleased version of OSX.

 

I'm about to get hooked up with a G4 from my dad- he needs some video editing help, and he's getting a G5, so I get the "old" Mac, I guess.

 

I'm not going to give up on my Linux box, but I'm not gonna turn down a free G4, either....I just won't use it online.

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Originally posted by Sparoism@Feb 20 2006, 04:32 PM

Yeah, I read about this a week ago. Shit's crazy. From what I read, it all started from a post on a Mac forum that claimed to have pics of the new, unreleased version of OSX.

 

I'm about to get hooked up with a G4 from my dad- he needs some video editing help, and he's getting a G5, so I get the "old" Mac, I guess.

 

I'm not going to give up on my Linux box, but I'm not gonna turn down a free G4, either....I just won't use it online.

 

 

a g4 would be cool to fuck around with

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Guest Sparoism

Yeah, I'm kind of excited. It's not too big of a stretch for me since the file structure is UNIX based.

 

Plus, I can finally do some video projects with my GF (who is used to Macs).

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Originally posted by Sparoism@Feb 20 2006, 03:45 PM

Yeah, I'm kind of excited. It's not too big of a stretch for me since the file structure is UNIX based.

 

Plus, I can finally do some video projects with my GF (who is used to Macs).

 

 

Yeah, that's why I made "the switch"... I didn't have my own computer for a couple of years, and my girl had a Mac. I used hers for a while, and got so used to it, that when I could finally afford my own shit, I ended up going Powerbook. Damn near broke my poor father's heart.

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Guest Sparoism

I like Linux, but as I said, I shouldn't have any problems getting around.

 

I finally realized that A)the only way I was gonna get good at Linux was if I just got rid of Windows and forced myself to learn, and B) Linux has all the apps I need. I just have to learn how to compile better, then I'm set.

 

But, I'd be crazy to turn down a free G4.

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http://www.4null4.de/110/severe-security-h...safari-browser/

 

 

Severe security hole in Apple Safari Browser

 

As the German IT portal heise online conveys, a new security hole in the Safari webbrowser for Apple’s Mac OS X has been discovered. This security hole is rather severe, as it invokes the execution of shell scripts under certain circumstances.

 

Once again the Safari option “open ’safe’ files automatically after download� bears the blame. If this facility runs across a shell script that is missing the so-called Shebang-row, the system won’t ask the user whether to execute the file automatically anymore - it’ll just execute it anyways. Unfortunately you can simply rename a shellscript without a Shebang-row to known-good filetype extensions like JPG or PNG and put that renamed script into a ZIP file - zipping as well an administrative file that’ll connect that file with the shell. A target Mac then “knows� automatically how to open that file if it receives that ZIP - it’ll take it as totally normal to execute the “jpg file� with the shell.

 

To circumvent this issue immediately, you can exercise two countermeasures - the first one is to disable that unsafe option in Safari, the second one is to move the terminal to another place, as the connection between shellscript and terminal has a hardcoded file path to the terminal. Additionally, you should never ever work with administrator privileges - as one should be used to with windoze, this rule of thumb has the same virtues on a Mac as well ;)

 

Currently there are, according to heise, no websites known that try to exploit this issue, but it’ll be just a question of time until there will be some in the net. So don’t take this security hole too easy - it can result in a deletion of important files sooner than you’d expect it.

 

 

 

 

tee hee

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