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Mac security scam |
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05-10-2011, 05:47 AM
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Chairman of the Board
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Between Boston and NY
Posts: 2,700
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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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05-10-2011, 08:36 AM
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Assistant Manager
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: NW England
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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!
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05-10-2011, 03:54 PM
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Big blocks rule.
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Join Date: Oct 2006
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And yet, some people swear that MACs are immune to malware. 
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05-10-2011, 09:05 PM
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Cashier
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 86
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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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05-11-2011, 04:39 AM
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Go ahead. Make a wish.
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Join Date: Aug 2008
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Quote:
Quoth sld72382
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.
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05-11-2011, 05:22 AM
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Chairman of the Board
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Quote:
Quoth wildman
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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05-11-2011, 05:42 AM
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Heavy Metal Admin
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Join Date: Jul 2006
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Damn, now they're going after the Mac users too??? I guess I should have known it was only a matter of time.
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05-11-2011, 03:29 PM
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Pedestrian of the Apocalypse
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Join Date: Jul 2008
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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.
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05-15-2011, 06:37 PM
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Me Teach English Heap Good.
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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.
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05-15-2011, 09:58 PM
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So it's supposed to do that?
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Eastern US.
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Quote:
Quoth Nashida
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.
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I noticed that, too. A lot of scams are like that.
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