The State of Mac Malware
There’s been a lot of buzz recently about the sudden increase in Mac-specific malware cropping up so far this year. First people raved about the fairly tame and unthreatening BlackHole RAT trojan, then Mac users had to watch out for a slightly more crafty but avoidable MACDefender trojan, and now there’s news of a more advanced malware kit (Weyland-Yutani Bot) that has the ability to steal data entered into Firefox (Safari and Chrome currently unaffected, but expected to follow soon). AppleCare has reportedly been receiving a significant number of calls about the MACDefender trojan, and has issued a support document on how to deal with it.
Clearly some change is in the air, but exactly how does it affect normal Mac users? I for one actively look for Mac-based malware (eg. MACDefender), and have never stumbled across it by accident. Maybe I need to surf on the ‘dark side’ of the web more often. I just wanted to give my take on recent events and the state of Mac malware, and why I don’t think there’s any reason to be too worried just yet.
New Mac OS X Backdoor Trojan (BlackHole RAT) in Development [Updated]
A ‘trojan’ targeting Mac OS X users, dubbed BlackHole RAT, appears to be in development. It’s a variant of a well-known series of malware called Remote Access Tools (RAT) that primarily targeted Windows. It should be noted that on its own, the trojan does not exploit OSX, instead relying on the user to unknowingly ‘install’ it. This is often done under the guise of pirated software, video plugins on porn sites, or from other non-reputable software sources. Although the details are not entirely clear, it appears like your computer needs to be directly accessible from the internet.
This ‘trojan’ (note the intended air quotes) has been blown out of proportion and does not pose a significant level of risk. Macs are not ‘less secure’ because of this tool, as it’s something that could be coded by any 14-year old with a relatively basic knowledge of programming. It’s essentially a normal application whose purpose is to accept connections from its owner, and allow them to perform actions on your computer, etc.
Hit the jump for the full details, a video and download link. Read more
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