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Et tu, Mac? - Saga of Apple Eating Worm
Angsuman Chakraborty
February 20th, 2006
A computer worm has been found in the wild that targets Apple Computer's Mac OS X operating system. It is believed to be the first such worm aimed specifically at the Mac platform.
The worm, named OSX/Leap-A by Sophos, spreads by Apple's iChat instant messaging program.
Source: NYT
Filed under Computer Security, Headline News, Web | 
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February 21st, 2006 at 11:38 am
Actually, it’s more of a trojan horse than a worm, as there are far too many steps that a conscious user would need to go through before the “virus” is activated. And, when activated, it does very little harm to the user’s system.
“If downloaded, decompressed, launched and activated by an administrator password the ‘not particularly sophisticated’ virus does little more than attempt to propagate itself via iChat.” ~ via MacMerc.com
February 21st, 2006 at 12:07 pm
James,
Thanks for the update. It appears a bug in the virus (they too need quality processes
) prevents it from launching in computers infected through iChat. If I understand correctly that means a debugged version can essentially do some damage. What concerns me is not the virulence of the worm/trojan but the fact that the same technology (spreading through iChat) can be used to infect Mac systems, which were so far immune to infections of any kind.
February 21st, 2006 at 1:23 pm
I agree. That fact that it can be spread is a concern. But, if Apple is handling this issue like they usually do, they will probably plug the hole with a security patch within the week. Honestly, I’m surprised that they haven’t released a patch yet. The last two virus-related security holes were plugged within twenty-four hours of their initial public announcement.