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Let's see how fast Apple patches this.

What? It's not a patch. It's a retarded user agreeing to install the software, thinking it's something else. These things are all over the place for Mac and Windows. People install something and say "I didn't do anything." When we all know they installed it themselves and deserve the wrath of the effects.
 
I read up on this here:

http://blog.intego.com/2010/06/01/p...lications-that-install-osxopinionspy-spyware/

and here

http://www.premieropinion.com/About.aspx

Looks like this is a version of adware, which was once pervasive in Windows shareware (not sure if it still is - I don't download Windows software). It's a "sort-of" spyware, but that's unknown since we're unsure exactly what data they collect. But they're clear they do collect detailed web browsing habits - their privacy page makes that obvious. They claim the info isn't shared, and is only used in aggregate. Who knows.

Basically the PremierOpinion people pay shareware authors to include their software in their downloads. So the authors get their money from them instead of from you. In exchange, the PremierOpinion software sends some personal info to them, which they collect and then do something with. What they collect and what they do with that info isn't clear from their web site.

...just like AdMob on all those free iPhone apps?

There are only two companies' products listed in the Intego blog post - one that makes a bunch of screensavers, and one that makes an audio converter. That's it. The developers of these apps are responsible for creating the relationship between them and PremierOpinion, and thus putting this in the hands of the users.

[...]

In my opinion the software vendors are the ones to blame here, for agreeing to pollute their software with this crap. They should be embarrassed. Hopefully these two unknown companies are the only ones doing this, and it ends here.

Intego should also be held accountable for labeling this as something it isn't, and using it to their own marketing advantage.

Agreed...
 
urg..... how tedious.
Another Mac Vs. Viruses argument. i am going to lock myself in a small dark room for a few weeks till this blows over.
 
A system or OS is only as secure as the end user. Simple as, and I include Windows in that too. If the end user is going to be stupid then it will get infected with all sorts of junk no matter what OS your on.
 
iTunes software store

And THIS is why there is a software lock-in for the iPhone, iPod and iPad. Because Apple exercises editorial control over the entire platform, there won't be any apps like this (at least, not for long) for those devices. Of course, there's a cost to that too.

Uncle Ben was right, with great power (in this case, the power to run any piece of software you want) comes great responsibility (you should be sure you know what you're clicking "allow" on).
 
I guess it's just a consequence of the increasing popularity of Macs. I know it's probably automated, but to whoever wrote it thanks for posting that.

At the end of the day though, it relies on the user actually doing something stupid and allowing unfamiliar applications and utilities to run on their computer. I think everybody needs to maintain their common sense whilst using the Internet - i.e. don't click unfamiliar links, don't visit sites you don't trust, don't allow unfamiliar apps to run, etc.
 
Lol... All the Mac newbs and people that don't know any better freaking out. This is no more of a threat now than it ever has been. Anyone can make an app to anything they want, and put it in an install package that looks like whatever they want, AND anyone can download it and install it...

Alas...this is not a virus (as many people keep throwing out there), and certainly not a threat except to those that actually are tricked into installing it. People don't get on the road without learning how to drive first (in theory anyway). So why should people just jump on the internet and use a computer and use it forever without problems without proper education?

Next story please... This one is just confusing the masses and ultimately get passed on as bad information.
 
Google's Fault!

To say this is google's fault is proposterous. Google only made their announcement a few days ago. Besides, you could just as easily blame all of the other people who have made the switch from PC to mac. We're going to see more of this. Thankfully, this is just spyware that can be avoided by being smart about what you choose to install on your computer.
 
Huh? You're trying to argue a LARGE topic here by throwing out a few sentences. This topic of "why Macs have basically been less prone to security risks from 1992-2008 than Windows" has been talked in great length in other threads on this forum, other forums, and well-published magazines and newspapers. There is no way to summarize it. Please go find those threads if you really want to understand the technical and NON-technical reasons why systems are prone to security attacks...and why some systems more than others.

And no, who ever said that as soon as Mac personal computer market share hit 51% that they would all do down? The simpler statement would be that, as long as malware/spyware/viruses are legal/hard-to-punish in many countries they will continue to exist and evolve...and...they will continue to be written to affect the most widely adopted platforms/systems. Currently, if you were a malware/spyware/virus programmer, you would want to annoy the most people for your efforts. Therefore, hit the Windows platform. Next up would likely be a tie between Mac and Linux. And I believe that right now we are starting to see evil programmers take aim at the Mac as the Mac platform gains adoption. It's Marketing 101...if you're selling air conditioners, you're probably not going waste your budget and advertise in Alaska.



I disagree, a virus for Mac OS X would be extremely profitable. Yes, the percentage of Mac OS X users is minimal, when compared to the windows OS user base, but due to the fact that mac users are so confident in the fact that they are virus free, they don't have an antivirus on their computer! This is a virus maker's dream, the OS might have a small user base, but it is UNPROTECTED. But it begs the questioning, why hasn't anyone accomplished this, surely someone, somewhere should have set his sights on not only attacking Mac OS X, but also prettifying all of the Mac OS X users who claim "we don't get viruses" in the process? The answer is simple, the OS is just more secure.

If I were to make viruses, and I saw one of those dumb mac vs. pc commercials where the mac guy would say "buy me and you won't get viruses anymore, because we are immune to viruses", what is the first thing I, as a hacker, would do? I'd get up from my couch and make me a very nice mac virus, just to shut apple up! But have there been viruses since the airing of those annoying commercials, no. The closest things we've had are these spam-ware pests which need us to (stupidly) give them authorization to install!

The argument that Mac don't get viruses because of their small user base is just plain false. And that Alaska air conditioner analogy not only sucked, it was irrelevant, there is a market for hacking Macs, just as there is a market for making mac applications. Think about it. Why are there mac only applications when they can just make a windows application with a much larger user base? Because in marketing you learn that sometimes having a smaller demographic can get you more profit, and a bigger demographic doesn't necessarily get you more sales. :p
 
Do Mac users really install screen savers? That seems like a very Windows thing to do.

Personally, when I'm not using my Mac, I want it using as little power as possible. Sleep mode all the way.

After Dark was awesome! Some of the aquarium ones are pretty cool.
 
A system or OS is only as secure as the end user. Simple as, and I include Windows in that too. If the end user is going to be stupid then it will get infected with all sorts of junk no matter what OS your on.

Exactly! So there's no need for the Macs Vs. Viruses discussions/arguments. Just take action to keep yourself safe.
 
A nu mak virus oh noes ! The cake is a lie! My box is infected! NT = *nix! The sky is falling! My passwords have been stoled!

Yawn.

I wish you school children would stop talking 'bout things you don't understand.

I just cooked up a new virus that ERASES YOUR ENTIRE HARD DRIVE HOLY COW with no user interaction*

*no user interaction after you follow these steps: 1. insert os x install disk 2. Open disk utility 3. Erase drive.

Am I famous yet?
 
you should be sure you know what you're clicking "allow" on).

just like the 39 page iTunes Agreement I have to "read" every 4+ weeks when I try to install a new app on my iPhone? Yea...I read that. Surrrre I do. Apple can't/won't even put in a brief "here's what we changed" 1-pager because that would show you what Apple really thinks about you.

When the average user is prompted for an "allow" question...for an app they are willingly trying to install...they are 99.99999999% of the time going to click the "allow" button.
 
...just like AdMob on all those free iPhone apps?.

An excellent point - AdMob (and soon iAd) and the other ad platforms do somewhat nefarious things, and certainly could do a lot worse. A difference is those apps/ads don't run system-wide so there's at least some info they don't have access to. Adware runs system-wide so has access to everything. But so does everything else on the desktop, and many commercial applications collect all sorts of things you wouldn't be happy about.

Bottom line: If you install software, it might do stuff you don't like. If you don't like that bottom line, don't install software.
 
Oh Intego please save me! How much money do you want from me to protect me from this horrible demon seed that is determined to impregnate my macbook pro!

Help me Intego Virus Software Defender, You're my only hope!
Help me Intego Virus Software Defender, You're my only hope!
 
Dang it, I hope this isn't a sign of things to come...

Serveral years ago I switched my wife to Mac. Despite my warnings, explanations, demands and threats, she would (apparently) download and installing almost anything purporting to help her consume celebrity gossip. Needless to say, this lead to many infections which I had to waste tons of time to wipe out.

I so don't want to go back there.

If this kind of thing becomes prevalent, I'll have to (at least) make her a non-admin on her machine, if I can get away with it...
 
After Dark was awesome! Some of the aquarium ones are pretty cool.

There was a paper aeroplanes screensaver for Macs that I once saw. That was pretty cool. You could customise it and everything.


I barely ever use screen savers myself either. If I had a desktop then yes, I would probably use them more, but I'd rather save the battery.
 
Even on Windows XP I only ever got a virus/spyware if I was downloading things from untrusted sources.
 
techpr said:
I know what Netstat do. I'm talking about the way to detecting it by running this netstat -an -f inet | fgrep 8254

Does this trojan uses the port 8254 only?

The spanish guy said in the comment, if netstat -an -f inet | fgrep 8254 does not return anything you are CLEAN. If it returns tcp4 0 0 *.8254 *. you got it.

Any comments on this here?

Guess I'm clean... but if it was a trap, I fell for it :eek:

Possibly... though it would be trivial for a malware writer (on submission of your password) to replace all of your system commands (including netstat) with their own version that reports whatever they program it to. Not an unusual occurrence in the Unix malware world.

But by and large, I wouldn't get too paranoid about it.
 
No Conflict of Interest Here Folks - Move Along

So the company that provides the solution has discovered the problem to their solution.....sorry if I seem a bit....:rolleyes:skeptical.
 
They're Java apps

Just for yucks I downloaded one of the screensavers. Opened the installer package (didn't install). They're Java apps, at least the installers. Same with the audio converter application from the other company.

Nice to know this is still being done in a crappy way on the Mac, and not natively. Thus isn't likely to get into popular applications - pretty much just crapware written for the sole purpose of distributing this junk.
 
Where are all the people on this forum that for years proclaimed that Mac OS was virus/spyware free and there would NEVER be viruses/spyware due to OSX being built on Linux.

Still right here I suspect.

I decided to check out Intego to see what kind of vested interest they might have in Mac Security:

14lr0ja.png


Tough row to hoe, so I could see how they got a bit desperate.

It is a bit like the weatherman owning the local umbrella company.
 
Apple only says Mac OS X is immune from Windows viruses and spyware. They had been careful not to cross the line in marketing before, and it looks like it was a good thing to not do so.

I still don't think I want antivirus software running on my computer though. I've heard of it fouling Macs up.

Don't install anti-virus on your Mac. This is spyware, and requires user interaction to install the program. Although it is cleverly disguised, there is no inherent weakness or exploit that is being utilized here as it does not happen unless you tell it to do it. ... And just don't ever install "free" software, whether you are on a PC or a Mac.
 
I look forward to reading more information on this before jumping to conclusions. Not saying this is a sales pitch by Itego ... yet.

This report came with a free "Jump to Conclusions" mat for those who want to play from home.
 
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