Friday, April 06, 2012

Apple fights hundreds of thousands of virus-controlled Macs...

Computer giant Apple released a patch this week for its OS X 2012 and 10.6 operating systems about the same time a Russian security company claimed that up to 600,000 Mac computers around the world are being controlled by a piece of malware that sucks targeted computers into a “botnet,” or a makeshift network of computers controlled by cyber-criminals.

Most Mac users are not well-versed in the trials of cyber security, with many having been lulled into a false sense of safety because the Mac platform’s smaller market-share makes it a less favorable target for hackers. But security company Dr. Web said this week that Mac users are becoming more frequent targets for identity theft and other cyber crime, and that one new piece of malware in particular is becoming a grave concern.

Dr. Web used a tactic known as “sinkholing” to trick the criminal network into sending signals to computers at the company’s security center, where technicians were able to monitor the botnet and count how many computers were part of it. They later claimed to have detected over 600,000 Mac computers participating in the criminal enterprise thanks to a Java exploit called BackDoor.Flashback.39. Full story...

Related posts:
  1. 7,000 drivers' names sold to criminals...
  2. Indian call centres selling credit card details and medical records...
  3. WikiLeaks: The first global cyber war has begun...
  4. The FBI will be infiltrating your computer on March 8th.
  5. Apple causes ‘religious’ reaction in brains of fans?

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