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New Mac malware confuses users with right-to-left filename tricks
cnbcwatcher
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http://www.infoworld.com/d/security/new-mac-malware-confuses-users-right-left-file-name-tricks-222817
And who says Macs don't get viruses? I think we have enough evidence now to prove that they do :eek:
And who says Macs don't get viruses? I think we have enough evidence now to prove that they do :eek:
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you need to get your terminology correct first.
your thread title says "malware", the thread content says "virus" and the actual article mentions "spyware".
this is a malicious app that requires the user to install it before it can do anything.
it's not a virus as it doesn't spread out infecting other systems.
well there is a big difference between malware, spyware and a virus.
i don't believe macs have ever not been suspect-able to malicious apps that require manual installation - and i don't think anyone has ever claimed that not to be the case.
I tend to use the word virus to refer to any kind of computer malware. It still seems like another nasty one though. Is there any such thing as an anti-spyware program for Mac?
all the major AV companies (Sophos, Kaspersky, Norton) do mac software, however Little Snitch will monitor for outgoing connections etc
Nope, if the Mac circle jerk club members sent less time saying we don't get viruses because a virus is this, that's a worm/malware/spyware and actually educated people as to how these happens, there might be less to argue about.
your circle jerk club only has one member doesn't it ???
did you find a suitable cream for those calluses?
here's some reading for you though so you know the difference between virus, spyware and other things.
http://www.cisco.com/web/about/security/intelligence/virus-worm-diffs.html
essentially a virus "spreads from one computer to another, leaving infections as it travels."
knowing the difference between them will help you.
That being the key thing. Its not a virus.
could you explain the importance of the distinction?
a virus self propagates without user interaction.
this piece of malware requires the end user to explicitly install it, and once installed it does not then spread itself to infect other system
and what would you guess at my age i wonder?
ps, using big words doesn't suit you.
i didn't ask for someone to reiterate the distinction.
since you've asked about 15-16 i guess. certainly no older. possibly younger?
i honestly have no idea which big words you are referring to.
What would I need to be doing on the internet to prompt this 'malware' to download and attemp to trick me into installing? according to the article the install promp is written back to front, if an install request popped up written backward then if that does'nt trigger alarm bells then I dont know what would.
you guess is laughable
you'd have been 4 or 5 when you joined according to the membership date.
It uses a unicode character so when you see it on screen it ends with .pdf rather than .app so some people may click on it
not overly worried no. just add it to the list of things you know.
but the request would not be written backwards.
part of the file name is being written backwards to make it look like the extension is different.
so you would download a file through whatever means and instead of appearing in your file manager as something like readme.app it would look like readme.ppa.pdf
i would have the correct icon for a pdf too.
it's a chink, that goes on the list. now it's out we see what people can do with it. see what intriguing word combinations they can find.
i guess from your join date i was wrong.
you asked how old i thought you were and i told you.
according to the article the warning message is written backwards
Opening the Janicab .app file will trigger a standard Mac OS X pop-up dialog warning the user that the file was downloaded from the Internet. However, because of the RLO character in the file name, the entire warning text will be written right to left making it confusing and hard to read.
I read the article.
That is a specific example. The concept is in the file names.
http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/00002576.html
That makes it more weird. Why would you not imediately press cancel and think "Well that's buggered"
That's sneaky :eek: Most people would be really confused by that.