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DVForge Virus Prize offered, rescinded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."
Dang Lawyers force Mac virus contest prize PING!
If you want on or off the Mac Ping list, Freepmail me.
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.
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.
What a tool. He doesn't know the amount of damage the 1989 "benign, harmless" internet worm did?
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.
You've claimed you can do it... so do it. Get the accolades as the hacker who created an OSX virus.
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.
There were fewer OS 9 machines and plenty of viruses. So all the Mac virus writers decided to retire after OS X was released?
Sophos lists 40+ pre-OS X viruses. Going on five years of OS X, none are yet reported in the wild.
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.
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.
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