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DVForge Virus Prize offered, rescinded
Yahoo! News ^ | Sat Mar 26, 3:44 PM ET | By Peter Cohen - MacCentral

Posted on 03/26/2005 3:53:30 PM PST by Swordmaker

DVForge Virus Prize offered, rescinded

Mac and iPod peripheral maker DVForge Inc. recently sponsored a US$25,000 prize to be awarded to the first hacker who could infect two Macintosh (news - web sites) computers owned by the company. Less than a day later the company announced the cancellation of the contest, citing legal concerns.

The impetus for creating the contest was a recent report from antivirus software maker Symantec Corp. "It is now clear that the Mac OS is increasingly becoming a target for the malicious activity that is more commonly associated with Microsoft and various Unix (news - web sites)-based operating systems," stated the Symantec report. The report has been met with skepticism by Mac users.

While new Windows viruses, worms and trojan horses appear all the time, Mac OS X (news - web sites) has stayed virus-free. While several Mac OS X-native virus detection and eradication software applications exist, they've been relegated to cleaning e-mail worms or macro viruses -- security problems stemming from flaws in Microsoft Corp.'s application and operating system software, rather than any holes in Mac OS X itself.

Campbell called Symantec's report "complete nonsense" and threw down the gauntlet, offering a $25,000 cash prize to any hacker that could infect with Mac OS X viruses two DVForge-owned Macs.

"I happen to believe that Apple should be offering this prize. But, since they have not, I will. On behalf of knowledgeable Mac users everywhere, I am putting my money where my mouth is," said Campbell.

Within hours, Campbell and DVForge Inc. announced the cancellation of the prize.

"I have been convinced that there may be legality issues stemming from such a contest, beyond those determined by our own legal counsel, prior to announcing the contest," said Campbell. "So, despite my personal distaste for what some companies have done to take advantage of virus fears among the Mac community, and my own inclination to make a bold statement in response to those fears, I have no responsible choice but to retract the contest, effective immediately."

DVForge Inc. plans to keep the virus contest page itself online "for the forseeable future "as an educational tool for Mac users to "better understand the risk to computer viruses, and the reasonable measures best used to continue enjoying virus-free usage of their Mac OS X computer systems."


TOPICS: Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: computersecurity; mac; macintosh; notsosecureafterall; virus
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1 posted on 03/26/2005 3:53:31 PM PST by Swordmaker
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To: Bush2000; antiRepublicrat; Action-America; eno_; N3WBI3; zeugma; TechJunkYard; ShorelineMike; ...

Dang Lawyers force Mac virus contest prize PING!

If you want on or off the Mac Ping list, Freepmail me.


2 posted on 03/26/2005 3:54:46 PM PST by Swordmaker
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To: Swordmaker
Jack is a bufoon, fool, and fraud. Check out the page Macintouch has been keeping on the guy

Anyone who financially promotes viruses to be unleashed needs to be sent to al-Zarqawi in Iraq, presented with a bow tie on his head.

3 posted on 03/26/2005 4:05:46 PM PST by Yossarian (Remember: NOT ALL HEART ATTACKS HAVE TRADITIONAL SYMPTOMS)
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To: Yossarian
Jack posted this:

The legal concerns stemmed from a number of very recent case law rulings that were not brought to my attention prior to the contest, where even benign, harmless viruses have been held to meet the federal law's requirement for "damage" to a computer. I only received this information mid-morning Saturday. So, I pulled the contest, to keep from exposing our company to potential liabilities. I will remain convinced that the July 31 deadline would have come and passed without a successful in-the-wild virus having been submitted. But, due to modern liability realities, we will never know. Shame.

4 posted on 03/26/2005 4:09:45 PM PST by Swordmaker
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To: Swordmaker
Sounds to me like he checked his bank account and found he was over drawn...
5 posted on 03/26/2005 4:16:54 PM PST by tubebender (We child-proofed our house but they still get in...)
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To: Swordmaker

What a tool. He doesn't know the amount of damage the 1989 "benign, harmless" internet worm did?


6 posted on 03/26/2005 4:18:46 PM PST by Yossarian (Remember: NOT ALL HEART ATTACKS HAVE TRADITIONAL SYMPTOMS)
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Comment #7 Removed by Moderator

To: Swordmaker

Now, prize or not, the viri writers will turn their Sauron-like eye to the Mac...just for bragging rights...


8 posted on 03/27/2005 11:57:25 AM PST by boris (The deadliest weapon of mass destruction in history is a leftist with a word processor.)
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To: boris
Now, prize or not, the viri writers will turn their Sauron-like eye to the Mac...just for bragging rights...

Four years and counting... no bragging yet!

Obviously, it ain't that easy.

9 posted on 03/27/2005 12:45:04 PM PST by Swordmaker
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To: Swordmaker
Obviously, it ain't that easy.

Get over yourself. Nobody cares. It's that simple.
10 posted on 03/27/2005 1:55:45 PM PST by Bush2000
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To: Bush2000
Get over yourself. Nobody cares. It's that simple.

You've claimed you can do it... so do it. Get the accolades as the hacker who created an OSX virus.

11 posted on 03/27/2005 10:18:13 PM PST by Swordmaker
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To: Swordmaker
You've claimed you can do it... so do it. Get the accolades as the hacker who created an OSX virus.

I certainly could do it -- if it were worth my time and if I weren't concerned about potential liability.
12 posted on 03/27/2005 11:08:40 PM PST by Bush2000
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To: Bush2000

Oh please. Anyone can say it. Doing it is another thing. If it was that easy, it would have been done by now by some whiz kid who has nothing but time and could care less about liability issues.


13 posted on 03/28/2005 5:26:51 AM PST by CheneyChick
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To: Bush2000
Get over yourself. Nobody cares. It's that simple.

There were fewer OS 9 machines and plenty of viruses. So all the Mac virus writers decided to retire after OS X was released?

14 posted on 03/28/2005 7:03:33 AM PST by antiRepublicrat
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To: antiRepublicrat
There were, and still are, no Mac OS 9 viruses. Why post if you have no idea what you're talking about? "If you wanted to have servers and not be subjected to viruses, I have one suggestion: Macintosh MacOS9. I run all my servers and keep them on MacOS9. I have never had a firewall and I have never been hit in all these years, even though I appear on TV shows with other hackers and the like. I’d be a prime target, and they have not hit any of my machines." Steve Wozniak
15 posted on 03/31/2005 7:00:32 AM PST by Leonard210
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To: Leonard210
There were, and still are, no Mac OS 9 viruses.

Sophos lists 40+ pre-OS X viruses. Going on five years of OS X, none are yet reported in the wild.

16 posted on 03/31/2005 10:57:49 AM PST by antiRepublicrat
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To: antiRepublicrat
What do you/they mean by pre-OS X? OS 6, 7, maybe 8? You said "There were fewer OS 9 machines and plenty of viruses." Where does Sophos list the OS 9 viruses? "Virus writers decided to retire?" What are you talking about? "Going on five years of OS X, none are yet reported in the wild." Do you have a valid point that you're trying to make?
17 posted on 03/31/2005 1:19:24 PM PST by Leonard210
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To: Leonard210
What do you/they mean by pre-OS X? OS 6, 7, maybe 8?

I meant 9. It did have some.

Do you have a valid point that you're trying to make?

Some say the only reason OS X doesn't have viruses is because of its small marketshare. This logic is flawed because OS 9 had around 40 viruses even though it also had a small marketshare. I doubt the virus writers retired after the release of OS X, so some factor other than marketshare or absence of virus writers must account for the absence of viruses in the wild. Many rightly credit its superior security.

18 posted on 03/31/2005 1:38:36 PM PST by antiRepublicrat
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To: antiRepublicrat
My apologies. I must have misunderstood your posts. I still have not discovered, however, those 40+ viruses for Mac OS 9. I've been mulling around Sophos website and find some vague references to how Sophos can protect me, but can't seem to locate the specific viral threats to OS 9. This same company, I should note, has also offered to protect me from viruses for OS X 10.2. (See Sophos protects Mac OS X users from virus attack.) They're willing to sell me a product "designed to protect computers running Macintosh operating system 10.2 and above from all known viruses." I gotta say thank you, but me thinks that Sophos has a vested interest in my seeing viruses where there are none. What makes you think that they have not done the same in regards to Mac OS 9?
19 posted on 03/31/2005 5:55:45 PM PST by Leonard210
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To: Leonard210
I still have not discovered, however, those 40+ viruses for Mac OS 9.

Here's the Mac virus FAQ.

I gotta say thank you, but me thinks that Sophos has a vested interest in my seeing viruses where there are none.

I agree, but then Sophos for OS 9 does actually have 40 virus entries it protects you from. I think Sophos for OS X is just an engine waiting for definitions, although it may protect against that one trojan that was created and hit the one person stupid enough to download and install what he thought was a free copy of MS Word, but actually had malicious code.

20 posted on 04/01/2005 6:34:30 AM PST by antiRepublicrat
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