Posted on 09/01/2012 8:34:42 AM PDT by grey_whiskers
Russian anti-virus software maker Doctor Web, has identified, “The first Trojan in history to steal Linux and Mac OS X passwords.” BackDoor.Wirenet.1, is the first Trojan Horse program that works on the Mac OS X and Linux platforms that is, “designed to steal passwords stored by a number of popular Internet applications.”
The company, which sells anti-virus software that, conveniently, protects you against the malware they are identifying, explains that, “When launched, it creates its copy in the user’s home directory. The program uses the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) to communicate with its control server whose address is 212.7.208.65.”
The malware, “also operates as a keylogger (it sends gathered keyboard input data to intruders); in addition, it steals passwords entered by the user in Opera, Firefox, Chrome, and Chromium, and passwords stored by such applications as Thunderbird, SeaMonkey, and Pidgin.”
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Not sufficiently versed to know whether this is FUD or exaggerated or legit.
Please discuss / advise.
g_w
Nice business model they got there.
How bout a nice cup of "secure" Java with that?
"ooops"
This looks like a hoax. All the stories on it are low budget cut and paste of “russian security firms say XXX)” and there is no detailed analysis of it available nor any information on propagation. I have Mac OS and Linux with Fusion on this box and I am not worried in the least.
Second, I have never seen an instance where Mac OS X will not ask your permission before allowing modifications to your home or system folders.
I suspect this is mostly FUD.
I get a little nervous when I hear the words trojan and backdoor in the same sentance.
I strongly suspect FUD, but am no expert on such matters. Swordmaker will be along and his opinion is more well informed than mine.
So many of these claims have come along, and most prove to be flawed, hyped, or promos for the company claiming to have the “fix” for them.
Nobody go panic and buy this company’s software until Swordmaker tells us that our hair is on fire, and we are doomed.
"Somebody say 'back door'?"
Yeah, it must be circulated by 0h0m0.
I am guessing that because this is in Forbes. It’s real. There is no reason why virus code, malware, trojans, etc cannot attack a mac.
Mac has been flying under the radar because it was such a low percent of the installed base. This is rapidly changing with the blossoming iphone market.
>>This is rapidly changing with the blossoming iphone market.
Uhuh. Wait until the brute-force reality of “bring your own device” = “bring your own botnet” sinks its teeth into technocratic middle manglement’s progressively buzz-word/NewSpeaking arse.
Quick! Tell Barney Frank it’s a false alarm.
The overblown false alarms are getting more outrageous (Remember that alleged botnet of half a million Macs a few months ago? What ever happened to that story?? No one ever identified the truly affected machines. It was a lie, to sell software!) <> So my best guess is that this is just another piece of FUD. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain from lying again.
That said, malware of various types that targets Mac users will continue to grow -- mostly user-target Trojans, since true OS-target viruses for Macs are essentially still non-existent.
I downloaded and ran the free ClamXav A/V product for Macs the other day (system was clean, as expected), and I think it's wise to have something like that on hand in case I suspect anything. I recommend that to all Mac users, because it's free and painless, and anybody can accidentally visit an infected website or open an infected email.
It's true that Mac users are still largely unaffected by malware, but that's no reason to have one's head in the sand.
"Bricks thrown through your window? Call Al's Glass."
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
Have to program the IP to be blocked.
-
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.