Mac OS X Worm Wiggles Through iChat

JengoJengo Pasco, WA | USA
edited February 2006 in Science & Tech
Symantec is reporting that a worm named "Leap.A" is spreading though iChat attatchments. The worm is easy to remove but causes many programs to malfunction. Symantec also reccomends re-installing Mac OS X after the worm is removed.
A worm that affects computers running Apple Computer's Mac OS X operating system is circulating on the Internet, according to antivirus software makers. The worm, Leap.A, spreads through the iChat instant messaging client and causes applications to run improperly, according to warnings posted on the sites of several antivirus software makers. The discovery of the Leap.A is noteworthy because MacOS X is generally regarded as being free of the many viruses and worms that can afflict computers running Microsoft's Windows operating system. However, Leap.A is not deemed a major threat, according to Symantec.

How it Spreads:
Leap.A is sent from one computer to another as an attachment, called latestpics.gz, to an iChat message. When a user saves this attachment and clicks on it, a file called latestpics is created, Symantec says. The worm affects computers running Mac OS X version 10.4, Symantec says. While Leap.A is relatively easy to remove from an infected system, Symantec recommends that users reinstall the operating system on their computers once they have been disinfected.
Source: PCWorld

Comments

  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited February 2006
    The worm affects computers running Mac OS X version 10.4...Symantec recommends that users reinstall the operating system on their computers once they have been disinfected.
    How? :Pwned:

    -drasnor :fold:
  • MountainDewMountainDew Kentwood, MI
    edited February 2006
    drasnor wrote:
    How? :Pwned:

    -drasnor :fold:

    hahahah hopefully with all the apple popularity they'll get their share of virii, as most seem to think they're forever immune.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited February 2006
    How much do you want to bet that every new Mac virus from here on out gets blamed on the switch to x86-based systems? :p
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited February 2006
    I wouldn't doubt it at all prof. Seriously though, Macs stopped coming with rescue disks so there's no way short of purchasing a retail copy of OS X (which would make Apple very happy) to reinstall the OS as Symantec recommends.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited February 2006
    The whole big deal about a mac virus is ridiculous.

    Lets review. You get the virus as an attachment or from an ichat link that you have to download. The virus presents itself as pictures. Yet when you click on a picture icon it doesn't view the picture, instead it prompts you that something is going to install and asks you for your admin password - which I might add is more then even a simple script would require. Then it has to roll out through ichat to others. With the expectancy that they will be as big of a moron as you are.

    Though hit may be a virus, the virus is based on the stupidity of a user (which, unfortunately is generally huge). But Mac's or linux are just not susceptible to the same level of virus attacks that windows are.

    A windows virus can be activiated by viewing a web page with active content. It can come through email that you don't have to even open if (and by default it is) the preview pane views it.

    So sure someone has made a virus for a mac, there have already been these types of viruses for mac already and a couple for linux also. However the whole bull**** rant of now Mac's are going to have viruses just like windows is completly without base. It's laughable.
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited February 2006
    I agree kryst, there's a good reason why Apple doesn't let you login as root by default and the Linux distros strongly discourage logging in as root.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited February 2006
    kryyst wrote:
    With the expectancy that they will be as big of a moron as you are.

    They are Mac users, why else make a Virus this simple?
    ;D
  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited February 2006
    Enverex wrote:
    They are Mac users, why else make a Virus this simple?
    ;D

    Good point. They do have to make the viruses as dumbed down and simple to opperate as possible for a windows users.
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited February 2006
    That doesn't make much sense and was a really bad retort at a joke.
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