Malware Hits The Mac

What a McAfee security expert calls a "nasty" piece of malware, Puper, has hit Apple Macintosh computers with a thud. "This is the first real malware that we have seen in the Mac," said Dave Marcus, security research and communications manager, McAfee Avert Labs. "It is written by the same group that has written other malware, and it is classified under the name Puper." Identified by security experts as a Trojan, Puper directs unsuspecting users to fake sites they do not intend to visit. Marcus noted that Puper is an annoying tampering with one's system by outside intruders. "It is certainly not destructive in the classical virus sense, like it is not trying to destroy files, or steal data from your machine, but it is certainly doing something very malicious. It is certainly not destructive, I would agree with that." More worrying for Marcus is what might be coming down the pipe in terms of more serious malware threats for the Mac. "Historically what they have done with malware is send you to a fake site to make do with your credentials or basically capture your confidential data and your identify information which is then sellable on the underground." For the last three years Puper has plagued Windows and MySpace users and now Mac users are finding they are not immune, he reported. Up to now Mac users have assumed they never had to worry about anti-virus software and firewalls. "The Mac has had a very privileged position for quite some time in the sense that there has never been any malware written for it, and so Mac users in general should pay very close attention to where they are surfing." Like the advice offered to Windows users he is telling Mac users not to install any unfamiliar programs. "Be careful which sites you go to. Don't download and install anything that you don't know where it is coming from." Marcus speculated that the increased popularity of the Mac in the business world may have prompted the authors of Puper to expand their reach into the Mac world. Marcus also predicted that once the consumer oriented iPhone enters the enterprise it will be also afflicted by malware attacks. "There are more Macs in the world than ever before. So, they are becoming a viable and valid target. [Malware designers] are now looking at the Mac platform as a machine that has got valuable data on it, and what drives them is solely what they can make money off from their malware. "It is important to note that Puper is written by a group of people who know how to write malware. It is written by a very experienced group of malware writers. This isn't a group of kids in a basement." Marcus noted anti-malware products for the Mac do exist presently. "We don't think Mac users are facing doomsday or anything like that. Certainly [he urges them], don't be complacent but at the same time don't' panic." This column was written by ConnectIT

Source: ConnectIT