Friday, January 23, 2009

MacIntosh Malware on the loose

Windows fanboys can stop smirking ...
Pirated copies of Apple Inc.'s new iWork '09 application suite that are now available on file-sharing sites contain a Trojan horse that hijacks Macs and leaves them open to further attack, a security company said yesterday.
Lots of other interesting technical details deleted, because we can stop right here.

The reason is that only the stupid or the corrupt have to worry, so that lets y'all off the hook. There are really only two things to know:

1. Don't steal software. Well, duh.

2. Remember Borepatch's First Law:
Free download is Internet-speak for "Open your mouth and close your eyes."
You mean Bad Guys would target people stealing software programs with malware? Knock me over with a feather. (/snark)

And yes, it works just like a Windows trojan horse. Runs with root privilege, too, so you're screwed. Careful what you download, and from where.

3 comments:

alan said...

Unfortunately, the weakest link in PC security is the user.

Borepatch said...

Alan, good point. This suggests that the user is a weak link for Mac as well.

I'd go so far as to anticipate that if Linux makes more headway, the user will be the weak link there, too.

Eagle said...

I'll betcha that it's PC users who are downloading this stuff.

We ALL know that no true Mac "fanboi" would undercut Stevie, right?

Right???