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New Variant of 'Mac Defender' Quickly Evades Apple's Security Update as Cat-and-Mouse Game Begins

archipellago said:
GGJstudios said:
No, it isn't. Mac's best malware protection has been the same for the past 10 years: an informed, prudent user who thinks before doing anything, especially when choosing and installing software. That's all that's required.
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That applies to anyone on any OS though....surely?
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It does apply to any OS, as far as trojans are concerned. The only difference is that a user being informed and careful will protect against 100% of the Mac OS X malware threats in the wild, but that's not true for Windows, as there are still viruses in the wild that can infect a Windows system without the user's knowledge or permission.
 
ok bugger it im cancelling my order for a 3.4ghz 1.7 and getting a old power mac G5 quad core off of ebay with a old copy of panther !:D
 
GGJstudios said:
Not necessary or feasible, as there are many apps that you'll never see on the Mac App Store, because the developer doesn't want to pay Apple a percentage. The solution is to exercise caution when choosing and installing software, no matter what source.

Authorizing an installation that you didn't deliberately initiate is not being careful or knowledgeable. MacDefender is 100% preventable with prudent user action.

I never said that wasn't the case. However, the Windows viruses that remain in the wild can infect a system without the user's knowledge or permission. Such a threat doesn't exist in the wild for Mac OS X.

Like every other OS, Mac OS has never been immune. Nothing has changed.

The only false sense of security is held by those who have selective hearing or reading and choose to ignore common sense. The only security current Mac OS X needs is a user being prudent in their actions.

That is not false, as no viruses exist in the wild for Mac OS X to "get".

... which is false, of course. The problem isn't the OS. The problem is, and always has been, the user being uninformed, misinformed or careless.
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the false sense of security was propagated by Apple ad nauseum in every Ad campaign...

deannnnn said:
My Dad installed Mac Defender on his Mac by mistake. He's not "stupid," he's just your typical computer user. When something pops up, you hit okay.

If you know enough and care about Apple that reading MacRumors.com is of interest to you, then you probably won't install this thing. But as for your average person? You might.
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MS has spent years and million of $$$ trying to find a way to make system pop up boxes 'non-clickthruable'..i.e. no immediate yes or no or ok, but something you have to read.
 
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GGJstudios said:
That article is wrong. MacGuard does not download to your Applications folder. It downloads to your Downloads folder and requires that the user complete the installation process. It does NOT install itself or download to the Applications folder. Even if it could, the user would still have to launch it and complete the installation process. It cannot infect a Mac unless the user actively permits it.
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Hopefully, I won't learn who is correct by personal experience.

One problem may be that it could be contained in another popular downloaded piece of software and is installed when the user believes he is installing the named app. Or, the malware comes entitled as some desirable freeware.
 
rjohnstone said:
IE asks you if you want it to remember passwords or not.
The admin who setup the box was an idiot if he didn't know it does this by default.
The "feature" can be easily and permanently disabled via a policy setting.
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Actually I know the guy. He is not an idiot. Maintaining the handful of computers is not his primary task. And Windows is not his usual operating system.

From what you are saying this idiotic feature is still default. I can only conclude that Microsoft seems to be run by idiots.

No surprise there. The top idiot apparently doesn't have much time. Ballmer will be dismissed by Microsoft's board of directors within the next year from what I've read.
 
ten-oak-druid said:
I read comments that supposedly Windows users are better trained to identify malware and that Microsoft has been on the ball beefing up security.

Given all that, it is amazing how many Windows users get their computers infected. At the same time, this particular malware has hit some mac users but overall it hasn't made that big of an impact.

Microsoft has said the biggest threat to Windows users is the prolific amount of pirated Windows OS out there. Often when people go looking around for pirated stuff they get infected. That puts everyone at risk.
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95% market share will do that to you.

GGJstudios said:
It does apply to any OS, as far as trojans are concerned. The only difference is that a user being informed and careful will protect against 100% of the Mac OS X malware threats in the wild, but that's not true for Windows, as there are still viruses in the wild that can infect a Windows system without the user's knowledge or permission.
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Viruses are so 90's

trojans = $$$

viruses can cause inconvenience but only trojans can cost you $$$ and steal your identity.
 
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does anyone remember mac os 9 having 120 (or something around that) viruses .........it showed the platform was aging ...maybe mac os 10 has had its day...it is 10 years old.....its only gonna get worse really
 
BLACKFRIDAY said:
I wonder, you'd say the same thing if your mom or dad would have caught up with this.

Not everybody is smart or a genius.
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Do you think his mom and dad aren't too smart?

Joel Theodore said:
This would have to be the dumbest, most ignorant post I have read all week on here. Apple has addressed the first instance, and is now doing rolling updates pushing them straight through to your Mac to update the malware/virus definitions.

"Join date May 2011" next to your name tells me everything I need to know. Just another late comer who thinks he knows everything. I'm sure you will concoct some story as ignorant as your statement above.
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Speaking of ignorant....

Yamcha said:
I don't think there is anything to be amazed about, I think most Mac users are not very computer savvy, which is why they chose Mac OS in the first place, OSX has always been very user friendly.. Which is a good thing..

But that also means there will be a lot of users downloading and installing this..
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Most Mac users brag about how easy Mac's are to use, how simple, how intuitive, blah blah. I think you're right, a large percentage of Mac users aren't too swift where computers are concerned. It's so easy, a monkey could use one, hence the malware problem.
 
I guess I've been lucky enough to the extent that I have some common sense and have warned my family about all the risks of the web, in response to this thread about this particular malware strand.

I have been clicking through some google image searches just to see if I got a Macdefender page come up. Obviously I would NEVER install it (I'm not that stupid) but it just hasn't happened for me.

Could this be because I use opendns and they automatically filter out crap that might be lurking on bad domains? GGJStudios, any ideas?

It pays to be careful and use your head. Hopefully with Lion those idiots with nothing better to do won't bother - I did hear there were security enhancements due for 10.7 .

*Based in the UK btw, if that makes any difference*.
 
joelovesapple said:
I guess I've been lucky enough to the extent that I have some common sense and have warned my family about all the risks of the web, in response to this thread about this particular malware strand.

I have been clicking through some google image searches just to see if I got a Macdefender page come up. Obviously I would NEVER install it (I'm not that stupid) but it just hasn't happened for me.

Could this be because I use opendns and they automatically filter out crap that might be lurking on bad domains? GGJStudios, any ideas?

It pays to be careful and use your head. Hopefully with Lion those idiots with nothing better to do won't bother - I did hear there were security enhancements due for 10.7 .

*Based in the UK btw, if that makes any difference*.
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Actually the people who write the malware are quite smart.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
Most Mac users brag about how easy Mac's are to use, how simple, how intuitive, blah blah. I think you're right, a large percentage of Mac users aren't too swift where computers are concerned. It's so easy, a monkey could use one, hence the malware problem.
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Thanks for the laugh. So these "highly trained Windows users" never get into malware trouble?

One piece of malware pops up and suddenly OS X users are creating havoc? Give me a break. Show me the statistics where this particular malware has spread as much damage as Windows malware has done time and again.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
Actually the people who write the malware are quite smart.
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Obviously they are if they've been able to circumvent Apple's latest security patch. I also believe that what GGJStudios says is correct - you'll be ok if you just follow common sense.

Anyone care to reply to my question about DNS based factors? Could this help avoid this ****?
 
ten-oak-druid said:
Thanks for the laugh. So these "highly trained Windows users" never get into malware trouble?

One piece of malware pops up and suddenly OS X users are creating havoc? Give me a break. Show me the statistics where this particular malware has spread as much damage as Windows malware has done time and again.
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I guess he's somewhat correct that Mac users would probably not be expecting any malware, but the average Windows user is probably not as experienced as the average Mac user (or at least the same).

However, this is SUPER detectable because there are very few Mac malware programs, and every news site jumps on it once it is released. ;)
 
laurim said:
I'm amazed people have nothing better to do than create viruses and malware all day. Imagine what could be achieved if people used their time and skills to do something useful for society. Hope they goof up, get traced and held accountable.
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I'm not amazed. Angry, yes. Not amazed.
 
ten-oak-druid said:
Thanks for the laugh. So these "highly trained Windows users" never get into malware trouble?

One piece of malware pops up and suddenly OS X users are creating havoc? Give me a break. Show me the statistics where this particular malware has spread as much damage as Windows malware has done time and again.
Click to expand...

I seldom hear Windows users bragging about how smart they are and also complaining about how complicated Windows is to use.
 
archipellago said:
the false sense of security was propagated by Apple ad nauseum in every Ad campaign...
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So, why would a user believe their computer has been infected if they have this false sense of security? Shouldn't the natural reaction to "We found your computer to be infected" be, "Wait? I thought my Mac was secure? Something is wrong here. I'd better look into this" rather than "Hmm, I'd better go ahead and pay for this anti-virus app even though I thought I was secure" ?
 
ten-oak-druid said:
Actually I know the guy. He is not an idiot. Maintaining the handful of computers is not his primary task. And Windows is not his usual operating system.

From what you are saying this idiotic feature is still default. I can only conclude that Microsoft seems to be run by idiots.

No surprise there. The top idiot apparently doesn't have much time. Ballmer will be dismissed by Microsoft's board of directors within the next year from what I've read.
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He's still an idiot.
The feature is there for the average consumer for home use. It's considered a convenience feature.
FYI... Firefox has this "feature" turned on by default too. ;)
I don't use Safari ever (even on my Mac), so I cannot say if it does or not.

When installing a computer (PC or Mac) in a public place, any tech worth his salt should know how to prep the system accordingly.

He is the one to blame for failing to setup the PC properly for public use.
Next time he should either do a little research or ask someone who knows what they're doing to assist.
 
All the Windows apologists are here

Funny how one trivial Mac OS X malware warning brings out all the trolls.

This is at least the 313th comment on the topic. But guess what folks. Traffic is traffic, hits are hits, and even the trolls are contributing to MacRumors' popularity.

They think they're scoring points against Apple. They're actually just increasing MacRumors' advertising rates. And that's a good thing.
 
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