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Damaging virus attacks Mac computers
FOX31 Denver ^ | 4/11/12 | Dave Young

Posted on 04/12/2012 8:56:04 AM PDT by AngelesCrestHighway

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It was only a matter of time before the hackers got to Mac computers.
1 posted on 04/12/2012 8:56:09 AM PDT by AngelesCrestHighway
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To: AngelesCrestHighway

What’s described is trojan horse malware, not a virus.


2 posted on 04/12/2012 9:01:34 AM PDT by Dr. Sivana (May Mitt Romney have the mother of all Macaca moments)
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To: AngelesCrestHighway

This one’s been around a while. Any Adobe updates I make are from adobe.com ... never through a pop-up.


3 posted on 04/12/2012 9:01:45 AM PDT by al_c (http://www.blowoutcongress.com)
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To: AngelesCrestHighway
"It is a real wake up call for so many of us who assumed our Mac’s are virus proof."

Congratulations Mac users! It's not that Mac's were virus proof. It's that they were such a small insignificant user group that it wasn't worth the time and trouble for hackers to make viruses or trojan horses for them. Now your user group has grown enough that it is worth their trouble to do it.
4 posted on 04/12/2012 9:03:57 AM PDT by Old Teufel Hunden
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To: Old Teufel Hunden
It's that they were such a small insignificant user group that it wasn't worth the time and trouble for hackers to make viruses or trojan horses for them.

Same tired old argument.

Never mind that it's been debunked so many times it's silly.

Maybe you can explain how a freakin' phone, with 100k users gets a virus before a computer with 10+ million users.

5 posted on 04/12/2012 9:07:11 AM PDT by Izzy Dunne (Hello, I'm a TAGLINE virus. Please help me spread by copying me into YOUR tag line.)
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To: AngelesCrestHighway

This isn’t a virus, anyway.

It’s a Trojan Horse, and it’s a problem, but it doesn’t replicate itself.


6 posted on 04/12/2012 9:08:49 AM PDT by Izzy Dunne (Hello, I'm a TAGLINE virus. Please help me spread by copying me into YOUR tag line.)
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To: AngelesCrestHighway

I’ve gotten an update popup for Abobe Flash several times.
Haven’t tried the update and now I won’t.

It may be legit but not taking the chance.


7 posted on 04/12/2012 9:09:15 AM PDT by Vinnie (A)
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To: AngelesCrestHighway
It’s a “rude awakening” for millions of Mac users around the world.

Ok, first off there were a reported 640,000 infected Macs - not millions.

Secondly, this was a "Flashback Trojan", not a virus.

Thirdly, this was due to an exploit in an older version of Java (not Adobe this time!!) that has been patched. However, some users are simply not chosing to update their OS, thus remain susceptable to these kinds of things.

If you don't patch your machine, and you are running 3rd party extensions on your OS ... you are going to be vulnerable to an exploit.

8 posted on 04/12/2012 9:09:23 AM PDT by Hodar ( Who needs laws; when this FEELS so right?)
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To: Hodar

They don’t listen this is about the 90th time this so called “virus” post has been posted and every time they are told it isn’t a virus but they see the headline and don’t read anything more.It so far has done little to anyone, it has to be downloaded and opened by the user and by now I’d hope everyone had got the update that was offered 2 weeks ago to keep this from happening.


9 posted on 04/12/2012 9:21:13 AM PDT by chris_bdba
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To: Izzy Dunne

I recently received an update popup for Abobe Flash and I bit.

How do I determine if my system is now infected and how do I deal with it?


10 posted on 04/12/2012 9:23:24 AM PDT by Gator113 (***YOU GAVE it to Obama. I would have voted for NEWT.~Just livin' life, my way~)
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To: AngelesCrestHighway

What a Catch22, Adobe products, like Flash, are so full of bugs that there are legitimate updates almost every other week to patch something or the other, so one might put themselves at other risks by avoiding all updates. Best would be to reject the pop-up updates, but still go to the Adobe website and make sure you get to the latest version.


11 posted on 04/12/2012 9:52:23 AM PDT by battousai (Conservatives are racist? YES, I hate stupid white liberals.)
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To: AngelesCrestHighway

“Damaging virus attacks Mac computers”

Flashback is NOT a “virus”.

It’s a trojan, and could not and does not infect Macs without some “user input”.

Yes, the trojan tries to trick the user into believing it’s an update for Adobe Flash, which the user then “installs”. The user has to “take the bait”.

This is distinguished from a virus, which is self-installing malware that requires no “user action”.

I refrain from saying “stupidly take the bait”, as I sense that most Mac’ers feel confident that when they see an update “presented” to them, it’s genuine (because nearly every time, it is).

I’ve seen a couple of “flash update” alerts, but somehow avoided installing them. As a Mac user, one will have to become “more aware” of the malware!


12 posted on 04/12/2012 9:57:16 AM PDT by Road Glide
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To: Gator113

Read post #8, his 3rd point. If poster is correct, you’re fine with your Adobe update.


13 posted on 04/12/2012 10:07:37 AM PDT by Clara Lou (ABO! ABO! ABO!)
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To: AngelesCrestHighway; All

Argh..............How do you know the malware is there?

Wonder how many have their Tax Info/TurboTax stuff on their computers.


14 posted on 04/12/2012 10:08:48 AM PDT by hummingbird
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To: Izzy Dunne
"Maybe you can explain how a freakin' phone, with 100k users gets a virus before a computer with 10+ million users."

Norton...
15 posted on 04/12/2012 10:13:29 AM PDT by Old Teufel Hunden
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To: Gator113
Flashback Checker from github.com will tell you if your machine is infected. Doubtful. Mine wasn't, nor do I know anyone so affected by it. The download is quick/easy/ and free.

PC World has a link to it as well.

16 posted on 04/12/2012 10:21:42 AM PDT by donozark (We're ALL Greeks now...and possibly, quite soon, Portugese.)
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To: Dr. Sivana

The word “virus” has morphed and almost all “viruses” on the PC side now are malware. And guess how many PCs are infected by someone clicking on something they shouldn’t have? Probably close to 90% of infections of malware.

So keep being semantically difficult, but the most clicky users of the PC are now clicky users on the Mac because they have been told that Macs can’t get “viruses”.

But they sure can get “trojan horse malware”, can’t they?


17 posted on 04/12/2012 10:22:22 AM PDT by Anitius Severinus Boethius
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To: AngelesCrestHighway
.

.

.

.

18 posted on 04/12/2012 10:46:08 AM PDT by Jeff Chandler (I tried to buy a hoodie today but the store manager said they had all been shoplifted.)
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To: Anitius Severinus Boethius

I regularly see the fake Adobe update and just alt-f4 to get rid of it;it is also the only malware Windows Defender has identified and removed,but my ISP runs anti-virus .


19 posted on 04/12/2012 10:46:08 AM PDT by hoosierham (Freedom isn't free)
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To: donozark; Clara Lou

Thank you. I just got off the phone with Apple... we checked it out and I don’t have any issues.

As mentioned by another FReeper, the gal told me that as long as I stay updated, I shouldn’t have any problems. I am very good about keeping my iMac updated.


20 posted on 04/12/2012 10:50:49 AM PDT by Gator113 (***YOU GAVE it to Obama. I would have voted for NEWT.~Just livin' life, my way~)
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