17 February 2006

First Mac Worm!

We have entered a new era of computing. The first worm for Mac computers has been discovered. Transferred through iChat (an AIM-compatable program), it appears to be a zip file of photos, "latestpics.tgz".


Name: OSX/Leap-A
OS: Mac OS X
Software: iChat
Type: Worm
From: Anyone
File/Attachment: latestpics.tgz
How to infect: Manual acceptance (download and install)
Prevention: Do not accept files without extended confrmation from sender; install/update anti-virus software.
Consequences: Deletes files, copies itself on hard drive, sends to more people, slows down your internet connection
Removal: unknown, presumably anti-virus software
More Info: Sophos press release, Sophos virus profile, CNN

1 comment:

  1. Hah! Yeah.

    Right now my main issue with Macs is how to convince my students that it's user error causing all their problems in lab, not the Macs. :-P If they just got over the "oh noes, it's a Maxxorz!" hump, they'd see it's the same as a PC and wouldn't have half as many issues.

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