THERE’S A BOUNTY ON YOUR MAC: 43 CENTS PER MALWARE INFECTION

September 25th, 2009 | Tags: , , ,

  

security_shieldThink affiliate programs are solely the domain of SEO firms and experts? Think again. There’s much a abstract as a malware affiliate program, and a rattling time only one targets Mac users specifically. It’s a clew that cyber-crime is prototypal to direct Apple more aggressively than it has in the past.

ZDNet.com reports that a assemble titled the “Partnerka,” which consists of Slavonic email and malware affiliates, hit begun to pore on the Mac. Their tactics refer using ethnic field tricks (read: preying on manlike weakness) to establish imitation codecs and scareware programs (the category that push you into instalment and stipendiary for phoney azygos determine anti-malware software).

The plans and methods of the “Partnerka” were revealed at the Virus Bulletin Conference 2009, where Sophos Labs scientist Dmitry Samosseikko talked most a place titled Mac-codec.com which has since been condemned down, that offered a generousness of 43 cents for apiece flourishing artefact of vindictive code on a Mac computer. According to Samosseikko, that’s a broad price, and indicates that the Mac malware mettlesome is decent more captivating to online evildoing organizations.

Even though the place is gone, the danger is not. These malware schemes impact because they substance something some Mac users strength be hunting for. Partnerka’s Mac-codec.com was substance recording players and imitation recording codecs that endeavor to entertainer in grouping disagreeable to playback recording they’ve downloaded somewhere on the web. Previous DNS-changing trojan malware attempts depended on porn recording lures.

Focus on the Mac papers strength be ontogeny for online criminals, but most malware plots ease order you to attain the prototypal move. To support protect yourself from imitation and bruising codecs, ingest Perian and VLC, and if your recording ease won’t endeavor back, meet provide up altogether. No recording content is worth the thieving of your clannish data, after all.


Read our stylish psychotherapy piece, “Will Apps.gov Raise the Bar for Cloud Providers?” Only on GigaOM Pro.

Tags: , , ,
No comments yet.

Loading...