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Trojans on Macs

I

iSketch

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 24, 2008
3
0
Hey,

I am thinking of purchasing a macbook. And, I like to "try out" software, if you know what I mean. So, naturally I am concerned about viruses and trojans from torrents.

After reading this article, http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/25/mac_exposure/ , I want to get a good trojan protection app for mac? I'm not really keen on getting a trojan that allows hackers to use my iSight to snap pics of me, as I lounge in front of my macbook, *nekkid* :)

Even if I wasn't downloading torrents, I'm not naive enough to think that Macs are completely secure. Of course, if all you do is use iTunes and iPhoto, and all the software you have is purchased from the Apple Store, you have a slim chance of infection. But that certainly doesn't mean that OS X is somehow impervious to viruses/trojans.
 
The only way a trojan could be installed on your computer is if you give it administer rights to install and then it asks you if you want to launch the program the first time you open the app. So you really don't need a trojan protection app - just be careful what you install
 
That must be some tasty kool-aid.

The article I linked said that this particular trojan doesn't not require you to grant access, nor enter your admin password, and it can be piggy-backed on what appear to be legit application installs.

So, if Apple says "nope, no viruses/trojans here", and you have no tools to check for yourself to verify, how can you be sure that Apple isn't just spouting crap, or more importantly, that your machine is, in fact, trojan-free? That's taking alot on faith, right there...
 
iSketch said:
I want to get a good trojan for mac? I'm not really keen on getting a trojan that allows hackers to use my iSight to snap pics of me, as I lounge in front of my macbook, *nekkid* :)
Click to expand...

Don't know why you would want one on a Mac, probably cause all sort of heat related problems.

I think you can try stretching a Trojan around the MacBook, but a non-lubricated condom would be the best choice.
 
trojan-horse-1.jpeg


The protection is at the bottom of the pic
 
iSketch said:
That must be some tasty kool-aid.

The article I linked said that this particular trojan doesn't not require you to grant access, nor enter your admin password, and it can be piggy-backed on what appear to be legit application installs.
Click to expand...
... which require password approval to launch.

Once Admin level password access has been given, or once someone has physical access to the machine, then all security bets are off.
 
iSketch said:
That must be some tasty kool-aid.

The article I linked said that this particular trojan doesn't not require you to grant access, nor enter your admin password, and it can be piggy-backed on what appear to be legit application installs.

So, if Apple says "nope, no viruses/trojans here", and you have no tools to check for yourself to verify, how can you be sure that Apple isn't just spouting crap, or more importantly, that your machine is, in fact, trojan-free? That's taking alot on faith, right there...
Click to expand...
You might want to read the article again, in more depth.

Anyhow, a forum search might on Mac security might be handy.

BTW, one technique that is very useful is to create a user account that has limited privileges so software cannot be installed from that account.
 
sushi said:
You might want to read the article again, in more depth.

Anyhow, a forum search might on Mac security might be handy.

BTW, one technique that is very useful is to create a user account that has limited privileges so software cannot be installed from that account.
Click to expand...

I read the article(s), are you saying I misunderstood something?

I asked the question here, because asking is often less time consuming than searching, and I don't feel like spending alot of time on this. And searching for Macs and anything to do with viruses/trojans, you rarely get anything objective, because the majority of mac users seem to tow the party line, and non-mac users don't care.
 
iSketch said:
That must be some tasty kool-aid.

The article I linked said that this particular trojan doesn't not require you to grant access, nor enter your admin password, and it can be piggy-backed on what appear to be legit application installs.
Click to expand...

It's wrong. To be installed, you must grant access. To have access to your password to give it access, it must have access.

Kool-aid this. This is UNIX.
 
the bottom line is when your browsing a site that distributes these trojans a disk image file may download into your Downloads stack. you then have to mount the disk image which doesnt even have a name, just letters and numbers. you then you have to open the installer which again has a shady name of just letters and numbers and then go though the install process and provide your administrator password.

sites that distribute these trojans are targetting the vulnerability in the user where they think they provide their administrator password because they are carless or think they need to install it to view content.

this is why i do not have any malware scanner on my Mac atm.
 
I was just reinforcing what was already said in this thread, not that I think it will change the OPs "OMGTROJANLOLBBQ" line of thinking.
 
According to the article, the trojan gains entry " by funneling Applescript commands through the Apple Remote Desktop Agent (ARDAgent)". So disable the ARDAgent, like I did! Door closed! Is it that simple, or am I missing something?
 
This is actually fairly old. About a month old. If you want discussion on it google or use the search function here.

Really, bringing up old news while throwing around childish jabs is a great way to make a point...the point that you're immature.
 
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