First 'rogue' Mac security tool discovered
updated 11:40 am EST, Tue January 15, 2008
Rogue Mac security tool
Security group F-Secure says it has discovered the first illicit security tool for the Mac platform, entitled MacSweeper. False security software has traditionally been a problem for Windows users, who encounter it through pop-ups and other online advertising. MacSweeper claims to clean a Mac of various forms of malware and spyware, but the program will find problems regardless of the actual state of a system, and then prompt users to pay for a full version of the tool.
The software also randomly displays a pop-up window of its own, written in broken English, suggesting that a user's privacy has been violated, and that they must pay for the full version of MacSweeper to solve the issue.
The nature of MacSweeper is said to be backed up by the MacSweeper website. If users visit the site on a PC and select Scan, it will identify vulnerabilities in folders that could only exist on a Mac, such as "system_root/home." The developer, KiVVi Software, has moreover stolen its website design from Apple, and its company description from Symantec.
F-Secure observes that the existence of MacSweeper does not mean the Mac OS is becoming insecure; rather, it implies that as Macs become more popular, users must be on guard for an increasing number of "social engineering" scams.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Sep 2001
this won't stop
PC fanboys from crowing that the Mac is now 'hackable' or 'susceptible to virii'.
Good of the article to note that social engineering is always a vulnerability with any computer.