Apple Users Targeted By 'Mac Defender' Malware (VIDEO)

Comments

[liarfire]

01:02 PM on 06/13/2011

This is rubbish.....this is another attempt at corporate scvm to find a way to tap into all the mac users and sell them spyware junk...most of the windows virus stuff is being written by spyware companies to sell them solutions..this is all invent the villain market the hero...people are such suckers...
look at FlyDiesels post below..he gets it....

[FlyDiesel]

01:03 PM on 05/23/2011

The media blitz is misleading. Unix OS’s are fundamentally different than Windows, in that users are not able to directly access devices, OS code, or other users. There are layers between the kernel at the center of the OS, and the various layers that encapsulate it, the Apple wrapper being the last. Each layer must use system calls to access inner layers. The only way to promulgate malicious code is for a user to have an administrator password and use it when deliberately installing a program. These ‘infections’ are Trojan Horse program, which is not a true virus. The game is tricking you into installing something you don’t want. They throw up a misleading pop-up, the Trojan, and try and get you to respond to it which causes the malicious code to install. Don’t do it. If you’re unsure, force quit your browser if necessary to keep from clicking anywhere in the pop-up.

[PenguinLinux]

12:00 PM on 05/23/2011

No OS is 100% secure. All have flaws. It's just that with some, such as with Linux and xBSD, you can actually SEE all of the code BEFORE you install it. It's awfully hard to hide something in plain sight. The greatest strength in security is all-too-often the greatest weakness instead: The uneducated end-user.

[thetravisbickle]

06:18 PM on 05/21/2011

MAC's R Gay !

[Pectin]

08:15 PM on 05/21/2011

After reading an article that interests me, I like to read the comments, due to the intellectually stimulating insights that people post.

[Clay Cassin]

10:32 PM on 05/21/2011

Refreshingly stimulating, isn't It? Somebody out there felt compelled to write "MACS R Gay!"
Such class. Such maturity. And so politically correct!
Well, gotta' go...there has to be some more impressive literary gems in here....

[liarfire]

01:03 PM on 06/13/2011

But PC's are for little girls....na na na na na na

[mrsculater]

04:23 PM on 05/21/2011

Wow, this has gone from a computing issue to a "moral issue"? I had no idea there was so much hatred in the PC world against Mac users. I'm not sure which is worse - the virus which is spreading or the glee/vitriol some PC users are directing at Mac users. These are machines, folks. Not imperious to malfunctions/viruses/hacking - all the maladies which befall such "lesser mortals". Just like some diseases in real life are caused by, ahem, "contact", indiscriminate downloading will infect a machine. Common sense folks - use anti-viral, check out what you are downloading BEFORE clicking "continue" and remember to practice safe computing! Didn't your mama warn you?? :)

[Clay Cassin]

10:50 PM on 05/21/2011

The truly dangerous problem, and you will see it expressed elsewhere in these comments, is that many, many Mac users believe they are invincible. They don't even use an antivirus program. That is going to come back to bite the whole Mac community in their collective butts in very short order now, I'm afraid. But there apparently is no convincing them that their INTEL based system is now as vulnerable as my INTEL based PC...emphasis again on INTEL, folks. This is not the G4 anymore, boys and girls.

[mrsculater]

11:30 PM on 05/21/2011

Perhaps I am the only one not "wandering in the wilderness". I've been a "Mac" since 1987. I have anti-viral on my machines. I just like Macs.

[liarfire]

01:06 PM on 06/13/2011

I write code on a mac...this is all hype to sell us junk...macs are not Immune becasue of web access but they are a lot harder then PC due to architecture,,,,and the security is easy to implement..this cat mouse game mostly works on the uneducated.

[RosieRetro]

03:15 PM on 05/21/2011

Remember that time is the most valuable asset that anyone has that cannot be purchased nor sold, but that others can cost you if they fail to value it as much as you do. Without time, you cannot make money or do the things in life that you want to do or feel the need to do. Cyber psychopaths waste the most valuable thing that people own - not their computers, but their time.

[liarfire]

01:07 PM on 06/13/2011

good thought and very true....what they want is to take your money..the time wasted by you fighting them is irrelevant to them....

[firstad]

03:05 PM on 05/21/2011

I picked up Mac Defender malware while uploading photos at the NY Times blog, and had to visit a genius bar to get rid of it. I have used Macs since 1984, and this is the first virus encountered. This stuff will get into our phones and IPods pretty quickly. If you have it on your main computer, keep your other devices away. Also avoid the NY Times blog and the MSNBC site. Both are contaminated.

[LovingFit]

04:14 AM on 05/24/2011

How can you tell if the malware got on your system? I am a new Mac user so I am still figuring things out. The other day I was browsing through my email, and all of a sudden something began downloading on to my machine, I stopped it before it finished and placed it into trash.
Then yesterday I was here on Huffpo and I clicked on one of the news links and it happened to me again, something started downloading by it self and I stopped it before it finished and placed it into trash.
Do you think I should go visit a genius bar to go take a look at it?
Tatianna

[tjdwill01]

02:26 PM on 05/21/2011

I wouldn't own a PC at any price. ( you get what you pay for). Max OS is more stable and more secure right out of the box, than Microsoft crap, running all of the performance and memory robbing malware, spyware, virus protection. It's a good thing that Microsoft didn't build cars. There wouldn't be enough tow trucks on the planet to attend to all of the CRASHES ~!

[Clay Cassin]

03:49 PM on 05/21/2011

Uh, you better wake up from that Apple induced dream, and install that "performance and memory robbing malware, spyware, virus protection on your Mac. Do you honestly believe your Mac is immune? Really?
Oh, I hope for your sake that you rethink that immediately. Guess what? There is no such thing as immune operating system. That isn't even logical to think that. You have been spared all this time for one reason, and one reason only- a miniscule market share. Hackers only wanted to go where they had the highest potential to have an effect, and that would be the millions upon millions of Windows computers. But you now have a problem. The Mac has now garnered enough installed base percentage to attract their attention, and it will only increase. They can screw with your OS just as easily as they can Windows. Heck, they could go after Linux, if they wanted to. But they are only interested in numbers, and your Mac now has them. It is quite literally becoming a victim of it's own popularity.
The honeymoon is over, Macsters. Don't be foolish and hide your head in the sand. People who buy Macs consider themselves to be smart and savvy. So act like it. Be smart and savvy, and face reality. PLEASE, protect your computers NOW. Unprotected computers will hurt all of you...and this problem will snowball on you.
Welcome to our world, Mac owners. You're in the big leagues now. So play hardball.

[tjdwill01]

04:21 PM on 05/21/2011

After being a mac user for 15 years and 5 Macs ( all still operating) I'm pretty confident that this is sudden MAC ATTACK ALERT is more propaganda, BLOWN OUT OF PROPORTION by the PC and virus protection industry. Consider this: The Mac is the most homogeneous computing platform in the world. That should make it the most vulnerable. Instead, it has the strongest real-world record when it comes to exploits. Yeah it's vulnerable, but nothing like a PC, and no more now than ever. We're no where close to " your world '!

[pete39]

01:35 PM on 05/21/2011

The best defense against malware and hacking is to be AWARE of where you are taking your computer, and what is happening with it.

NEVER down load any thing that is "free." It's the same as buying stuff off TV that is "only $14.95, BUT WAIT, we're not done yet..."

Any computer is susceptible and any code can be broken. The best you can do is CYA as good as you can.

Also, I'd have a lot more confidence in this "warning" if it came from aol as aol, not as huffpoo as aol.

[Clay Cassin]

04:04 PM on 05/21/2011

Actually, that is not true. There are many excellent freeware programs for the Mac, You are doing them a disservice with that advice. In particular, there are free antivirus programs that you should be downloading and installing NOW. I personally recommend Avast...it is highly effective, robust, and light on resources...and guess what? It's free, both the Mac and Windows versions. So, you are very, very wrong to tell people not to download anything that is free. In fact, that is EXACTLY what you should be doing. Right NOW.

[hypnotoad72]

11:49 AM on 05/22/2011

There's good freeware for any platform.  Ideally a user will know how to spot a scam vs a real deal, but even then we're still human.  And our society has conditioned us in part to froth over "free".

I do know Avast is genuine, and I might look it up.  (Intego X6's firewall kept blocking some iTunes downloads - about 15%, but when it happened I wasn't happy.  Especially as all the parental controls, etc, were disabled.  Mac's built-in firewall, Little Snitch, and a good antivirus app are all Mac users would likely need.)

[LenR]

12:42 PM on 05/21/2011

I've seen it pop twice. Each time, I emptied my cache and reset my Safari. Just remember, don't open unsolicited documents.

[Clay Cassin]

04:51 AM on 05/21/2011

Welcome to the real world, Mac users. I bet a lot of you thought this could not happen. Hey I've got a surprise for you...open up your computer and look inside. Gee, it looks a PC, doesn't it? Well guess what? It IS a PC! Who knew?
ANY code can be broken. ANY OS can be infected. The Mac OS is not some magic world where nothing can go wrong. It's just another version of windows...sorry to tell you that, but now that your OS has enough market share to attract the attention of hackers, you need to know.
From here on, you are in the same boat as the rest of us. So sorry there are so few options available for you to protect your system with...but there are some...GO GET THEM NOW!!!
You should have bought a Windows system to begin with...you would have saved money on a superior computer, and you would have many choices when it came to protection software. My personal favorite is Avast Antivirus...hopefully they will come up with a version for your inferior operating system very soon. You will need it.

[henryptnm]

06:30 AM on 05/21/2011

Clay Cassin: There is a version for Mac OS. It is www.intego.com. Intego is a virus barrier especially for Mac's. I talk with someone who owns 2 Mac's and this is what he recommends. I own a PC and I have Norton Internet Security plus Safe Central.

[Clay Cassin]

11:21 AM on 05/21/2011

Excellent info.

Mac users, take note! Get that program on your computer ASAP!

I personally am not a Norton fan...in the past, it was a terrible resource hog that bogged down the whole system. I hope they have fixed that major issue- it was a deal breaker for me. Avast is very light on resources, and does the best job of any I have tried...and I have tried them all. If Norton has improved, I might try it again...but it had a long way to go. On second thought, I'll stick with Avast.

Mac users- that url once again is www.intego.com - Get it now!

[whitcombc]

11:08 AM on 05/21/2011

After working with Macs and PCs From DOS 5 through WIndows and all it's iterations, this is such a red herring and so common I am surprised we still have to have these headlines. Since the very beginning of Macintosh headlines in the press have been sensational. Fact - Malware now on the Mac, originated on the PC WINDOWS platform. Mundreds of millions have been and still are infected. On the Mac - several thousand infections (by the "industry experts best estimate") and it is a headline? Then comes the idea that there just aren't that many Mac users - so that's why there are so few. Wait are there few or are there many? Then comes the advice from independent sources like The Virus Protection Software Companies that Macs MUST have protection because they are just as vulnerable as PC's. Well it is silly. Macs are a significant portion of users AND sales and Macs stay working longer so "User Base" is much higher than counted by sales alone. My family has 7 Macs - all in heavy use and only two are less than a year old while two are 6 years old. No Malware hits, no viruses, no problems except a wet keyboard and a dead 20Gig HD. In 25 years and over 400 heavy use macs I have met 8 viruses and ALL were Microsoft Based, Word, Excel Macro, or Auto-Run. If you believe the Zune is an iPod Killer, then believe this Microsoft PR.

[aac405]

04:32 AM on 05/21/2011

Im a PC and Windows 7 was my idea.

[Clay Cassin]

10:39 PM on 05/21/2011

Were the tediously endless security updates your idea, too? I guess it is a testament to how good this version actually is that it still works well...

[aac405]

06:20 AM on 06/08/2011

Lol, might work well, but thats for now, at least WE are all prepared for something bad to happen...looks like you guys are getting caught off guard...

[LightShadow62]

02:10 AM on 05/21/2011

So much for the 'No virus or malware" hype from Apple.

[hypnotoad72]

12:00 PM on 05/22/2011

True.  Back in the day, while advertising their virus-free nature, they were also saying this:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10110852-83.html

Just not as loudly.

Of any reason to buy into ANY platform, it should NEVER be about purported claims of security.  No platform is immune.  Windows, OS X, iOS, Android... some are more protected, but there's always a way and - to the best of my knowledge right now - iOS lacks a firewall (unless you jailbreak the thing and the fact it can be jailbroken (and in some cases be jailbroken by clicking on a button on a webpage with the iPhone plugged into the PC) means it's not a secure device).

[Randy Mann]

01:18 AM on 05/21/2011

Mac folks are so in trouble. No software for them and they will get hit hard! Saw it coming.

[hypnotoad72]

12:01 PM on 05/22/2011

Intego has had antivirus software out for a few years now.

Not all of them will be hit hard, and it depends on the type of malware.  Just like with Windows.  What's most common is the malware to encourage or trick the user into clicking a button into installing payload. 

A virus can be self-replicating.  Other forms of malware require a user's involvement.

To say nothing of phishing.

No platform is immune and it's usually, in one form or another, the end user who sets it off.

[jcclsc]

12:57 AM on 05/21/2011

I truely feel for the mac users. You're going to have to live like the rest of us have for years now.