Apple, Mac, MacOS, iOS4, iPad, iPhone and (in)security...

With the recent glut of high profile Mac-based malware like MacDefender and Flashback, it’s easy to forget that Macintosh computers (and Mac malware) have been kicking around for more than thirty years – longer, even, than Windows malware.

 

In fact, the first documented Mac virus actually predated some of the first PC viruses by a good four years. While conventional wisdom has always assumed that Macs are inherently safer than PCs, wider adoption of Macs in recent years has given rise to new and more sophisticated threats, with many suggesting that Apple’s honeymoon with malware authors may be over.

 

As this slideshow of Mac Malware through the years shows, however, Apple machines are no strangers to malicious software.

 

Read more and don't forget "Nobody is perfect ;)"...

 

Fresher students at University of Iowa lately were unable to access the other UI computers when the Flashback virus reportedly infected the campus network.

According to fresh warnings by security vendor Intego, another Java vulnerability is attacking Macs that haven’t been patched with Apple’s Java for OS X Lion 2012-002 and Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 7, released earlier this month.

 

Meanwhile, the security analysts warned that many copies of older versions of MS Word haven’t been patched and are being infected.

 

The Word vulnerability was patched by Microsoft several years ago, however, many Mac users haven’t bothered to install the patches or have turned off the automated Microsoft updates installer. According to Integro, MS Word 2004 and 2008 are vulnerable, but Word 2011 is not. In addition, the older .DOC format is vulnerable, not the .DOCX format.

 

Read more...

 

 

The massive Flashback botnet of Mac machines relied on hacked and malware-rigged WordPress blog sites to spread and infect users, according to Kaspersky Lab researchers.

 

Flashback Slashed
We now know where the infection originated, and we have a number of removal tools available to get rid of the infection. But there is some disagreement on exactly how many Macs are still infected with Flashback, nearly two weeks later. Kaspersky researchers said a little over 30,000 Macs are still infected, as of Apr. 19. The biggest drop in the infections came after Apple released its final Java update to patch the flaw and remove the malware, according to Kaspersky Lab.

 

On the other hand, Symantec researchers claimed there were still 140,000 infected machines.

"The statistics from our sinkhole are showing declining numbers on a daily basis. However, we had originally believed that we would have seen a greater decline in infections at this point in time, but this has proven not to be the case," Symantec said.

 

Read more...

A new Trojan known as “Sabpab” could hurt Mac users who run Java and Microsoft Word. Security researchers are warning users to make sure their computers

 

===> have the latest software updates from both Apple and Microsoft, <=== and to use anti-virus software.

 

In some cases, manual removal of Sabpab may be needed.

 

Word about Sabpab comes on the heels of another nasty piece of malware, Flashback, that infected up to as many as 600,000 Macs, security experts said, by exploiting a vulnerability in Java software.

 

Apple last week issued a software-base removal tool for that malware, which can be used by criminals to steal personal information, including passwords.

 

Read more...

 

Découvert par Kaspersky, ce nouveau malware qui cible les Mac exploite une faille de sécurité Java.

 

Le répit aura été de courte durée. À peine Apple avait-il publié une mise à jour de Java contenant un logiciel de suppression du malware Flashback qu’un nouveau fléau était découvert. Baptisé SabPub, il a été découvert par l’éditeur Kaspersky qui en a repéré deux variantes.

 

Comme Flashback, SabPub passe par une faille de sécurité de Java au moyen d’un document Word piégé. Le Mac infecté va ensuite se connecter à un site web depuis lequel sont envoyées des commandes. Un pirate peut notamment obtenir des captures d’écran du Mac de la victime.

 

Cependant, le mode de diffusion de ce malware via des documents Word piégés rend sa propagation moins puissante que celle de Flashback qui a touché 600 000 machines de par le monde.

 

Die Sicherheitsexperten von Kaspersky Lab haben einen neuen Mac-Trojaner entdeckt. Die Schadsoftware heisst SabPub und verbreitet sich über Word-Dokumente.

Attackers behind the Flashback and SabPub malware likely reverse-engineered a Java vulnerability patched for Windows almost two
months ago by Oracle.

 

Apple, which normally refuses to comment on any vulnerabilities in its products until after it's released a fix, broke with tradition by last week confirming that it was coding an OS X upgrade to nuke Flashback.

 

===> According to various security firms, approximately 600,000 Macs had been infected by Flashback, which makes it the largest malware infection to ever hit OS X users. <===

 

In addition, Kaspersky managed to tie the botnet to six malicious Microsoft Word documents that it's seen in the wild, two of which drop the SabPub vulnerability, and four of which drop the MaControl bot, which appears to be an earlier effort by the same virus writers. One key difference, however, is that MaControl didn't target the Java vulnerability exploited by Flashback and SabPub.

 

===> Another is that SabPub managed to remain active for about six weeks before anyone detected it. <===

 

Read more...

 

 

A new version of the Mac OS X Sabpab Trojan horse has come to light, and rather than relying upon a Java vulnerability - it appears to be exploiting malformed Word documents instead.

Microsoft has detected a new piece of malware targeting Apple OS X computers that exploits a vulnerability in the Office productivity suite patched nearly three years ago.

 

Microsoft advised those who use Microsoft Office 2004 or 2008 for Mac or the Open XML File Format Converter for Mac to ensure those products have applied the patch.

 

===> "In conclusion, we can see that Mac OS X is not safe from malware," Oh wrote. "Statistically speaking, as this operating system gains in consumer usage, attacks on the platform will increase." <===

 

Read more...

 

 

Kate Bevan: For too long Mac users have been complacent about malware – it's time they woke up to the threat from trojans like Flashback...

 

===> Mac users should 'become responsible members of the wider computing community.' <===

 

Read more...

Repéré par des chercheurs de chez Kasperky, le malware SabPub exploite une fois encore une faille de sécurité Java dans Mac OS X via des documents Word piégés.

A second variant of the Mac OS X Trojan referred to as Backdoor.OSX.SabPub.a or SX/Sabpab-A is exploiting a Microsoft Word security hole, not the usua...