steven_lufc
Registered
Heres the details. Could this be another hoax, or do we have our first virus?
http://www.macintouch.com/opener.html
http://www.macintouch.com/opener.html
Mac OS X Malware
- Thread starter steven_lufc
- Start date
It's a rootkit. Bad stuff. If you find any trace of 'opener' on your computer: Get serious help. However: You'd have to a) run it or b) have someone else run it for you on your computer in order to get damaged AFAIK. So you'd basically have to grant someone shell access to your computer one way or the other in order to become affected. However: It's not a virus. It's a rootkit. http://www.google.com/search?hl=de&lr=&oi=defmore&q=define:Rootkit (Google's Definition)
symphonix
Scratch & Sniff Committee
I don't think it really qualifies as a "virus" though. Malware, certainly.
This "virus" could only spread if a user *with root access* to the machine ran it deliberately. Since root access is disabled in Mac OS X by default, this would require someone with administrator access deliberately enabling root before running the script, or for someone who isn't an administrator but does have physical access to your computer to reboot from the Mac OS X installer CD, reset the admin password, and then go about deliberately screwing the system over.
Sure, its something you should be aware of. Don't go around putting your admin password in on any software unless you know what it is, and certainly not for software you've obtained through illegal (read file-sharing) channels.
What annoys me is this is the second time in as many weeks that Mac-In-Touch and Slashdot editors have allowed a story like this to get to their front page before realising that it was little more than a hoax. CherryOS was not a new PC emulator, but a shameless attempt by a video-streaming software company to test their server capacity and draw some publicity. And this is not a Mac virus, since it has no real delivery method.
This "virus" could only spread if a user *with root access* to the machine ran it deliberately. Since root access is disabled in Mac OS X by default, this would require someone with administrator access deliberately enabling root before running the script, or for someone who isn't an administrator but does have physical access to your computer to reboot from the Mac OS X installer CD, reset the admin password, and then go about deliberately screwing the system over.
Sure, its something you should be aware of. Don't go around putting your admin password in on any software unless you know what it is, and certainly not for software you've obtained through illegal (read file-sharing) channels.
What annoys me is this is the second time in as many weeks that Mac-In-Touch and Slashdot editors have allowed a story like this to get to their front page before realising that it was little more than a hoax. CherryOS was not a new PC emulator, but a shameless attempt by a video-streaming software company to test their server capacity and draw some publicity. And this is not a Mac virus, since it has no real delivery method.