[Taunteefrurge]

Anybody have a visit from this dastardly Mac virus?

Mac Flashback Infections

I've been having some weirdness with my Mac, but ran the check in Terminal and it seems the Flashback virus is gone.

But it looks like the problem is widespread:

550,000-strong army of Mac zombies spreads across world

[CaseyFronczek]

Thanks Lofter, Does Mackeeper work, or is it a scam site, and how do you find out about the flashback virus?

[duceswild]

Apple sent out a Java patch / fix this week. It should show up in your Apple software update. I installed the patch, then did the check through Terminal in System Preferences (as described below) and appear to be clean. Hoping that the funkiness that I was experiencing is cured. This stuff makes my non-techno brain curdle. Especially having enjoyed 3+ years of trouble free operation since switching to Mac.

Some additional news:

Flashback trojan reportedly controls half a million Macs and counting

ars technica
April 4, 2012

... If you think one of your machines may be infected, F-Secure has instructions on how to use the Terminal to find out.


Apple Hits Flashback Trojan With Second Java Update

PCWorld
April 6, 2012

Apple has issued a second security update aimed at Flashback, the Mac malware that has reportedly infected 600,000 computers since last year.



As Intego notes, the Java for OS X 2012-002 update appears to be same as the one Apple issued earlier this week, but the latest update is aimed only at Max OS X Lion users. It's possible, Intego says, that Apple found a glitch in the first update that would make a new release necessary.

The update "delivers improved compatibility, security and reliability by updating Java SE 6 to Java 1.6.0_31," Apple's update prompt says.

Security companies first discovered the Flashback trojan last September. At the time, the malware masqueraded as an update for Adobe Flash, but as of April, Flashback was infecting users who visited compromised Websites, without requiring a password for installation. Apple patched the vulnerability this week, but not before 600,000 users were infected according to antivirus vendor Dr. Web. (Other firms have said they can't confirm the number of infections.)

Intego recommends installing the latest update right away. "The Flashback malware has been very active in the wild, and can install with no user interaction, if Java is not patched," the company says in a blog post.

[qilmuz6v]

I did not get the patch, possibly ( I hope) because I am running 10.5.8 and not 10.6/.7 which appear to be the targeted OS's

[Sertvfdnhgjk]

And so Apple is slowly being brought into the world of main stream computing.

This will only get worse as time goes on, for two reasons.

1. Apple is getting more popular for laptops and tablets. More use means a bigger target.

2. As has been said many times over, Apple users are, on average, less technically inclined than PC users. They CHOSE apple, many of them at least, on the sale point that "Apple is just plain easier" [smiley face]. That very grab also makes them easy targets for all the scams and other things that PC users have been dealing with for the past 15 years (or more).

It is not a good thing that this is happening, and I am not laying blame on Apple or their users, but the few that would point their fingers at PC users and laugh about virii and other problems are now starting to get a taste of the mainstream. Hopefully this makes it so that there is more of a meshing of the brands and uses, but more than likely not.