Virus Affecting PC and Mac

        John Carter gets our attention with this!  "There's a particularly nasty virus associated with the email that supposedly comes from UPS. The virus actually causes the mouse on a Mac to freeze up after about 15 seconds, you then have to reset the mouse, and it freezes again 15 seconds later. 
        "But this can only happen if you have a Windows machine on the same network as your Mac. Once the virus hits Windows, it infects all machines in the same network, including the Mac.

        "The moral of the story is do not run Windows without fully protecting the Windows OS with an A/V program - like AVAST. The Windows OS also needs Malwarebytes and SpyBot Search & Destroy software installed and running all the time in addition to AVAST."

Sophos Anti-Virus in Action

        Thanks to John Carter for the following info:  "Sophos Anti-Virus catches all kinds of e-mail viruses. Here's an example that occurred on 12/10/2012:

Opening the Quarantine Manager showed this at the top... 

...and this at the bottom.   (Click on screen shots to enlarge, then click again to go back to the post.)

This shows that for the first time I got a virus that came in through Gmail. I usually get them in Yahoo mail.

        You can get details of the virus here. Fortunately for Macs, it only infects Windows, and it only steals information - like your bank account information.

        The threat was cleaned up."

        Then John sent a snapshot of the email he'd received from Chase Bank, asking him for more information, saying they'd let him know when his account was back to normal.  His comment, "It looks very official, eh?  I don't even have a Chase bank account." 

Anti-virus Programs Compared

          Jim Hamm gets our attention with this: "Here is an interesting article from Thomas' Tech Corner describing a series of tests he ran on anti-virus programs. And here is a summary of the results in PDF format. 
        "Avast AV, which I use, came in a close second to first-place Sophos. The author devotes a paragraph to the problems Norton AV caused. Most (maybe all) of my computer friends don't use Norton, and immediately delete it (as I do) if it comes pre-installed on a new computer.

        "Some might say an AV program is not needed on a Mac, but if I can get additional anti-virus protection free, and it doesn't cause any problems otherwise, I'm all for using one."  Thanks, Jim for the info. 

Need Anti-virus Software? Or Not?

       Need anti-virus software?  Ward Stanke sends us some very useful information.  Read on:  Snow Leopard and Lion contain a malware blocker!  Here's an article from Macworld.  This malware blocker has been very quietly, but consistently, updated by Apple to handle the most dangerous, and the most recent, malware threats.  
        See this:   Mac Malware "Explosion" Missing In Action.
        Here's an excellent up-to-date web site about Macintosh malware....and an associated Macintosh Malware Catalog that rates the individual threat posed by each piece of malware.  Note that most of the threats listed were either rendered moot by an Apple update, or they never really worked, or they were never seen in the wild or in significant numbers.
        Mac OS X anti-virus software: More trouble than it's worth? Here's a review. 
       This is an article simply entitled "Wolf." It is about the press crying "wolf" for the past 7 years with regard to the "coming wave of Mac malware": Daring Fireball: Wolf!

Firewall: Yes? No?

Jim Hamm started the discussion about Firewalls with, "You may have already read this article. In recent years not much has been written about firewalls — one way or the other. I leave mine turned on in my Macs and when running Windows on my PC. Ubuntu doesn't come with a firewall and I haven't checked to see if one is even available."John Carter sends this information, "The purpose of a firewall is to keep someone from hacking directly into your computer."  He goes on to explain in detail. "Without a firewall, a computer is open to attack even if you have an Anti-Virus application installed on the computer. In fact, you don't even have to be browsing the Internet to be hacked if you don't have a firewall; the computer just needs to be turned on and connected to the Internet. "However, a firewall is not a guarantee to stop spam and viruses that come through email or when browsing the Internet. An Anti-Virus application is best for that. Ubuntu does have a firewall, but it is not enabled by default. The firewall is ufw. "If you have a server (one computer providing access to the Internet for other servers in a network), the server is the only computer in the network that needs a firewall, unless a given computer in the network wants to block a port on that computer for some reason. "All new routers (and some modems) come with a firewall (a hardware firewall) and it is typically turned on by default, and this is probably the only firewall anyone ever needs. In fact, a router with a firewall is recommended, even if you only have one computer and if the modem itself does not have a firewall. "However, the modem/router may not have the features and/or flexibility that a computer firewall (a software firewall) can offer. "If you have both the modem/router firewall and the computer firewall enabled, and if you have ports open for access in the computer firewall (required by some applications), those same ports need to be open for access in the modem/router firewall. "It's a little more complicated than this, but the bottom line is that the author of that article is off-base about not needing a firewall. However, he is right about one thing: 'Firewalls tend to be horribly managed.'" John winds up his view of the issue with,  "If something isn't working right and you turn off the firewall and things start working right, call an IT professional to properly set up the firewall. One such professional works at CompuTime in Prescott." Anyone else jumping into the discussion?

Comparison of 5 Anti-virus Applications

        Let's hear from Prez Art Gorski, "Here's a quick review of anti-virus applications for the Mac.  I won't be installing any of these myself, but if you're worried about malware and don't mind the overhead of running this kind of software, give one of the free ones a try."
        Read about these 5 apps; two are FREE, and the others run from $39.95 to $49.95 a year.
        This is just in from Bobbie Pastor about Sophos, "This is a free download for your Mac.  John Carter considers this a good product."  See it here.

More on Flashback

        "The Flashback virus is real," emphasizes John Carter.  He elaborates on the issue, "There is a Java update available from Apple to fix the problem.
        "As a result of doing the latest Java update from Apple, I no longer have Java working on my iMac.
However, the update works on the Mac Mini and the MacBook Air.
       " I discovered this on my iMac by invoking the following command in Terminal:  java
        "The result was:    Unable to locate a Java Runtime to invoke
        "I went online and discovered that many people complained of the same thing.  It seems that installing the older version of Java fixes the problem, but then you leave yourself open to the Flashback virus."
        John continues, "I attempted to install the older version from a download from Apple, but the package detected the newer version and would not install. I guess you can only install the older version from the installation DVD.
        "At this point, since I am not doing any Java development I am not overly concerned about this 'bug' and I haven’t seen any problems with websites I’ve visited. Google Chrome has its own Java built into the browser and is the preferred browser now for surfing the web because it is immune to the Flashback virus.
        "Within the next week, Apple should be doing something about the problem caused by the update and put out a new update."

"Safenetting" Info

        The InfoManager site has an article on "Safenetting."  It gives info on such problems as malware, virus, clickjacking, worms, hack, warning about bogus "browser update," tax-related scams and malicious QR codes.  Take a look and keep informed.

Apple Releases Security Update Today

        Alerted first by a PCmagazine article, the official info comes from this Apple Support site.  The security update 2011-003 is 2.1 MB and takes less than 2 minutes to download.  It was released earlier today, May 31, for OS X v. 10.6.7.
        What do you know?  David Passell writes to brag that his update took less than a minute!

More About: Keep in Mind About Your Computer Security . . .

        A good reminder comes from Allen Laudenslager.  He sends this CNN article, declaring that it might help give a little clarity on the MacDefender malware issue.  The article, entitled, "New Malware Revives Mac vs. Windows Security Debate" states that Microsoft recently pointed out that 1 in 14 downloads on Windows are malicious.  And the fact that there is just one piece of Mac malware being widely discussed illustrates how rare malware still is on the Mac platform.  The writer concludes, " . . . the moral of this story is to be wary that Mac malware is in the wild, and be cautious about installing sketchy software from unfamiliar sources."
        This evening several news reports discuss the malware.  AppleInsider, states that Apple will release an update to Mac OS X to automatically find and remove the malware.  The article concludes, "The scam site is also unable to install the malware without the user supplying an administrative password. Even so, hundreds of users have been duped by the scam, although the outbreak appears to be more of a nagware annoyance than a serious security problem."
        First thing this morning, (5-25) Allen passes on this Apple Support information which lists the authorized steps to take to remove the malware if you happen to inadvertently download it. Once the Mac OS X software update is here we'll have "no more concern about the only widespread Mac malware that we have to worry about" because it will automatically find and remove the MacDefender malware and its known variants.
        Joining in with helpful info now is Art Gorski, recommending this from MacWorld.
        This afternoon (5-25) we found this in ComputerWorld: "Mac users running Safari can stop avRunner from automatically opening its installer screen by unchecking the box marked 'Open 'safe' files after downloading' at the bottom of the General tab in the browser's Preferences screen."  Read the whole article.
        Here's the 5-26 article from Computer World with more details.
        What else are PMUG members saying about malware, security, anti-virus issues?  On the right side of this newsblog scroll to the Labels list and look up those keywords, and any other keywords you're interested in researching.  Our PMUG members do a good job of finding out -- and passing along -- all kinds of Mac information.

No Need for Antivirus Software

Here's Art Gorski's take on the issue. "Regarding the PMUG news item, [in the earlier posting on this site] this is basically a spam email. There is currently no need for antivirus software for the Mac. The 'botnet' quoted does exist, although it is tiny, and those Macs got infected by downloading illegal software, so they got what they deserved. :-)"

Allen Laudenslager adds, "This is not a huge attack on Macs. So far it is only attacking Macs that use a pirated version of iWork. One more reason to buy from Apple." See this article,

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/22/first.mac.botnet/index.html

Is anti-virus needed for the Mac?

I wonder how much credibility there is is stuff like this, or are they just trying to create more fear-factor and sell stuff. This was forwarded to me by a friend:

From: PC Tools
Sent: Thursday, April 16, 2009 10:57:29 PM
Subject: Important Notice - Mac Threat Alert

Mac Threat Alert
Know anyone that's a Mac User?

Then let them know that malware researchers have discovered what appears to be the first Mac OSX botnet, aka MacBot or iBotnet and its receiving a substantial amount of industry and media interest.

Early estimates suggest that thousands of people have unknowingly downloaded the infected files. Don't let yourself be one of them...

In a nutshell the botnet is launching a number of malware variants inside pirated copies of popular Mac based software in order to take control of the infected Mac machine.

First and foremost make sure that you and your fellow Mac users, exercise caution, have Mac specific security software installed and that your existing version of iAntiVirus is up to date - there's a free version or you can purchase a version with full functionality and support for only $29.95. It's also vital that you enable and install the latest Mac security updates.

Regards
PC Tools Team

PC Tools Limited
Units A & B, Block 4, Shannon Business Park, Shannon, Co. Clare, Ireland.
Copyright © 2009 PC Tools. All rights reserved.