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The First Mac OS X Virus? (A New OS X Trojan)
MacRumors.com ^ | 02/16/2006

Posted on 02/16/2006 5:27:22 AM PST by Panerai

On the evening of the 13th, an unknown user posted an external link to a file on MacRumors Forums claiming to be the latest Leopard Mac OS X 10.5 screenshots. The file was named "latestpics.tgz"

The resultant file decompresses into what appears to be a standard JPEG icon in Mac OS X but is actually a compiled Unix executable in disguise. An initial disassembly (from original discussion thread) reveals evidence that the application is virus-like or was designed to give that impression. Routines listed include:

_infect: _infectApps: _installHooks: _copySelf:

The exact consequences of the application are unclear, but according to the users that originally executed the application have noted that it appeared to self propogate:

If anyone remembers last night, when lasthope spread that picture that opened in terminal. I just turned on my other computer and it said it had an incoming file, from my computer, which was the latest pics file. Any help. I have already secure deleted it off of my harddrive, but how do i know that it will not come back. Andrew Welch who had done some of the initial disassembly is posting updates to this thread.

According to the initial investigation, the application uses Spotlight to find the other applications on the infected machine and subsequently inserts a stub of code into each application executable.

Update: It appears that there is some debate about the classification of this application, and as it does require user activation, it appears to fall into the Trojan classification, rather than self-propogating through any particular vulnerability in OS X.


TOPICS: Technical
KEYWORDS: apple; mac; osx; spyware; trojan; virus
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To: Panerai

This thread will have more victims than this trojan.


41 posted on 02/16/2006 7:42:34 PM PST by coconutt2000 (NO MORE PEACE FOR OIL!!! DOWN WITH TYRANTS, TERRORISTS, AND TIMIDCRATS!!!! (3-T's For World Peace))
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To: Panerai

42 posted on 02/17/2006 5:28:33 AM PST by Bush2000 (Linux -- You Get What You Pay For ... (tm)
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To: Panerai

We're all gonna die....


43 posted on 02/17/2006 5:34:39 AM PST by Born Conservative (Chronic Positivity: http://jsher.livejournal.com/)
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To: CheneyChick

You'll need a complete scrubbing of your hard drive now ;)


44 posted on 02/17/2006 6:51:19 AM PST by bwteim (Begin With The End In Mind)
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To: bwteim
You'll need a complete scrubbing of your hard drive now ;)

Is this a good one to use?


45 posted on 02/17/2006 7:45:59 AM PST by CheneyChick
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To: CheneyChick

Yep!

BTW, they are now getting into "concept" worms

http://www.macnn.com/articles/06/02/17/second.mac.os.x.worm/

The horror of it all


46 posted on 02/17/2006 9:06:47 AM PST by bwteim (Begin With The End In Mind)
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To: bwteim
I googled "concept worm" and this is what I got:

SCARY!!!!!!!!

47 posted on 02/17/2006 9:30:16 AM PST by CheneyChick
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To: Bush2000; N3WBI3; Prime Choice

I thought you said you were "done" with this site?

Have you fibbed again????

LOL


48 posted on 02/17/2006 3:54:22 PM PST by MikefromOhio (Brokeback Mountain: The ONLY western where the Cowboys GET IT IN THE END!!!)
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Comment #49 Removed by Moderator

To: papertyger

LOLOL


50 posted on 02/20/2006 4:29:19 PM PST by Petronski (I love Cyborg!)
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To: Bush2000

you would think that POSSIBLY your getting banned already for saying stupid crap like that MIGHT make it that I WAS in Iraq right??

dumbass.


51 posted on 02/20/2006 4:30:45 PM PST by MikefromOhio (Brokeback Mountain: The ONLY western where the Cowboys GET IT IN THE END!!!)
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