Watch out for these serious Mac attacks

WHile I don't personally use a Mac, I know that many do here on ATS so I just wanted to post this article as a head's up for the MAC users in case they haven't heard the latest..

money.cnn.com

Two serious bugs affecting Macintosh computers can leave your computer riddled with malware -- or even permanently controlled by a hacker.

In one instance, security researchers uncovered a new vulnerability that lets hackers install adware like VSearch without ever asking for your password. VSearch is nasty malware that inundates your Mac with pop-up ads and redirects you to a different search engine when you try to use Google.

The bug was made public last week by Stefan Esser, a German security researcher. But rather than contact Apple (AAPL, Tech30) first (the generally accepted protocol with new bug discoveries), Esser disclosed the bug to the public on his blog.

Security company MalwareBytes said in a blog post Monday that hackers have already taken advantage of the bug Esser found, attacking Macs using the newfound vulnerability.

Esser did not respond to a request for comment.

Mac's while they're more secure are not totally secure, normally in the pwn2own competitions apple stuffs the first to be owned and Apples reticence to admit theres security faults always helps the naughty people

It's not that hard to hack someones PC, Mac or Win, so when they tell you stuff like this it creates an illusion that your PC is safe.

originally posted by: Thisisntmyrealame
It's not that hard to hack someones PC, Mac or Win, so when they tell you stuff like this it creates an illusion that your PC is safe.

There was an illusion that PCs are safe? When?

Seems apple products were promoted at one point as being "virus proof" I've read those words typed here on ats by the consumer parrots.


top kek

I always enjoy the whole vs crap, really though it seems safety of ones computer comes down to personal responsibility, you doing stupid things? you going places you shouldn't with out the proper software?

I remember limewire/kazaa being the worst spots for me to snag malware back in the day. Honestly haven't had a virus in years *knocks on wood*

a reply to: Lysergic

Yeah, but if all was informed as you are this kind of posts wouldn't be made.

originally posted by: Thisisntmyrealame
a reply to: Lysergic

Yeah, but if all was informed as you are this kind of posts wouldn't be made.

exactly.... not all are informed, and some still find comfort from using the MAC in regards to threats...

What's wrong with posting some info for the MAC users that they may be vulnerable to a new threat?

a reply to: JacKatMtn

I'm just trying to explain that as long as your computer is connected to internet, it doesn't matter what you use. You're never in full control, especally not of your data.

a reply to: Thisisntmyrealame

some folks are just enjoying their choice of computer and the internet without that knowledge...

just trying to provide info to those who may not be on the cutting edge of digital risk assessment...

Informed?
I'm still a noob.

originally posted by: JacKatMtn
a reply to: Thisisntmyrealame

some folks are just enjoying their choice of computer and the internet without that knowledge...

just trying to provide info to those who may not be on the cutting edge of digital risk assessment...

Thanks, it's appreciated.

I wonder if moving forward that there will be more 0day/exploits targeting the various Apple OS's as some form of corporate warfare.

Microsoft's best solutions are all proprietary and seems to have exploits all the time. I'm not sure if that will happen as often to OSX, but I don't think iOS is open source yet, and that may cause problems in the future.