New 'MACDefender' Variant Installs Without Admin Password Requirement

[MacAerfen]

trick is that it is only going to get worse. People will load in things like MACDefender into other software. Take it being cracks or pirated software. It is easier to payload the stuff in because people already are installing something so it is easy to slip it pass.

I am not going to say I have never downloaded a program but if you download a crack or a piece of pirated software and get this than that is your problem. Simple and easy way to avoid this is to download from only trusted sources and buy software. Sorry but thats the risk you take when you pirate software.

 

[archipellago]

I was thinking the same thing. Follow the money trail, there's got to be somebody withdrawing $$$$ some place.

On second thought, sending McGyver after them with a pocket knife, candle wax and some rope or duck tape may do the trick=

Scrap that, we have more faith in team 6!

This is likely based in Russia, China or Vietnam, go sniffing about in 2 of those places, face to face and you won't be coming back.

 

[Sander]

I use to work in an IT department. I can tell you some of the things considered "malware" are quite dangerous. We had one take down our network, undetected by McAfee (in fact it wiped McAfee on all our machines) and send a lot of sensitive data god knows where. When we asked McAfee why they didn't detect it they told us "You have virus scan. That wasn't a virus, that was a trojan."

So yeah, in my opinion it is nitpicking. Like I said before, "Trojan Horses", "ANSI Bombs", and "Worms" alllll use to be under the "Virus" umbrella. The definition was changed by the people who make money off of them.

If you will excuse a really lame comparison: You can't sue Durex when you end up with HIV despite using their products, if you have the habit of sticking needles in your arm which you found in that area of the park your mother told you to avoid.

I would think that virus scanners and trojan preventers work quite differently internally.

 

[TheSideshow]

Yes but the people proclaiming "its over" for apple users don't agree. I'm using their rules.

I'm afraid you don't understand what you are arguing.

 

[0815]

You can call MacDefender a virus as often as you want ... it still does not make it a virus. It doesn't care about who wins the screaming contest ... it still is an application that is being installed through user interactions using an installer with UI (just downloaded the sneaky way)

 

[AppleScruff1]

I disagree, me being an advanced PC user, I've never encountered any issues with Windows, thats because I took the necessary precautions, the vast majority of people are not aware how to avoid viruses/spyware/malware, or even how to remove and deal with them..

I don't think its fair for you to say purchasing a Windows machine is not a intelligent choice, now I assume your like the vast majority of users who aren't very computer savvy and do experience crashes, viruses etc, but do not know how to deal with them..

What I find hilarious is that people often blame Windows, but fact of the matter is, its the users that cause all these issues, when you do a clean install of Windows, you'll find that it performs perfectly, but over the months and years you see performance degradation, do you think that happens on its own? no way, its because of the user..

Conclusion is if you know what your doing with regards to computers then you will have little or no issues with Windows..

And again I'm no fanboy, I actually prefer Mac OSX over Windows any day, infact I don't even use Windows anymore, unless I game.. so I'm not here taking sides, I'm just shedding light on the truth of the matter, you cannot blame Windows for the ignorance of the users..

Good post.

 

[dmelgar]

This is why I recommend having your primary userid NOT have administrator privileges. Most apps shouldn't need it. Don't give installers the keys unless you absolutely trust them and they absolutely need it. Apple has been moving backwards in this regard, sometimes encouraging install programs which almost always require admin access, instead of being able to simply copy the application into a directory. I have a 'my applications' directory within my userid which does not have admin privilege. Once the install program has root access, it can do anything and can hide itself so it can never be removed. Not worth the risk.

 

[superfula]

I use to work in an IT department. I can tell you some of the things considered "malware" are quite dangerous. We had one take down our network, undetected by McAfee (in fact it wiped McAfee on all our machines) and send a lot of sensitive data god knows where. When we asked McAfee why they didn't detect it they told us "You have virus scan. That wasn't a virus, that was a trojan."

So yeah, in my opinion it is nitpicking. Like I said before, "Trojan Horses", "ANSI Bombs", and "Worms" alllll use to be under the "Virus" umbrella. The definition was changed by the people who make money off of them.

Each type of malware has always been labeled appropriately. Perhaps YOU called everything a virus where you worked, but they were most certainly different.

What McAfee told you was correct, so it's time to take off that tin-foil hat. No anti-virus company had any hand in labeling these malware. Not to mention that the first virus, worm and trojan appeared in public before any anti-virus software was sold commercially.

 

[jettredmont]

Well that's a year and a half old.

I have about 7 computers in this house and aside from this imac they are all windows 7 x64. I can visit porn sites and pirate software all day long and still never had a virus/malware. I'd have to go out of my way to get one.

If you are executing code (pirated software) from an unknown source (some peer-to-peer torrent seed, presumably) you are wide open to malware. No, it may not take the common virus form; virus scanners are pretty effective at finding code which specifically writes itself into other apps' executables. But "malware" is such an incredibly wide net that if you really do take the cavalier attitude you espouse you are likely the target of at least a dozen malware attacks already.

Such statements are the epitome of fanboyism.

 

[DasCrushinator]

Should I be worried that Safari resumed being the default browser even though I have never used it until today and was using Chrome since I re-installed OS X (unrelated to malware) a couple weeks ago?

 

[Jacquesass]

Come on, guys. You keep saying that you won't get stung by MacDefender, all because you are smarter than that.

Do what I did - just install MacProtector! No more worries.

 

[0815]

I use to work in an IT department. I can tell you some of the things considered "malware" are quite dangerous. We had one take down our network, undetected by McAfee (in fact it wiped McAfee on all our machines) and send a lot of sensitive data god knows where. When we asked McAfee why they didn't detect it they told us "You have virus scan. That wasn't a virus, that was a trojan."

So yeah, in my opinion it is nitpicking. Like I said before, "Trojan Horses", "ANSI Bombs", and "Worms" alllll use to be under the "Virus" umbrella. The definition was changed by the people who make money off of them.

Really???? You expect an anti virus scanner to detect every freaking virus out there?

You know, in order to put them into their database, they need some examples of it to create the signature. But that means that a new type of virus might be out there for days or weeks infecting many machines before it is added to the database

--> You are never fully protected, you are only protected against older known threads.

--> Antivirus apps do not protect from stupidity - you still have to use common sense when 'protected' ... there are new viruses/trojans/malware every week (probably variants every day)

 

[archipellago]

I clicked a link to a story on slashdot.org but the url was hijacked and this nasty thing started multiple simultaneous downloads to my iMac instantly. The files were small zip archives, and 2.5 copies were downloaded and one had unzipped before I could cancel the download!

I jumped to the downloads folder to kill anything that I could find...

I was pleasantly surprised that Sophos Antivirus (Free) for Mac detected the threat immediately and thew up a warning window pointing out the paths to the malware files. Sophos could not automatically remove the files, but it did point me to the exact files which had been downloaded and instructed me to manually remove the files.

No connection with Sophos other than I run their software, and obviously, I am glad that I do!

which is great, but the trouble is that running AV immediately kills 50% of Apple's marketing message..... hence their silence.

tainted brand, after all if malus affects all platforms then why not just buy the cheapest??

 

[dmelgar]

I disagree, me being an advanced PC user, I've never encountered any issues with Windows, thats because I took the necessary precautions, the vast majority of people are not aware how to avoid viruses/spyware/malware, or even how to remove and deal with them..

I don't think its fair for you to say purchasing a Windows machine is not a intelligent choice, now I assume your like the vast majority of users who aren't very computer savvy and do experience crashes, viruses etc, but do not know how to deal with them..

What I find hilarious is that people often blame Windows, but fact of the matter is, its the users that cause all these issues, when you do a clean install of Windows, you'll find that it performs perfectly, but over the months and years you see performance degradation, do you think that happens on its own? no way, its because of the user..

Conclusion is if you know what your doing with regards to computers then you will have little or no issues with Windows..

And again I'm no fanboy, I actually prefer Mac OSX over Windows any day, infact I don't even use Windows anymore, unless I game.. so I'm not here taking sides, I'm just shedding light on the truth of the matter, you cannot blame Windows for the ignorance of the users..

I disagree. Windows is inherently less secure because of it's long history of compatability. Applications are accustomed to having open access to key directories within the operating system, such as windows, system32. It becomes difficult to control access without disabling the ability to install many (most?) apps.

On the Mac, the historic convention has been to install apps in a local directory. If apps are installed this way, they have less privilege and can cause less damage. Mac apps that require an installer are just as dangerous as most windows programs which require them as well.

 

[TheSideshow]

Come on, guys. You keep saying that you won't get stung by MacDefender, all because you are smarter than that.

Do what I did - just install MacProtector! No more worries.

I prefer MacSecurity.

I did have to pay for it with my CC though to remove MacDefender.

 

[0815]

You want to be safe from malware? Here is an idea: disconnect your machine from the network and get an iPad for browsing the web and reading email (and do not jailbreak it)

 

[Dr McKay]

Misery loves company. If they have to suffer, they want everyone else to suffer. It's the worst part of human instincts to think that way, but sadly the world has such people in it.

I don't think it's that, a lot of people have been persistently plagued by smug, arrogant individuals who smugly proclaim that OS X has no malware, or any of the "headaches" Windows has, usually whilst driving a Hybrid and sniffing their own farts.

I know these kind of Mac users are in the minority, but they really do spoil the image of everyone else with them.

 

[0815]

I prefer MacSecurity.

I did have to pay for it with my CC though to remove MacDefender.

I would recommend the brand new MacGuard ... works fine and got pretty good web coverage.

 

[archipellago]

I am not going to say I have never downloaded a program but if you download a crack or a piece of pirated software and get this than that is your problem. Simple and easy way to avoid this is to download from only trusted sources and buy software. Sorry but thats the risk you take when you pirate software.

what about when a blog or site gets hacked and the malware inserted?

like tech crunch...

d'ya think places like here or AI, 9to5 aren't on criminals radar?

once it starts like this, it can and will pop up anywhere.

What about the silent install that waits for you to download a legit app and then piggybacks the installer.?

possibilities are endless.....

 

[BLACKFRIDAY]

Agreed The same "malware" attacks (Not virus) attacks that have targeted Windows users are now hitting Macs.

Previously all these malware attacks that hit Windows were labeled "viruses" by Mac users, but really werent 99.999% of the time. Now that Macs are getting hit with malware, they are all screaming. "Its not a virus, its just malware".

I think you are mistaken.

I am not denying that Windows doesn't get hit by a lot of malware; but seriously your assumption to the 'FACT' that 99.9% of malware for windows is actually malware and not a virus of any kind is absolutely non-sensical.

There have plenty of viruses on windows. Malware obviously is very common; more common than viruses. But there are plenty of significant viruses for Windows which makes a very significant virus:malware ration.

Check out the reports by Symantec and they are going to explain them all.

 

[TheSideshow]

I think you are mistaken.

I am not denying that Windows doesn't get hit by a lot of malware; but seriously your assumption to the 'FACT' that 99.9% of malware for windows is actually malware and not a virus of any kind is absolutely non-sensical.

There have plenty of viruses on windows. Malware obviously is very common; more common than viruses. But there are plenty of significant viruses for Windows which makes a very significant virus:malware ration.

Check out the reports by Symantec and they are going to explain them all.

Name some viruses infecting Windows users right now.
The only one I can come up with is Stuxnet (Which has already been patched by Microsoft) which was a specifically targeted and incredibly sophisticated pace of software aimed at Iranian nuclear plants, most liekly created with the backing of a nations government. It otherwise did no damage.

 

[archipellago]

I think you are mistaken.

I am not denying that Windows doesn't get hit by a lot of malware; but seriously your assumption to the 'FACT' that 99.9% of malware for windows is actually malware and not a virus of any kind is absolutely non-sensical.

There have plenty of viruses on windows. Malware obviously is very common; more common than viruses. But there are plenty of significant viruses for Windows which makes a very significant virus:malware ration.

Check out the reports by Symantec and they are going to explain them all.

Very few viruses on any platform.

The people doing this aren't ideals based, they just want cash.

To make cash you need Trojans...simple.

Wait till Zeus+backconnect comes to OSX (and it's coming).....

 

[Undecided]

This is dumb. This is so "much ado about nothing." Nothing will stop idiotic users, and thus far all attacks have relied upon idiotic users doing idiotic things.

Maybe I should type up a text document with the steps to erase your hard drive, with the first step being to do all the steps, and throw it up on the net.

I guess some folks would call that a virus and decry the loss of innocence of the Mac platform. Good grief.

 

[mcmlxix]

Misery loves company. If they have to suffer, they want everyone else to suffer. It's the worst part of human instincts to think that way, but sadly the world has such people in it.

Their schadenfreude is justified after all of those I'm a Mac commercials.

 

[0815]

Name some viruses infecting Windows users right now.
The only one I can come up with is Stuxnet (Which has already been patched by Microsoft) which was a specifically targeted and incredibly sophisticated pace of software aimed at Iranian nuclear plants, most liekly created with the backing of a nations government. It otherwise did no damage.

http://us.norton.com/security_response/threatexplorer/threats.jsp

Ok - none of the newer once is running really wild, but still they are running ...