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  • #1

    Mac security scam

    Recently I got a call from a Mac user about the "Apple security center" report they got. My primary email/word processing/ppt/excel/web based stuff/photo editing machine is a Mac and, well no product called "Apple security center" exists for Apple or any reputable 3rd party company. I trot down to their desk to see what they have. This is the screen they got from some infected website as best I could tell:


    We ran a full scan and thankfully the user didn't click anything and no infection was found. Some research indicate they little bastard app installs some sort of Trojan and will "remove" the "infections" for a small fee. Thankfully they noticed that they had more places devices listed on their Mac normally, which is partially what tipped them off.
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  • #2
    Thats quite similar to one I encountered on my pc a couple of weeks ago. Was browsing and all of a sudden got a message "chrome is scanning your system for malware" or something similar.

    Funny thought I, when did the Chrome browser become an AV? Then it showed similar "threats" to the above.
    It finished off with presenting me with an install box and asked me if I wanted to download the fix.

    Answer? Hit NO & scan scan scan

    Glad your user was sensible!
    Arp happens!

    Just when I was getting used to yesterday, along came today.

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    • #3
      And yet, some people swear that MACs are immune to malware.

      Comment

      • #4
        Been seeing and dealing with the PC version of that for years. Some are easy to remove, some are a pain in the A** to get rid off! In those cases, in was easier to just back up their data and re-image the hard drive. I guess, It was a just a matter of time when the Macs would get hit with it.

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        • #5
          Quoth sld72382 View Post
          And yet, some people swear that MACs are immune to malware.
          Not immune, just less damage/fewer victims for the same amount of effort. All computers can benefit from at least rudimentary AV/AS.
          "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
          "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
          "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
          "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
          "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
          "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
          Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
          "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

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          • #6
            Quoth wildman View Post
            Been seeing and dealing with the PC version of that for years. Some are easy to remove, some are a pain in the A** to get rid off! In those cases, in was easier to just back up their data and re-image the hard drive. I guess, It was a just a matter of time when the Macs would get hit with it.
            I have seen the PC versions before, however what impressed me eas the fact that they finally got around to imitating the Mac UI. It's not prefect, but for their target it apparently works.

            Grammar and the font (Times) for the infection count is wrong to begin with.

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            • #7
              Damn, now they're going after the Mac users too??? I guess I should have known it was only a matter of time.
              Sometimes life is altered.
              Break from the ropes your hands are tied.
              Uneasy with confrontation.
              Won't turn out right. Can't turn out right

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              • #8
                I'm glad I saw this post. My mother uses a Mac, and has heard me extol the safety of Macs from malware, compared to PCs. My mother, while not exactly dim, is also likely to believe such scams.

                I sent her a link to this thread as a means of giving her a heads-up.
                PWNADE(TM) - Serve up a glass today! | PWNZER - An act of pwnage so awesome, it's like the victim got hit by a tank.

                There are only Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse because I choose to walk!

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                • #9
                  What tipped me off? The grammar fail in the message. If it had been correct, it would have said "and is ready..".

                  I'm going to send this thread to my close friend. She swears by her Mac.

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Quoth Nashida View Post
                    What tipped me off? The grammar fail in the message. If it had been correct, it would have said "and is ready..".

                    I'm going to send this thread to my close friend. She swears by her Mac.
                    I noticed that, too. A lot of scams are like that.
                    When you start at zero, everything's progress.

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                    • #11
                      I'm actually reminded of the one my professor got where the message was almost legit, up until it said "Click here for the scan you computer".

                      I knew it was fishy. I told the prof so. Prof clicked the message anyway. We all saw it because the computer was hooked up to the overhead projector. My facedesk was the one heard 'round the campus.

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Quoth MadMike View Post
                        Damn, now they're going after the Mac users too??? I guess I should have known it was only a matter of time.
                        Viruses and trojans for the Mac have always been around, just not in the numbers the PC gets. You have to do a better job of programming, or so I've been told.

                        I've never gotten either on my Mac. On the PC? Aplenty.

                        Still . . . eternal vigilance!
                        They say that God only gives us what we can handle. Apparently, God thinks I'm a bad ass.

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                        • #13
                          Aye. Just because most of the virus writers are MW-exclusive right now doesn't mean they won't branch out someday. They're kinda <<STATEMENT REDACTED>> very nice cool d00dz like that
                          "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
                          "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
                          "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
                          "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
                          "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
                          "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
                          Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
                          "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Quoth Panacea View Post
                            Viruses and trojans for the Mac have always been around, just not in the numbers the PC gets. You have to do a better job of programming, or so I've been told.
                            Eh, not really. You just have to program differently. The main thing that has kept Macs mostly safe is their smaller market share. After all, if you're going to inflict irritation on random people, you want to hit the largest number of people possible. With Windows being on more than 80% of the computers out there (2008 numbers), most are going to aim their virii at Windows users, unless they have a specific vendetta.

                            And let's face it: Most Mac users aren't used to dealing with viruses. You have less chance of your virus being stopped by antivirus programs when the user base thinks they're safe enough not to buy one.
                            The Rich keep getting richer because they keep doing what it was that made them rich. Ditto the Poor.
                            "Hy kan tell dey is schmot qvestions, dey is makink my head hurt."
                            Hoc spatio locantur.

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Quoth mattm04 View Post
                              Grammar and the font (Times) for the infection count is wrong to begin with.
                              Quoth Nashida View Post
                              What tipped me off? The grammar fail in the message. If it had been correct, it would have said "and is ready..".
                              Well, with the "have detected," it would be "and are ready."

                              It baffles me that so many otherwise educated people can't tell that a supposedly official message would have been proofread and wouldn't have such glaring and multiple grammar mistakes.

                              ^-.-^
                              Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others. - Dresden

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