BBC warns about first MAC virus

... but security firms don't think it's a great threat

[le_gber]

[news.bbc.co.uk...]

The malicious program, known as Leap-A, tries to spread via Apple's iChat instant messaging program.

but security firms don't think it's a great threat.

Security firms said Leap-A was not widespread and was unlikely to catch out many Apple users.

[bcolflesh]

Bit of a wording problem - there have been MAC OS virii since the beginning - this one can't even claim to be the first OSX one = maybe they mean the first one that might have the potential to be widespread?

[microcars]

good luck finding a copy of it to play with.

6 months ago there was a hullaballoo over almost the exact same thing: someone took an Applescript and made it look like a JPG, but when you emailed it, you lost the JPG thumbnail and it still required you to enter your admin password.

it never made it out into the wild.
As far as I can tell, this one is ALSO not out in the wild.

but with this one, you have to jump through more hoops to get the thing to do anything.

[whoisgregg]

This is definitely the first close call for OS X, but it's not a virus. It's a trojan horse, meaning the user must install it (presumably unwittingly). Any infected user would also need to type in their password for the program to install. After the user has installed the so-called "jpeg," it sends itself to other people using iChat (they must go through the same rigamarole to actually get infected).

Looks like there are a couple changes though that Apple can make to shut down the iChat mechanism, but bottom line: Still no OS X virus. Don't run as admin. Don't install software unless you trust the source.

[techrealm]

If I was going to see this I would have by now - I sense a source of FUD rather than an issue... Odd it occurs on the same couple of days that people are making a deal out of the don't pirate Mac OS poem / kind reminder.

Oddly though that "warning" poem reminded me of when dos was being threatened by better versions (dr dos i believe) and MS software would give you a warning and not let you install. It seems Apple's message and reasons for creating the messages are allot more clear, as usual.