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From: nospam on 21 Feb 2010 11:34
In article <hlr98901eju(a)news5.newsguy.com>, J.J. O'Shea
<try.not.to(a)but.see.sig> wrote:

> Be _very_ careful about pix which come in EXEs, often they're trojans,
> containing a pic _and_ a malware payload. Look up 'Anna Kournikova malware'
> to name but one example of the breed.

even if it does, it won't do anything on a mac.
From: nospam on 21 Feb 2010 11:34
In article <4b80dedf$0$12879$e4fe514c(a)dreader19.news.xs4all.nl>, Cat
<0kevi(a)accessforall.invalid> wrote:

> 2. iAntivirus, which is free and no CPU hog or MacScan.

iantivirus is from a company that lies. they claim it protects against
viruses as far back as the system 6 era (nvir, mdef, etc.). those
*can't* run on os x, ever.

> I use both once
> in a while when I visited dubious websites (you never know what they
> leave behind on you hard disk), The only thing MacScan ever found was a
> tracking cookie. Apart from that NOTHING. It is very difficult for a Mac
> to get infected.

true, which is why running anti-virus software on a mac is largely a
waste of time.
From: Doc O'Leary on 21 Feb 2010 13:38
In article <SalmonEgg-C8B932.21331920022010(a)news60.forteinc.com>,
Salmon Egg <SalmonEgg(a)sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> A few years ago. I first received a .exe file that really was a picture.
> I am not sure what happens if double clicked on a Mac.
>
> Being concerned, I telephoned my friend who sent it. He assured me that
> it was OK and it was.
>
> What do you know about such files? Why is such a format used?

There are two possible things going on. From the *sound* of it, the
file contained image data and simply (for whatever reason) got a .exe
extension when it should have been .jpg (or .gif or whatever). If
you're comfortable with Terminal, the Mac includes the "file" command
that will examine the contents and report the actual type of a file.

The other possibility is that it was sent as a self-extracting archive,
which was common back in the days when you couldn't count on the OS to
include tools for exchanging data. These days, a .zip file would likely
be used as a universal archive format, and the Mac also includes disk
images along with many other Unix tools to compress files.

--
My personal UDP list: 127.0.0.1, localhost, googlegroups.com, ono.com,
and probably your server, too.
From: Doc O'Leary on 21 Feb 2010 13:27
In article <SalmonEgg-FC1DF7.13401020022010(a)news60.forteinc.com>,
Salmon Egg <SalmonEgg(a)sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> Although these seemed to be aimed at WINTEL installations, AFAIK I did
> not try to run them. I never had to put in my password for installation.
> I also have all my software from Apple set to reject almost everything.
> Nevertheless, because I do noty understand what is going on, my
> nervousness levels tend to be high.

Drive-by downloads aren't an uncommon way malware attempts to get
installed. I don't think even Windows automatically runs executables
anymore, so these attacks all rely on the user to open it, making it
just another trojan. Even if the Mac was a target, the same old rules
apply regarding not trusting suspicious sources. You'd also get
warnings when a new app is run. If you *really* wanted to run it and
had *any* concerns, do it from a guest login.

> 1. Is there any organization or law enforcement agency to whom such
> frauds should be reported. My guess is this whole environment is like
> the Wild West of post Civil War.

For all practical purposes, no. The domain you link to is registered in
Uganda. The best you could probably do is try to get the contact email
(jclarke980(a)gmail.com) pulled by Google.

> 2. Is there any worthwhile software for the Mac to clean up malware
> that may have infiltrated? Is there any software that would give
> effective protection against most likely malware?

You're already running Mac OS X, so you have effective protection at the
basic level. The vulnerabilities that do exist always have been
corrected before exploits become a serious matter. All you have to do
is follow up by exercising common sense when it comes to dealing with
strangers online.

--
My personal UDP list: 127.0.0.1, localhost, googlegroups.com, ono.com,
and probably your server, too.
From: Michael Kallweitt on 21 Feb 2010 14:47
George Kerby wrote:

> On 2/20/10 8:56 PM, in article 7ublm2FetsU1(a)mid.individual.net, "Jeffrey
> Goldberg" <nobody(a)goldmark.org> wrote:
>> If people want to scan their Mac's for malware, I recommend clamXav.
>> [...]
>>
> Has a version for SL been released?

Version 2.0 beta (currently 2.0.5) works with Snow Leopard.


--
www.wasfuereintheater.com - Neue Theaterprojekte im Ruhrpott
"As an artist, I�m reporting the big things and the small things. And
sometimes you don�t know which is which." Maira Kalman,
http://bit.ly/a53n2K
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