Malware Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Kapersky "disappointed" he can't sell AV software on iOS

by Steven Sande (May 23rd, 2012)

Security wonk Eugene Kaspersky is not happy with Apple, since the company won't let his eponymous antivirus firm develop antivirus software for iOS devices. Speaking to The Register, Kaspersky went so far as to say "That will mean disaster for Apple," since malware targeting the mobile ...

Apple doesn't invite Kaspersky Lab to examine Mac security (Updated)

by Mike Schramm (May 14th, 2012)

Update: Engadget smelled something funny in this story, and turns out they were right; Kaspersky is now saying that the comment about "working with Apple to analyze OS X" was taken out of context, and that Apple has not invited the security firm to analyze its desktop OS. Full statement is ...

Daily Update for May 1, 2012

by Steven Sande (May 1st, 2012)

It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player ...

Flashback was earning about $10K per day

by Steven Sande (May 1st, 2012)

People often wonder about what motivates the creators of malware. In the case of the Flashback malware that infected several hundred thousand Macs, it turns out that the motivator was money. A post on the Symantec official blog listed the stages of infection from Flashback: A user visits ...

Oracle providing direct Java support for OS X, updates to be more timely

by Steven Sande (Apr 28th, 2012)

Macworld and Ars Technica reported late yesterday that Oracle has announced direct support of Java for OS X. This appears to be a reaction to the rather widespread outbreaks of malware that took advantage of exploits in Java before Apple was able to provide an update. This change has been ...

Kaspersky Lab: Apple is '10 years behind Microsoft' on security

by Kelly Hodgkins (Apr 26th, 2012)

Kaspersky founder and CEO Eugene Kaspersky told Computer Business Review that malware targeting the Mac is beginning to grow and Apple needs to take notice. The CEO said Apple is "ten years behind Microsoft in terms of security," and asserts that Apple must change its approach towards ...

Twenty percent of Macs examined infected with Windows malware

by Kelly Hodgkins (Apr 24th, 2012)

Sophos looked at 100,000 Mac computers and found that one in every five has some form of malware. This might sound alarming, but before you stare at your machine in disgust, you should get some perspective. The survey looked at 100,000 OS X machines that are running Sophos's free Mac ...

Kaspersky Lab: Macs not invulnerable to malware

by Kelly Hodgkins (Apr 19th, 2012)

The writing is on the wall. Our time of innocence is gone. Researchers from Kaspersky Labs claim Mac market share has finally reached the critical point, and the platform is now an attractive target for online criminals. Kaspersky told Ars Technica and other press on Thursday that, "Mac users ...

Flashback infections down from over half a million to under 150,000 in eight days

by Kelly Hodgkins (Apr 18th, 2012)

According to Symantec, the OSX.Flashback.K infection is declining each day. The current number of infected Macs is now around 140,000, down from 600,000 a week ago. If you think you may be infected, you can run a Flashback removal tool from either Kapersky or F-Secure. Apple also has a tool ...

Java for OS X 2012-003 update kills Flashback malware, available now

by Steven Sande (Apr 12th, 2012)

Just this morning we noted that Apple had not yet come out with a tool to kill the Flashback malware, and that Kaspersky and F-Secure had both developed their own free tools. This afternoon, Apple released Java for OS X 2012-003 to remove "most common variants of the Flashback ...

Flashback malware removal tools released by security firms

by Michael Grothaus (Apr 12th, 2012)

While Apple has said it "is developing software that will detect and remove the Flashback malware" that has affected up to 600,000 Macs worldwide, it has yet to release any fix. In lieu of that a few security and antivirus firms have gone ahead and released their own Flashback removal ...

How to find/remove the Flashback trojan

by Kelly Hodgkins (Apr 5th, 2012)

According to Russian antivirus firm Dr. Web, over 600,000 Macs worldwide are infected with the Mac flashback trojan. The trojan can be installed if you visit a malicious website, and it will attempt to connect your Mac to a botnet. Fifty-seven percent of infected machines are located in the ...

Macs are being spied on just like Windows machines

by Kelly Hodgkins (Mar 29th, 2012)

Any tech savvy Windows user is familiar with the term backdoor trojan; either they've been infected with one themselves or know someone who has. Now, it's time for Mac users, especially those who work for entities that are targets for corporate or military espionage, to become more aware of ...

Mountain Lion's Gatekeeper adds additional security options to OS X

by Mel Martin (Feb 17th, 2012)

With the many updates and new features announced for the upcoming OS X release of Mountain Lion, one may have slipped by, but it's an important feature. It's also likely to become controversial. Gatekeeper gives users some extra security when running third party software. Apple says Gatekeeper will ...

DevilRobber now "improved", still nasty malware threat

by Kelly Guimont (Nov 18th, 2011)

We previously told you about DevilRobber and what sort of unsavory things it can do to (and with) your Mac. (In case you don't click over to read the article, here's the scoop: it's bad. Real bad.) Back in the day (November 1st), it was a Trojan horse and sent a little of your personal info ...