Virus For Mac Arrives!

[pomjim 0]

The first virus for Macs has appeared on the scene. Known as Leap - A, it is a low level threat, but almost certainly the harbinger of future threats.For years, Mac users have claimed the o/s to be safe and secure, with no virus problems, even 'tho the reason for that was simply because of the small amount of users, not the difficulty of creating a virus for the o/s.Now, as with Firefox, as the number of users grows, so the creators of virus , malware etc will begin to target the Mac.

[Sarah81 0]

The first virus for Macs has appeared on the scene. Known as Leap - A, it is a low level threat, but almost certainly the harbinger of future threats.
For years, Mac users have claimed the o/s to be safe and secure, with no virus problems, even 'tho the reason for that was simply because of the small amount of users, not the difficulty of creating a virus for the o/s.

Now, as with Firefox, as the number of users grows, so the creators of virus , malware etc will begin to target the Mac.

This one might not be too bad, but the ones that will surely follow should be pretty nasty. I guess now my Mac-using friends will start thinking about antivirus systems, or at least be more careful with what they do online.

[WeaponX 0]

I thought there were viruses affecting the Macs in the past already? Just not a lot since it's a Windows market.

I'm sure someone will find the time to give more damage to the Mac OS. All the Macs I've worked on have antivirus programs on them already...Norton. Don't know why you shouldn't..even if Macs are much safer to use than Windows-based machines...for now

Just found a free antivirus program for the Mac OS called ClamAV. Should be useful for those who like freeware/open-source programs.

[nightfox1405241487 0]

I knew the day would come! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!!!Now Mac users can't brag about how viruses can't affect them! I'll have to update my English teacher about this as he is a Mac fanatic... total of 7 Macs in the classroom, 3 PCs.. of course, District Technology doesn't like Macs so they're kind of unsupported.. but every computer HAS to have antivirus and spyware scanners unless it is locked down with Deep Freeze since a reboot will clear a virus.Hahaha!! I'm going to let my teacher know Tuesday when I'm back in school.[N]F

[photographerguy 0]

I am a mac user and I'm not worried about it. There was a rumor a few months back about the first virus that was bull****. Mac OS requires you to enter your password to install/change anything. If people are downloading pirated software or porn from p2p networks, then they take a risk of installing something that isn't what it claimed to be. There is no virus that just infects your computer just by clicking on something. If you use common sense and only install programs from legit sites, everything will be happy.

[hatim 0]

I disagree with the argument that windows has more viruses just because windows is used more and so virus writers focus more on windows. It may be partially true. But the thing is if some thing is designed badly (with security not in focus) it will be prone to security problems. As for Mac , one new virus after a long time is not a big deal. The big deal will be how Mac counters it and makes sure that they dont introduce new vernubilities after pacthing things.i think MS is the king when it comes to introducing more and more bugs with patches.

[nightfox1405241487 0]

I disagree with the argument that windows has more viruses just because windows is used more and so virus writers focus more on windows. It may be partially true. But the thing is if some thing is designed badly (with security not in focus) it will be prone to security problems. As for Mac , one new virus after a long time is not a big deal. The big deal will be how Mac counters it and makes sure that they dont introduce new vernubilities after pacthing things.

i think MS is the king when it comes to introducing more and more bugs with patches.

I agree. MS can obviously leave security holes THEN patch it?? Why didn't you patch the hole then if you knew about it??

Firefox is already the most popular browser and I don't see any security holes in it... hmm...

Linux, one of the most widely used SERVER operating systems... I don't see servers dropping!

Apache... most widely used server. Yet there are not as nearly as many security holes in Apache as IIS (even people who have been Microsoft programmers say IIS is worthless junk).

PHPNuke CMS software & phpBB... both I don't use and both filled with security holes. It is like every few weeks or so phpBB releases a new version to "fix" the previous... remember the phpBB 2.10 worm? Yeah. Not because phpBB is popular, but because someone found a way to take advantage of a security hole!

It is simply which has more security holes.

[N]F

[organicbmx 0]

i googled this and couldnt find anymore infomation. im not doubting that there is a virus but what was your source on this news.for thoses people saying that this will be the beginning of virus' and anti-virus software on mac's you must understand how osX works. osX is based on a unix operating system. that system has a very secure, but not perfect, privilage system and requires a root password before any program can be installed. it would be almost impossible to have malicious code running on a mac unless the user allowed it by mistake.and there is a very good reason not to start running anti-virus programs like norton on mac's. one of the reason mac's are faster is because their systems are jammed up with bloated software hogging valuble system resourses.

[pomjim 0]

Sources, as requested:

https://www.sophos.com/en-us/search-results.aspx?search=osxleapa&refine=7edf01e4de3c4c8791a56ba6ce685d09

http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

http://www.mcafee.com/threat-intelligence/malware/default.aspx?id=138578

[Jeigh1405241495 0]

I agree that *nix based stuff is more secure then windows, but wow you guys give it too much credit haha. If people decide to start screwing with osx, I can't imagine them being "oh no... it's based on unix...can't ever hurt it!". There are independant studies done that show many security weaknesses in many non-windows OS's I'm not trying to defend M$ or diss unix... I just think you guys are making it sound little too much like unix systems are this unbreakable uber system that will never need to be changed because if you are running it nothing bad can ever happen heh ;)Oh and nightfox.... firefox is not the most popular browser... they have a huge market share compared to a couple years ago but still, nothing compared to IE. Also, there are numerous security holes in fierfox that get patched regularly... thats why they release updates that seem to change very little. Security fixes :DSo as for my views on if there is this macOSX virus. I can't see it mattering tooo much. Even though the one back then was a hoax or whatnot, if the news of one was all it would take for people to start developing them, then we would be seeing way more poppin up. Windows IS less secure, AND they have the market share hands down, meaning the punks writing viruses can do the most damage with the least effort. Why would someone bother writing a mac virus and shutting down a handful of businesses and annoying a bunch of home users, when an easier to write windows virus can make cnn in a day due to projected loss to businesses trying to rebound from downed systems.

[unimatrix 0]

There have been viruses for macs for years, even Mac OS X. You just don't hear much about them. Anyone running a large number of macs, like we do at work, usually has antivirus. I used to get it at home with the .Mac account, but they dicontinued it a couple years ago. We run Norton at work. The reason why Mac viruses tend not to spread as fast as Windows is because the vast majority of computer users are using Windows. So when you start a virus, when it spreads to everyone in an address book chances are 8/10 of those people the virus is sent to are other windows users. Conversely on the Mac side of things, if the virus was sent out, most likely 8/10 users it was sent to would be windows users that wouldn't be affected. Now I say that just based on the fact that 80%+ of the worlds computer has windows of some type installed upon it. The one thing that tends to skew things a bit is that Mac users tend to interact with more mac users on a regular basis. If your a Mac user, chances are 6/10 people on your address list are using macs. Yeah, it's kina weird like that with the whole cult of mac. (which a social impact study should be made sometime about Mac users. so any socialolgy grad students out there, get an iBook and then goto coffee shops and see how other Mac users will come up and just give you the "what's up?" nod and act like they;ve known you for a decade.)Like any virus, real or computer, it spreads only if there are enough hosts to continue to propagate it. With windows, there are just so many more units and most of them not updated with security or AV software on a regular basis that they thrive. Although even this is not as bad as it once was as consumers and corporate IT people have become aware and started to take more precautions against it. The fact of the matter is: there are just fewer Macs and I think security through obsecurity is a big part of it. If Apple continues to gain market share, then it may become a bigger issue. Still the facts remain that Unix as an architecture is more virus resistant, but like any computer OS, it is not virus nor hack proof. OpenBSD isn't even hack proof...That's my thoughts on the subject.

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

The best solution to this problem is to use the UNIX security feature, that user accounts can't write outside of the /home directory. The most damage it can do is the home directory. xboxrulz

[photographerguy 0]

The article that I just read (it was referenced in this thread) states that you muct download a 2314MB file named latestpics from somebody on iChat. If you download a huge file like that from somebody you don't know, you deserve to have your computer taken away. Notice the threat level was low, because not alot of people are stupid enough to do this. This just defies common sense.xboxrulz- you stated suing a security feature to prevent writing outside of the /home dir.Could you give details on this? I'm a new mac owner (2 months) and think that is a great idea.Thanks for the info.

[unimatrix 0]

Create two accounts: one that has administraive privlages, another that is just a basic users account. Then always log in as the user account unless you need to install updates or a new program. By default, user accounts can read files from other accounts, but cannot write to them.

[nopaniers 0]

OS-X and Unix in general has a better security model than Windows. If you've got a Unix based system set up correctly, the user doesn't have the priveleges to do anything really harmful. On Windows its not the same, and they would have to do a major rewrite to fix the problems. Of course, this sort of thing won't stop you sending out a million bogus emails, but at least your system is safe.And of course the other thing is that a larger number of people use Windows, which makes it the obvious target (for someone who wants to get a lot of attention).Nobody ever said that Apples were not vulnerable to attack, but for these two reasons, Mac users are in a much better position when it comes to viruses and worms.