Hilarious Anti-Apple Security FUD Attack! By eWeek!

--
Lots going on this week, with me gathering up news from all corners. But when I see something as hilarious as this, I have to post it ASAP. It's one of the infamous slide show articles over at eWeek. What is hilarious is that it says nothing that wasn't shouted to the rafters in 2005 by Symantec when they were trying to prop up their worst-in-class anti-malware application for Mac OS X. What I am posting here is verbatim. I did NOT add any capitals. The SHOUTING is all their's:

Security: Mac Malware Attacks Prompt Security Vendors to Rush Out Antivirus Tools

By Fahmida Y. Rashid on 2010-11-12
SECURITY VENDORS ARE SAYING THAT ATTACKS ON THE MAC ARE NOW SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH THAT APPLE USERS SHOULD INVEST IN ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE FOR WHAT WAS ONCE THE "INVULNERABLE" PLATFORM. WITH KOOBFACE VARIANT BOONANA FRESH IN PEOPLE'S MINDS, THE CONCEPT OF A VIRUS ATTACKING MACS SEEMS LESS LAUGHABLE THAN IT DID EVEN TWO YEARS AGO. "MAC USERS MUST REMEMBER THAT LESS TARGETED IS NOT THE SAME AS INVULNERABLE," SAID RICHARD WANG, MANAGER OF SOPHOSLABS. THE THREAT IS STILL NOT THAT PREVALENT, WITH ONLY "ONE TO TWO" ATTACKS ON MACS EACH WEEK, COMPARED WITH THE "TENS OF THOUSANDS" PER DAY AGAINST WINDOWS PCS. MAC OS X HAS ONLY 10.6 PERCENT MARKET SHARE IN THE UNITED STATES, ACCORDING TO IDC AND GARTNER, BUT THE DAY HACKERS WILL FIND THE PLATFORM WORTH TARGETING IS NOT FAR OFF, VENDORS SAID. MAC ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE IS NOT NEW, BUT IT USED TO HAVE A BAD REPUTATION FOR BEING RESOURCE-HUNGRY AND INCONVENIENT. THAT'S SOON TO CHANGE AS VENDORS RELEASE NEW MAC ANTIVIRUS TOOLS THAT ARE QUITE UNOBTRUSIVE. HERE ARE SOME OF THEM...

OMFG! MAC USERS ARE ALL GONNA DIE!

My usual point: NEVER has anyone but trolls said Mac OS X was "invulnerable" or anything similar. It's a propaganda trick: Make up a nasty, indicting quote with no attribution provided. Yes, Fahmida Y. Rashid of eWeek and Richard Wang of Sophos are acting like assholes. But this trick has been pulled countless times. Therefore, they're acting like unoriginal assholes. Just laugh.

I could do my usual lecture about the insane nature of the 'Security Through Obscurity' myth. If you care, go back a few years in my posts. Just know that Windows has over 1000x more malware than Mac OS X on a per user basis, which blows the stupid myth off the planet. Such silliness. But that's what happens when Marketing Morons get desperate to sell Sell SELL!
--

The First Reported Mac BOTNET

--
Let me first share news from SANS Institute, then provide a brief perspective on the situation.

Below is a quote from SANS NewsBites Volume 1, Number 30, released last night. (I added some bolding for emphasis). You can sign up for the SANS newsletters HERE.

--Trojan in Pirated Mac Software Helped Create First Mac Botnet
(April 15, 2009)

Malware embedded in pirated versions of Apple's iWork and Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Mac that were available over a peer-to-peer network in January is responsible for what appears to be the first known Mac botnet. The zombie network attempted to launch a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack against an unidentified website. The malware had spread to several thousand computers before it was identified.

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/04/15/ibotnet-trojan.html

http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=3157

[Editor's Note (Honan, Schultz): Looks like the Mac platform is an increasingly fruitful target for cyber criminals. ]

Indeed it has. "Several Thousand Computers." This is incredibly sad, but also inevitable.

While all the FUD mongers have a sadism party at our expense, (and they will), keep in mind that NONE of the current Mac malware is able in penetrate any Mac unless the user (often called the 'luser') deliberately installs a Trojan horse on their computer. This happens specifically because the user has been conned by what is called Social Engineering, or in this case, the luser is using pirating software that has had the Trojan carefully placed in the installer to go along for the ride. What do you call it when a dirty deed is done to someone pulling a dirty deed? How about 'Dishonor Among Thieves'. It is more like poetic justice, parasite chewing on parasite.

Anyway, Mac Botnets have arrived. What is done with them will be of interest. Typically these days they are used for money making schemes. Go read all the news about the Windows Conficker worm scare of April 1st and beyond. Once created via infection, a botnet can pull off just about anything you can do over the Internet except in mass numbers at one time.

OK! You're a luser and maybe you did something that could have gotten you infected. Now what?

What NOT to use:

ClamAV. Worthless for Macs. I've covered this disappointment several times.

MacScan. The botnet Trojans are out of its league. It's clunky unreliable software anyway.

Symantec Norton Whatever. I consistently get reports that Norton Anti-Virus continues to be one of the single most buggy and CPU hogging applications you can buy for Macintosh. Symantec also invented the anti-Mac security FUD campaign back in 2005. Save your money and your patience. Avoid. Run away. Just my opinion.

Freeware:

iAntiVirus from PC Tools. It can detect and remove all current Mac malware. You don't have to pay for the application unless you are a business or are running a large network. The paid version offers technical support. Note that it only runs on Leopard. I use it and find it to be very simple and unobtrusive.

Shareware / Commercial-ware:

Sophos Anti-Virus. It is designed for companies and networks of computers.

Intego VirusBarrier. I find them to be the best-in-class for single users. I'm disappointed at their disorganization as a company. But the program is top notch. Just be prepared to shell out money year after year. Bleh. Nonetheless, I own it, use it and like it.

I used to use Virex X, now called McAfee Virus Scan. But it got clunky. Many people downright hate it. I don't know why. These days it is designed for companies and networks, not single users. I would have shoveled McAfee into the grave along side Symantec for having FUDed the Mac. But oddly, their CEO ended up stating that the single best way to escape computer malware was to "buy a Mac." So they can't be entirely stupid over there.

There is other stuff around, but it makes me yawn. You can get a listing of it all at the download sites by searching for 'virus'.

DEFENSE!

If you are in charge of a home computer shared by others, or you are an IT manager, stop the luser users from installing Trojans by giving them Mac OS X accounts that Do Not Allow Program Installation! If a user wants a program installed, let them ask you to do it for them in YOUR account. Then give them access to the program.

But of course this means that YOU, the boss of the machines, have to be careful too. Always verify that what you install has specifically been tested somewhere. I always use the download sites like VersionTracker or MacUpdate. There are many others. Be sure that either the site itself has tested that version of the program and given it an OK, or that a lot of users have tested it and OKed it. Buy commercial-ware directly from the company, and make certain they are entirely, unquestionably reputable. Adobe.com = reliable. Jake's Super Deluxe Fly-By-Nite Site.com ? reliable. You get the idea.

And just to tick off the FUD mongers:

A) There is no such thing as a 'virus' for Mac OS X.
B) There is no such thing as a 'worm' for Mac OS X.
C) There is no such thing as illicit 'spyware' for Mac OS X. All Mac spyware is sold legally for the purpose of surveillance of network machines.
D) There is no such thing as 'security by obscurity' for Mac OS X. If you know how to do math, you can prove this for yourself. Go backwards in my blog if you want to read the gravestone I wrote for this mythological absurdity form of FUD.
E) As a Mac user you must keep computer security in mind. Follow the basic rules:

1. Make regular backups. This is the #1 Rule Of Computing.
2. Learn how to use your router's firewall and use it.
3. Learn how to use Mac OS X's built-in firewall and use it.
4. Always use password protected accounts. Make very sure your password is strong, obscure, unintuitive and plain old nasty. Be sure you remember it. Don't give anyone else access to it.

I've gone into greater detail about add-on measures in previous posts. The list above covers the essential basics.

And of course, don't ever pirate software. Now it's extra dangerous. If that gets you excited, welcome to the botnet.

:-Derek
--