So there's no malware in the wild for Mac OS X?
in [UK Mac]
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From: Paul Grayson on 20 Apr 2010 17:30 On Apr 20, 12:30 pm, Conor <co...(a)gmx.co.uk> wrote: > Miscreants have created a new strain of Trojan horse malware that > establishes a backdoor on compromised Macs. > > HellRTS-D (AKA Pinhead-B) disguises itself as the iPhoto photo > application. The Trojan is a new variant of a strain of malware first > reported in 2004, reports Mac security specialist firm Intego. Intego have been reporting these trojans for years, and yet as far as I'm aware none of them have been seen in the wild. As Intego produce their own anti-virus package, could they themselves be responsible for its creation?
From: Andrew Collier on 20 Apr 2010 19:38 In article <835hj3FecsU1(a)mid.individual.net>, Conor <conor(a)gmx.co.uk> wrote: > HellRTS-D (AKA Pinhead-B) disguises itself as the iPhoto photo > application. The Trojan is a new variant of a strain of malware first > reported in 2004, reports Mac security specialist firm Intego. > So there we have it. Real malware out in the wild Actually no. Even Intego, who usually can be counted on to blow up any potential threat out of all proportion in order to bolster their own business interests, state in their press release: "Intego has not found any instances of Macs being infected by this in the wild". So... yeah. We're still waiting. Andrew -- --- Andrew Collier ---- To reply by email, please use: ---- http://www.intensity.org.uk/ --- 'andrew {at} intensity.org.uk' --
From: Rowland McDonnell on 23 Apr 2010 05:53 Duncan Kennedy <nospam(a)nospamottersonbg.couk> wrote: > Chris Ridd <chrisridd(a)mac.com> wrote: > > > Jaimie Vandenbergh said: > > > > > So even the protected machines are at continuous risk, this time from > > > trusted, permitted updates. On top of the general lousy computer > > > experience caused by AV scan-caused slowdown, this really shows that > > > running Windows is a case of lose-lose. > > > > I don't remember where I read this, but it amused me: Failure is not an > > option in Windows, it is built-in. > > I've come across reports of this sort of thing before with Windows - on > the other hand were not some 10.6 systems in trouble after an upgrade > recently? And this with full control of the hardware unlike Windows. Yes, it's quite common for OS updates to be broken. This applies to all the `normal' OSes in the world - the ones that are sold purely to make money (e.g., Apple and MS products) rather than be a reliable thing you can rely on to do the job you need done. Mac OS updates have been `occasionally iffy' for a long while. Back in the pre OS X days, one Mac OS update (famously, according to the story) broke every Mac it was installed on, until Apple withdrew it. It was back in the ooold days, when Apple tested the OS updates very thoroughly in-house and in its developer community. I.e., on a bunch of Macs all of which had Macsbug (the Motorola Advanced Computer System deBugger) installed. Remove Macscbug, the OS update broke. Ooops. Apple changed things after that. Warning: that story is so good I've never tried to confirm it... Anyway, don't install software updates until they've been out for a bit, STFW before doing so, and if in doubt: back up, wave the dead chicken over the Mac, and press the `eject' and pass me the tape. Northampton is *that* way. -> > This is not a troll - while this machine is running 10.5, my MBP is on > 10.6 and hasn't had to be booted since I first saw such reports - time > is fast approaching so was anything ever identified as the source of the > problem on 10.6 update or was it all imagination. One problem is that modern computer systems are all far too complex for full testing. The CPUs were too complex for *full* testing back in the 1970s. Then you add on the possibilities which can occur when people install software willy-nilly, all of it untested by the OS creator... And the things which happen when you add hardware. And so on. Rowland. -- Remove the animal for email address: rowland.mcdonnell(a)dog.physics.org Sorry - the spam got to me http://www.mag-uk.org http://www.bmf.co.uk UK biker? Join MAG and the BMF and stop the Eurocrats banning biking
From: Rowland McDonnell on 23 Apr 2010 05:53 Jim <jim(a)magrathea.plus.com> wrote: > Duncan Kennedy <nospam(a)nospamottersonbg.couk> wrote: > > Chris Ridd <chrisridd(a)mac.com> wrote: > > > >> Jaimie Vandenbergh said: > >> > >> > So even the protected machines are at continuous risk, this time from > >> > trusted, permitted updates. On top of the general lousy computer > >> > experience caused by AV scan-caused slowdown, this really shows that > >> > running Windows is a case of lose-lose. > >> > >> I don't remember where I read this, but it amused me: Failure is not an > >> option in Windows, it is built-in. > > > > > > I've come across reports of this sort of thing before with Windows - on > > the other hand were not some 10.6 systems in trouble after an upgrade > > recently? And this with full control of the hardware unlike Windows. > > As I understand it, the recent 10.6.3 update failed to update correctly if, > and only if, you were updating from 10.6.0 There was the usual flood of problems reported from people *NOT* in that situation. > If you were coming from 10.6.1 or 10.6.2 then you were fine. They reissued > the update a day or two later. There was a specific problem that Apple fixed with the 10.6.3 updater, as you specify. It wasn't the only problem... Rowland. -- Remove the animal for email address: rowland.mcdonnell(a)dog.physics.org Sorry - the spam got to me http://www.mag-uk.org http://www.bmf.co.uk UK biker? Join MAG and the BMF and stop the Eurocrats banning biking
From: Jim on 23 Apr 2010 06:28
On 2010-04-23, Rowland McDonnell <real-address-in-sig(a)flur.bltigibbet.invalid> wrote: > >> If you were coming from 10.6.1 or 10.6.2 then you were fine. They reissued >> the update a day or two later. > > There was a specific problem that Apple fixed with the 10.6.3 updater, > as you specify. > > It wasn't the only problem... Oh aye, but the re-issued update was specifically to fix the 10.6.0-10.6.3 issue. As you say, every update breaks something for someone, somewhere. Jim -- Twitter:@GreyAreaUK "[The MP4-12C] will be fitted with all manner of pointlessly shiny buttons that light up and a switch that says 'sport mode' that isn't connected to anything." The Daily Mash. |