Apple malware became more sophisticated in 2011 | ITworld

Malware aimed at Macs is still insignificant compared to Windows but Apple users still need to pay careful attention to the growing threat from social engineering attacks, a report has found.

The Year in Mac Security by Apple security company Intego divides 2011 into two halves before and after the day, 2 May, when the fake antivirus scam Mac Defender was discovered.

via Apple malware became more sophisticated in 2011 | ITworld.

Apple Mac-based security threats jumped in 2011 | Security – InfoWorld

New Mac-based security threats jumped in 2011, but still remain far below that of Windows PCs, according to a posting by F-Secure Labs.

A total of 58 unique variants were detected from April through December, according to the Labs Threat Research team. Nearly half, 29, were Trojan-downloaders, which F-Secure defines as a type of Trojan horse program that secretly downloads malicious files from a remote server, then installs and executes them.

via Apple Mac-based security threats jumped in 2011 | Security – InfoWorld.

iRAPP | Mac Remote Desktop | Pc to Mac Remote Desktop Access

iRAPP lets you remote control a Mac over an RDP session.  Works much better than Apple Remote or VNC and it is compatible with portal software such as F5 Firepass.

iRAPP | Mac Remote Desktop | Pc to Mac Remote Desktop Access.

Mac OS X Lion: Losing its security pride

The past couple of weeks have not been the best for Mac OS X’s security reputation.

Recently, anti-virus firm F-Secure detailed a Trojan dropper that will insert a backdoor onto targeted systems. During the attack, a PDF is forcibly opened, designed to distract the end user from the shenanigans going on in the background.

According to F-Secure, the PDF file is written in Chinese, and is politically inflammatory. While the PDF launches, malware is dropped after it downloaded from a remote server located in Russia.

via Mac OS X Lion: Losing its security pride.

New Mac OS X Trojan Imuler Hides Inside Malicious PDF | threatpost

Malware that targets Mac OS X isnt anywhere near catching up to Windows-based malware in terms of volume and variety, but it seems that OS X malware may be adopting some of the more successful tactics that Windows viruses have been using to trick users. Researchers have come across a sample of an OS X-based Trojan that disguises itself as a PDF file, a technique thats been in favor among Windows malware authors for several years now.

The new piece of malware hides inside a PDF file and delivers a backdoor that hides on the users machine once the malicious file is opened. Once the user executes the malware, it puts the malicious PDF on the users machine and then opens it as a way to hide the malicious activity thats going on in the background, according to an analysis by researchers at F-Secure. The Trojan then installs the backdoor, which is named Imuler.A, which attempts to communicate with a command-and-control server.

via New Mac OS X Trojan Imuler Hides Inside Malicious PDF | threatpost.

Apple vs. Microsoft: Which user interface do you prefer? | ZDNet

Everyone has an opinion about user interfaces. The trouble is, most people don’t have enough experience to back those opinions up. Among PC and Mac users worldwide, most use one platform regularly and rarely if ever use the other.

The overwhelming majority of Windows users have no hands-on experience with a Mac. Even worse, the millions of Mac users who switched in the past few years have only distant (and probably painful) memories of old Microsoft products. They get to compare their modern Apple experience with the memory of a Microsoft product they literally rejected, and naturally they prefer the present.

via Apple vs. Microsoft: Which user interface do you prefer? | ZDNet.

Apple security under attack: The view from Windows | Hacking – InfoWorld

The blogosphere is abuzz over the latest Black Hat presentation exposing the security holes of Apple’s Mac OS X. The upshot is that Microsoft Windows, in comparison, does a better job of protecting its users, especially against network protocol attacks. A proof-of-concept hack shown at the Black Hat security conference involved plugging one rogue Mac computer into an enterprise network, where it was soon able to gather the authentication credentials of all the other Macs in the environment.

via Apple security under attack: The view from Windows | Hacking – InfoWorld.

My opinion on this:  It doesn’t matter if this rogue machine is Windows, Linux, or Mac OS X.  A rogue machine is the most likely gateway into an enterprise environment for a sophisticated attack.  It is a primary security tenant that one should know what is on one’s network.  Rogue doesn’t mean unknown hardware either it could be a trojanized system running any OS.  Without the right controls and sensors this might be completely missed and as with any sophisticated attack would be hard to detect.

Does the Mac have an edge against state-sponsored hacking? | Security – InfoWorld

Their conclusion: Macs provide good protection against the initial phases of the attack, but once the bad guys are on the network, it’s a whole different story. “They’re pretty good for [protecting from] remote exploitation,” Stamos said. “[But] once you install OS X server you’re toast.”

via Does the Mac have an edge against state-sponsored hacking? | Security – InfoWorld.

Editors Needed

I am looking for a few editors to help blog about Mac Hacking and Opinion to start MacAppZone.com.  Submit your ideas and references.

J. Meyer