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Half a million Mac computers 'infected with malware'

Started by buddy215 , Apr 05 2012 04:12 PM

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5 replies to this topic

#1 buddy215

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Posted 05 April 2012 - 04:12 PM

BBC News - Half a million Mac computers 'infected with malware'

.........."The largest amounts of bots - based on the IP addresses we identified - are in the US, Canada, UK and Australia, so it appears to have targeted English-speaking people." Dr Web also notes that 274 of the infected computers it detected appeared to be located in Cupertino, California - home to Apple's headquarters.

Update wait Java's developer, Oracle, issued a fix to the vulnerability on 14 February, but this did not work on Macintoshes as Apple manages Java updates to its computers.

Apple released its own "security update" on Wednesday - more than eight weeks later. It can be triggered by clicking on the software update icon in the computer's system preferences panel.

The security firm F-Secure has also posted detailed instructions about how to confirm if a machine is infected and how to remove the Trojan.................

More info in top link

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#2 Animal

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Posted 05 April 2012 - 04:16 PM

And more information here: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic449000.html

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#3 buddy215

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Posted 07 April 2012 - 10:02 AM

Read another article this morning that I agree with. It pointed out that most never use Java. As the
writer pointed out he only has seen recently some crossword puzzles and one bank service that could
easily be worked around.

I suggest users, regardless of platform, disable Java in their browsers. It can easily be re-enabled if needed.
I think most will find they just don't need it.

From the web: To disable Java in Apple's Safari, go to the Safari menu, select "Preferences…" and click that window's Security heading, then click to clear the checkbox next to "Enable Java." To do the same in Mozilla Firefox, go to its Tools menu, select "Add-ons," click "Plugins" and click the "Disable" button to the right of the Java plug-in entry. In Google Chrome, click the wrench-icon menu, select "Under the Hood," and click the "Disable individual plug-ins" link.

If the man doesn't believe as we do, we say he is a crank, and that settles it. I mean, it does nowadays, because now we can't burn him.
-- Mark Twain, Following the Equator

Between believing a thing and thinking you know is only a small step and quickly taken.
-- Mark Twain, 3,000 Years Among the Microbes

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#4 buddy215

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Posted 10 April 2012 - 03:06 PM

In order to make it easier for average users to check whether their computers are infected, Kaspersky Lab launched a website on Monday where people can input their systems' unique hardware identifiers (UUIDs) to see if they are among the almost 700,000 Macs known to be infected with Flashback so far.

Kaspersky also released a stand-alone removal tool for the Flashback malware, which Mac owners can download and use for free. However, it's probably a good idea to install a full-featured antivirus program after running this tool in order to prevent future infections.

More info: Kaspersky Launches Free Flashback Removal Tool and Website to Check for Infections | PCWorld

If the man doesn't believe as we do, we say he is a crank, and that settles it. I mean, it does nowadays, because now we can't burn him.
-- Mark Twain, Following the Equator

Between believing a thing and thinking you know is only a small step and quickly taken.
-- Mark Twain, 3,000 Years Among the Microbes

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#5 Buddyme2

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Posted 13 April 2012 - 03:04 AM

Apple Releases Java Update to Remove Flashback Malware

Having had Little Snitch installed and Java disabled on both my Macs probably was the reasons why my Macs weren't one or two of the nearly 700,000 affected. Other Macs with Office 2008 or 2011 or Skype weren't affected either. I wonder how/where they got that number from anyway?

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#6 buddy215

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Posted 13 April 2012 - 06:34 AM

Apple Releases Java Update to Remove Flashback Malware

Having had Little Snitch installed and Java disabled on both my Macs probably was the reasons why my Macs weren't one or two of the nearly 700,000 affected. Other Macs with Office 2008 or 2011 or Skype weren't affected either. I wonder how/where they got that number from anyway?

In this case Dr. Web says they "hijacked" this particular botnet. They have a list of all IP addresses of the botnet.

QUOTE: Dr Web said that once the Trojan was installed it sent a message to the intruder's control server with a unique ID to identify the infected machine. "By introducing the code criminals are potentially able to control the machine," the firm's chief executive Boris Sharov told the BBC.

"We stress the word potential as we have never seen any malicious activity since we hijacked the botnet to take it out of criminals' hands. However, we know people create viruses to get money.

Check out the suggestions to better secure Macs in this link: 10 Simple Tips for Boosting The Security Of Your Mac - Securelist

If the man doesn't believe as we do, we say he is a crank, and that settles it. I mean, it does nowadays, because now we can't burn him.
-- Mark Twain, Following the Equator

Between believing a thing and thinking you know is only a small step and quickly taken.
-- Mark Twain, 3,000 Years Among the Microbes