Joined: Mar 19, 2004
Posts: 3056
Location: Sydney, Australia
Posted:
Sat Feb 18, 2006 12:26 pm
ANTIVIRUS companies are reporting what they say is the first virus to attack Apple's OS X operating system.
Known as "Leap.A", "Leap-A" or "OSX/Oompa-A", the virus spreads via Apple's iChat instant messaging application, carried by a message attachment labelled "latestpics.tgz".
Users must accept reciept of the attachment for the virus to work.
Leap.A then attempts to resend itself to all iChat contacts, anti virus group Symantec reported. The virus would only run on computers running OS X 10.4, Symantec said.
Security group Sophos described Leap.A as "the first real virus for the Mac OS X platform".
Sophos said that while it had been argued that the requirement for user intervention meant Leap.A should be classified a trojan, its mechanism to replicate itself brought it under the classification of worms and viruses.
While the Unix-based OS X has often been touted as a safer alternative to Microsoft's Windows, flaws in the operating system have been discovered and experts have warned that as OS X became more popular, it would increasingly become a target for virus writers.
Critics of the anti-virus companies argue they have talked up the potential threat in an attempt to extend sales to a new OS X market.
Leap showed "that the malware threat on Mac OS X is real", Sophos senior technology consultant Graham Cluley said.
"Some owners of Mac computers have held the belief that Mac OS X is incapable of harbouring computer viruses, but Leap-A will leave them shellshocked," he said.
Rival Symantec rated the worm a low-risk security threat.
_________________ 'Lois: Hey Brian... you're home early. What happened with your date? Brian: Same thing that always happens. She was an idiot.'
LukeLord HM Contributor
Joined: Nov 18, 2005
Posts: 880
Location: Lake Macquarie
Posted:
Sat Feb 18, 2006 12:50 pm
Maybe Bill gates might create a patch LOL
hybridstigmata47 Bewildered Metalhead
Joined: Sep 03, 2006
Posts: 34
Location: new hampshire, US
Posted:
Tue Oct 03, 2006 2:20 am
finally it happens.........macs are now completely worthless, lol
_________________ only the strong survive
Décadent HM Contributor
Joined: Aug 09, 2004
Posts: 1057
Location: Darwin
Posted:
Tue Oct 03, 2006 3:57 pm
Oh righto, because OSX has been around for about 5 years and one single, low risk virus has just appeared. Vista isn't due out for another 4 months and there's already heaps of viruses written for the platform.
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