zweigand
macrumors 6502a
Jumping through hoops? LMAO. It's not like they are creating patches for exploits here they find a new trojan in the wild and they update the "known baddie" list to included it.
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Apple Responds Quickly to Evolving 'Mac Defender' Threat With Updated Malware Definitions
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kazmac
macrumors G4
that's great
Apple did not hire those bigwig security experts for nothing.
Good. 🙂
batch of silly questions to anyone who can answer:
Does the security update run on it's own or do I have to launch it to scan and/or receive the updates?
And is this security software located in the Applications folder or somewhere else? I didn't see where it installed last night, wasn't at the machine.
thanks.
Apple did not hire those bigwig security experts for nothing.
Good. 🙂
batch of silly questions to anyone who can answer:
Does the security update run on it's own or do I have to launch it to scan and/or receive the updates?
And is this security software located in the Applications folder or somewhere else? I didn't see where it installed last night, wasn't at the machine.
thanks.
Completely clueless. Did you not even read the damn article you posted to?
There will be nothing to 'patch' as the issue isn't a security issue. As others have stated this is little more than social engineering.
Also the detection updates automatically in the background, at least daily. It requires no action from the user and is completely invisible to them.
Deflorator
macrumors member
Well, while there is no femaleware in the wild this maleware can mate with and spread out, my Mac is safe.
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Steve121178
macrumors 604
I'm not worried, my main machines are Windows 7 PC's. I haven't had a virus/malware/trojan/attack since the old XP days.
In fact, the attackers got so bored trying to penetrate Windows 7, many gave up and decided to try and exploit vulnerabilities Adobe products instead.
philbeeney
macrumors 6502
XProtect.plist is gonna get awfully large
XProtect.plist is gonna get awfully large.
The Security System Preference panel should mention the date of XProtect.plist's most recent update.
OS X should treat an attempt to delete XProtect.plist in a special manner... beyond asking for the password, which can be social engineered by a malware author by presenting a screen shot of dialog box, with an arrow and instructions to the user to type in their password to allow it.
XProtect.plist is gonna get awfully large.
The Security System Preference panel should mention the date of XProtect.plist's most recent update.
OS X should treat an attempt to delete XProtect.plist in a special manner... beyond asking for the password, which can be social engineered by a malware author by presenting a screen shot of dialog box, with an arrow and instructions to the user to type in their password to allow it.
hexx
macrumors regular
well it's just how you obtain your soft or am i wrong? it's the soft you want to use not how you get it or am i too old and lazy to be bothered about things like that?
I wouldn't be surprised if the entire thing weren't stage-managed by Apple to give them an argument in favour of a move to an iOS-style Mac App Store-only software model. (Jailbreak your Mac, anyone?)
ghostface147
macrumors 601
It'd be nice to know if we got updated instead of having to look at xprotect.plist. Maybe that security section in settings can be updated somehow to show the latest date of definitions.
autrefois
macrumors 65816
The word "virus" was not brought up until you mentioned it...
I agree with justinfreid that this situation is making OS X *LOOK* less secure. It is a threat: even if it is malware that must be user-installed, it is still malware. Mac users are less used to this sort of thing, and this is arguably the most high-profile threat to OS X and it's coming right before a major conference.
I wonder if Steve will address security in his keynote to try to show Apple is being active in protecting against malware (daily automatic updates could be spun to be a positive thing). The fact that they do seem to be on top of this one, unlike other holes that would at times go unpatched for months, makes things at least seem more secure.
Xian Zhu Xuande
macrumors 6502a
A quick response like this from Apple makes it useless for them to be 'one step ahead' because their little piece of malware doesn't have enough time to accomplish anything of particular value. Apple's response here would probably be difficult to manage if there were many threats on the Mac, but it works quite perfectly in the current environment.
It isn't a virus. It is malware which the user chooses to (well, is tricked into) installing themselves. Only way to protect against that (short of customers understanding threats like this and not falling for them in the first place) is to recognize the software and kill it as Apple is currently doing.
0815
macrumors 68000
Even if Macs started getting regular Malware attacks, I would still prefer Macs over PCs with Windows.
I would also think Apple would release their own Antivirus software for free like Microsoft has done with Security Essentials.
I would also think Apple would release their own Antivirus software for free like Microsoft has done with Security Essentials.
Phil A.
Moderator emeritus
I don't see how that would help to be honest: Even as things stand now, the user has to go through the installation steps to get this installed. That means they are most likely intentionally installing it in response to the socially engineered fear created by the fake virus warning. If they had to go into a control panel setting to allow it, the chances are they would because they want to install this software to "protect" their mac. If you are saying people who are stupid enough to want to install this wouldn't be able to figure it out, then you'd also be stopping them installing or running anything at all they downloaded from the internet. Not really a good solution IMO
HiVolt
macrumors 68020
Sooner or later Apple will have to come up with a memory resident malware scanner, unfortunately.
These are the same scumbags that have been doing these fake antivirus/utility on Windows computers for years, I think now that they've tapped into the Mac side, they wont be going away anytime soon.
These are the same scumbags that have been doing these fake antivirus/utility on Windows computers for years, I think now that they've tapped into the Mac side, they wont be going away anytime soon.
0815
macrumors 68000
Here we go again - people running out of real arguments against apple clinging to stupid claims like this ....
I hope in Lion they disable opening downloaded files automatically. It's the largest security hole ever in an operating system.
kalsta
macrumors 68000
Fantastic stuff Apple!!
They may enjoy being in the spotlight right now, but when news sites get bored of the story (and they will soon enough), and provided Apple keeps thwarting their efforts in such a timely manner, I imagine they'll very soon tire of it.
They may enjoy being in the spotlight right now, but when news sites get bored of the story (and they will soon enough), and provided Apple keeps thwarting their efforts in such a timely manner, I imagine they'll very soon tire of it.
macnews
macrumors 6502a
Looks like it runs on it's own, though I'm not sure where the file is located yet. This does depend if you have turned the option off however under security "automatically update safe downloads list."
Nyeh? I love my two Macs and iPhone and run an almost all-Apple ecosystem in my home and work. Of course I'm looking for arguments against them.
I didn't say they WOULD do that, just that I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Maybe I engaged in a certain amount of hyperbole. Certainly if Apple wanted to go down the route of a fully-curated desktop architecture like they have on iOS, stuff like this would give them the perfect excuse.
Steve121178
macrumors 604
Yeah, because that's exactly what the attackers did with other OS's with holes in... 😉
They are exploiting the same issue. While they are making Apple look stupid, you can bet your house they have found other vulnerabilities in OS X. These guys are pro's and will continue to move the goal posts.