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Flashback Malware's Ad-Click Hijacking Detailed, Could Reap $10,000/Day

GenesisST

GenesisST

macrumors 68000
Jan 23, 2006
1,803
1,068
Where I live
Macman45 said:
If ever those who are still dragging heels over the move from SL to Lion needed a heads up, the stats are there...Keep up to date, adopt sensible practice and you should be fine....Sticking with "Old faithful" for the sake of it makes no sense at all now.
Click to expand...

I'd love to move my old iMac to Lion, since I suffer from "compulsive updating syndrome", but I really can't: Core Duo... And no, I won't update a perfectly good music and internet machine.

My MBP is always up to date, though.

Didn't have that malware on either. I wonder, could you get it with Chrome? I don't use Safari.
 
FloatingBones

FloatingBones

macrumors 65816
Jul 19, 2006
1,486
745
Macman45 said:
If ever those who are still dragging heels over the move from SL to Lion needed a heads up, the stats are there...Keep up to date, adopt sensible practice and you should be fine....Sticking with "Old faithful" for the sake of it makes no sense at all now.
Click to expand...

Lion doesn't include Java; less users have Java installed. The lower percentage of Java installs in Lion seems to be the only reason for the lower infection rate. Users updating from SL to Lion wouldn't get their Java installs pulled.

I fail to see how updating to Lion would have had any impact on the percentage of machines getting infected with Flashback. Can you explain?
 
Last edited:
kiljoy616

kiljoy616

macrumors 68000
Apr 17, 2008
1,795
0
USA
Fraaaa said:
Thanks, but that is not the solution I'm asking. I use java for uni.
Click to expand...

Are you sure or is it Java Script?

If your building applications on Java then your stuck if you want to use them on Safari so you may want to see your Network Admin to look at your MAN, have them filter Java. Never done it myself since non one I have worked for used or uses Java anything.

But if you want to read till your eyes water and you brain begins to drool :D its here of how to do it.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/security/pix/pix63/configuration/guide/mngacl.html
 
KnightWRX

KnightWRX

macrumors Pentium
Jan 28, 2009
15,046
4
Quebec, Canada
roadbloc said:
What if upgrading is not an option? One thing I really dislike about Apple is their lack of support for legacy products. Microsoft still maintains XP, why can't Apple do so for their older OSs?
Click to expand...

Consumer grade vs enterprise grade. You want LTS ? Stay away from consumer products.

Anyway, if you're stuck on SL because of PPC software, where's the LTS on those software packages providing you with updates for them ? Apple isn't responsible if 3rd parties can't be bothered to update their paying customers (are you even a current paying customer ? support contract ?).
 
Macman45

Macman45

macrumors G5
Jul 29, 2011
13,197
135
Somewhere Back In The Long Ago
rjohnstone said:
In many cases, upgrading is not possible.
Some of us with older hardware are SOL due to the lack of compatibility with older equipment or software that is still not supported under Lion.
Canon has yet to release a stable version of their EOS tools for Lion, so I am forced to keep a laptop with SL on it just so I can use the tools.
Click to expand...

Valid point, and best practice should keep you away from this type of junk....But all of us in the Apple community have got to take more care now....In a way, Apple has become a target BECAUSE of its success, and I don't think any here could argue that we had it good for a very long time.
 
J

JHankwitz

macrumors 68000
Oct 31, 2005
1,911
58
Wisconsin
Snowy_River said:
I have several software packages that all work just fine, only they are "old" PowerPC code, and, as Apple chose to no longer support Rosetta in Lion, I would suddenly need to upgrade or find replacements for all of them.)
Click to expand...

What did you do with your old car when they banned leaded gasoline, or switched to 10% ethanol? At some point in time you need to start living in the present.

I know it's painfull. I have several near unused flatbed scanners that don't have drivers for anything past Tiger. At some time you just have to bite the bullet and upgrade, or get left behind in the dust.
 
Starflyer

Starflyer

macrumors 6502a
Jan 22, 2003
698
1,078
roadbloc said:
What if upgrading is not an option? One thing I really dislike about Apple is their lack of support for legacy products. Microsoft still maintains XP, why can't Apple do so for their older OSs?
Click to expand...

How long should they support it? 5 years? 10 years?
 
Rodimus Prime

Rodimus Prime

macrumors G4
Oct 9, 2006
10,136
4
Fraaaa said:
Does anyone knows any free anti-malware software that can find flashback? After Apple released the update that removes it (and actually found it on my mac) I don't know whether I might get that again. Just want to be sure.
Click to expand...

Really only sure fired way to remove all damages done to a system from malware is the reformat. Damage is done so even if you remove the "virus" it could of already done the damage and only way to fix it is a reformat.
Macman45 said:
If ever those who are still dragging heels over the move from SL to Lion needed a heads up, the stats are there...Keep up to date, adopt sensible practice and you should be fine....Sticking with "Old faithful" for the sake of it makes no sense at all now.
Click to expand...

Apple complete and utter lack of support for Rosetta. Apple provided no real warning so it is going to take a long time for things to move over. People are still running apps that require Rosetta.
 
S

subsonix

macrumors 68040
Feb 2, 2008
3,551
79
Fraaaa said:
Does anyone knows any free anti-malware software that can find flashback? After Apple released the update that removes it (and actually found it on my mac) I don't know whether I might get that again. Just want to be sure.
Click to expand...

If you downloaded Apples update, it updated Java to a version without the security hole and removed Flashback if it existed. It should be enough to keep you from getting this again.
 
thejadedmonkey

thejadedmonkey

macrumors G3
May 28, 2005
9,184
3,345
Pennsylvania
InfoTime said:
Hahaha, really?

Windows lifecycle fact sheet

Mainstream support for XP SP3 ended April 8, 2009, for Vista it ended a couple of weeks ago on April 10, 2012.
Click to expand...

Actually yes. Because where Apple stops everything when it ends support, Microsoft puts OS's into what's called "Extended support", which is basically life support. I don't believe they offer tech support or product updates anymore, but they continue to provide security patches to keep the system secure. That's a hell of a lot more than Apple does. To the average consumer, that's what an OS lifecycle is, as their OEM is the one providing tech support.
 
iDemiurge

iDemiurge

macrumors 6502
Feb 7, 2011
275
212
Portugal
I installed Java on my Lion machine because I needed it ONCE. Now I figure there is no easy way to uninstall it, just to disable it. What the heck...
 
S

SpinThis!

macrumors 6502
Jan 30, 2007
480
135
Inside the Machine (Green Bay, WI)
Rodimus Prime said:
Apple provided no real warning so it is going to take a long time for things to move over. People are still running apps that require Rosetta.
Click to expand...
The warning was Snow Leopard when Apple essentially dropped PPC support in the OS and made Rosetta an optional install.

Rosetta was never meant to be supported long term. It originally came out with the 10.4.4 update—over 6 years ago. About 5 years of support seems pretty reasonable to me as a transition period. If anyone bought any software after 10.5 that wasn't Intel compatible, that's not Apple's fault the developer never made an x86 compatible version.
 
roadbloc

roadbloc

macrumors G3
Aug 24, 2009
8,784
215
UK
InfoTime said:
Hahaha, really?

Windows lifecycle fact sheet

Mainstream support for XP SP3 ended April 8, 2009, for Vista it ended a couple of weeks ago on April 10, 2012.
Click to expand...

Extended support still provides a lot of bug fixes and security updates. That continues until 2014. And that aside, many new programs are still designed to run on XP.

Whereas we call all admit that XP is very old and on its way out, its very admirable of Microsoft to continue supporting it for such a length of time. Around the same time MS released XP, Apple released the first OS X. You haven't a hope in hell of using OS X 10.0 like you can use XP today.

As I said, Apple's support in legacy OSs is very lacking. You either have to upgrade your hardware or you're dropped off the cliff of support. That said, I dislike XP almost as much as I dislike Apple's support timeline.
 
FloatingBones

FloatingBones

macrumors 65816
Jul 19, 2006
1,486
745
SpinThis! said:
Rosetta was never meant to be supported long term. It originally came out with the 10.4.4 update—over 6 years ago. About 5 years of support seems pretty reasonable to me as a transition period. If anyone bought any software after 10.5 that wasn't Intel compatible, that's not Apple's fault the developer never made an x86 compatible version.
Click to expand...

The problem was larger than purchased software. Elsevier includes only PPC code in the Mac versions of DVDs included with their high end medical books. They now have websites that offer Intel-compatible versions of the material, but it's hard for customers to find out about that option. Books may have been published and stocked years ago...

It seems a big part of the problem was how seamlessly Rosetta worked. Users never had any problems and may well have never realized that they were running PPC software. Publishers should have updated their DVDs years ago, but they lack the expertise and experience to know when to do that.
 
N

Negritude

macrumors 6502
Jul 14, 2011
297
199
Anyone with a scanner they can't use because it doesn't have drivers for 10.7, please send it to me. I'll be able to make use of it.

Open source is a wonderful thing. :-D
 
Rodimus Prime

Rodimus Prime

macrumors G4
Oct 9, 2006
10,136
4
SpinThis! said:
The warning was Snow Leopard when Apple essentially dropped PPC support in the OS and made Rosetta an optional install.

Rosetta was never meant to be supported long term. It originally came out with the 10.4.4 update—over 6 years ago. About 5 years of support seems pretty reasonable to me as a transition period. If anyone bought any software after 10.5 that wasn't Intel compatible, that's not Apple's fault the developer never made an x86 compatible version.
Click to expand...

That is not a true warning. The correct way to of done it was to state in 3 min (5 years preferable) Rosetta will no longer be supported by Apple or OSX. It provides a very clear thing.

Apple way of telling everyone was to disable it in Lion. Even if SL was the warning that was still not enough time. Large projects take years to make the switch over and cost a huge amount of money.

Say in terms of cost it was at least $1 per line of code and that is getting off cheap. chances are it was closer to $3-4 per line of code.
 
D

Dudical

macrumors member
Jan 5, 2012
38
-1
I wish I had thought of Flashback. Kudos to the developers, it's a great ad revenue scheme.
 
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