My Thoughts, Views, Tips and Commentary on Technology, Politcs and Health.
The Mac Trojan/Malware ‘MacDefender’ now calls itself ‘Mac Shield’.
The malware keeps changing names and looks but still is relatively the same as before. However it is still infecting loads of machines and is, in my opinion very dangerous; it lures users into providing sensitive financial information to thieves.
Sophos for Mac will remove it. (free) Get it here.
So will Virus Barrier Express from the Apple App Store; here. also free.
“UPDATE!”
After a few weeks of removing loads of nasties from Windows and Mac machines and recovering data from dead or corrupted drives from both types of systems because of malware/viruses and hardware failures, I thought I would republish this.
I must ask you – in this digital age what price will you put on your data?! You family pictures, you financial documents and communications – everything? I don’t ask this lightly. For only a couple of hundred dollars you can KNOW that you will be safe!
People PLEASE HAVE A SYSTEM BACKUP – COMPLETE AND TESTED!!
I have been asked again to explain in more detail with examples of how I personally backup/archive my data. My previous article is here and should be read first.
So here it is in a simple, I hope, form.
I have two external HDDs (actually many but for example this will work) I use Acronis as my primary imaging software. If you use OS X you can use Time Machine, Carbon Copy or Apple’s built in disk image utility. I covered these in the post above.
To create my images I use an external HDD mount, like this. with drives something like this or this. You can mount the drives in your system if you like or use any other external type of drive. I just like the ease and economy of this set up. It also makes it easy to just take the drives, place them back in the protective bags they come in and put them( rotate) into a safe deposit box.
I create a full image of my system on external HD #1 on Jan 1st – HD01_Jan_image01.tib
On Jan 2nd I create a full image of my system on external HD #2 – HD02_Jan_image01.tib
I now have two images on two separate drives.
At the end of week one for the month I create an incremental backup to external HD #1 – HD01_Jan_image01_02.tib (or whatever Acronis auto names it.)
At the end of week two for the month I create an incremental backup to external HD #2 – HD02_Jan_image01_02.tib
At the end of week three for the month I create an incremental backup to external HD #1 – HD01_Jan_image01_03.tib
On the 1st of the next month I create a new FULL image to HD #2 – HD02_Feb_image01.tib. Once that image is created I can then delete the previous months images ON THAT drive.
On the 2nd of the month I create a full image to HD #1 – HD01_Feb_image01.tib. Once that image is created I can then delete the previous months images ON THAT drive.
This assures me that if my system were to die AND one of my external drives failed I would lose no more that two weeks of data – usually just one week or less!
You should also copy or store one of the external drives in a fire safe or safe deposit box for true disaster recovery!
As with any good backup plan you should regularly test your backups! Either do a full restore (highly recommended) or at least validate and mount your images to insure they are fully readable.
If you wish to, or have to, for compliance issues (corporations) you can archive your monthly images to additional external drives. I do. I have images of machines that are long gone (some over ten years!) and I have been able to retrieve data I needed very easily and quickly. In fact I needed a Photoshop file recently that I was able to retrieve from one of my images of an old Mac G3!!
I hope this helps. Please don’t be the person who loses important personal, family or business data because you couldn’t take a little time and effort to set up a backup and recovery plan. The costs and time are insignificant when compared to the cost of loss!
While this is an early Beta, I am very happy to see one of my favorite tools now available on OS X – CCleaner.
I have been using this for some time on ALL of my Windows machines. In fact I have it scripted for all my users – every time they login CCleaner is run. This helps keep any lurking nasty’s in temp folders from being able to be run – since they are removed.
This early Mac version does not of course have as many features as the Windows version yet but looks real promising. Have a try. I hope you find it useful.
You should also have (if you don’t already from my previous posts – Onyx
Ok OS X folks. Looks like Apple finally is releasing a ‘fix/update’ for the MacDefender Trojan.
The update provides a File Quarantine definition for the "OSX.MacDefender.A" malware and Mac OS X 10.6.7 will now automatically update the definitions on a daily basis. The update will also search for and remove MacDefender and its known variants.
The knowledge base article is here
and the actual download is here
Please update your systems.
My previous article is here.
MacDefender, is the rogue antimalware trojan currently spreading on Mac systems. This malware is known by a variety of names, including "Mac Defender", "MacProtector", "Mac Security", "Apple Security", and "Apple Security Center". It is a great example of how ‘social engineering’ can be used to trick people into harming themselves. Below are clear and easy procedures for removing it, read the quick summary or follow the links at the end for walk-throughs with loads of screen shots
I have written recently about this here, but it appears more people are being ‘snagged’.
Apple support is being of absolutely NO help either! In fact they are telling their people,"Do not attempt to remove malware.." Read about that BS here if you wish. So I thought I’d again provide some tips.
Here is the simple summary of what to do:
Here are the two best links I could find for simple walk-throughs. I would rather not repeat the tutorials they have already taken the time to do.
Their work is much appreciated.
Now the super links with detailed screen shots and some additional tips:
The HowToGeek.com site has a great walk through here.
VRT-blog has some good information on this also, read that here.
Folks, if you use a Mac and you connect it to any systems – especially the internet, please realize that you are vulnerable to attacks and hacks. NO system is immune to attack! Although Mac’s and Linux systems have benefited by a more secure file system/OS structure (for the most part) than previous Windows systems AND the fact that their numbers were small – about 8% of all network connected desktop machines and presented a ‘low volume’ target they are now increasingly being attacked. This is especially true since many Apple uses have been lied to and told they are invulnerable to attacks.
BE SAFE FOLKS!
People very often ask me about the differences between Apple products and Microsoft’s.
My usual answer is this simple – one sells hardware (Apple) the other software (Microsoft). Both provide Operating systems that run PC’s (Personal Computers where the abbreviation PC really comes from!); Apple’s Operating system is OS X, Microsoft’s is Windows 7 (both latest). Both are fantastic. But there are many other distinct differences in the philosophies that drive each company.
I just spend another good bit of time trying to explain this to a few folks so I thought I’d pass on some of my points.
Microsoft does software primarily (yes there are some good hardware products by Microsoft like the Xbox and K’nect) – operating systems and applications and let’s just about anybody ‘build’ the hardware ‘around’ that software. In fact Microsoft was the premier software provider that helped Apple really get started in the 80’s.
Heck after Apple ousted Steve Job’s and nearly imploded, it was Microsoft that, along with the ‘re-hiring’ of Jobs literally saved the company with loads of cash and promises to continue software development for Apple!! Without Bill Gates, today’s Apple probably wouldn’t exist! Lets go back to Aug 6th, 1997 …Read here and Read here.
Apple is primarily a hardware seller. They tightly, and I mean very tightly, control the hardware that they allow their software (OS) to run on. In fact it is against the licensing agreement for OS X to run it on anything but Apple hardware! This helps Apple deliver hardware (with the associated software OS) that is usually of fairly good quality. But of course at a premium price.
Apple is great at ‘user interfaces’. The iPod and iPhone are simple and very easy to use, very intuitive. With such a large following the iPhone(and iPad now) also now have many great applications. The iPod took a technology that had existed for while and made it unbelievably user friendly Same with the iPad. Again simplicity of software interface to pretty hardware. Something that is sometimes missed is that ‘prettiness’ and the price people are willing to pay for it.
Apple has an awesome marketing department.
Apple ‘Fan-boys’ far out number any others.
My primary systems are MS Windows machines and servers of course. But I also run some Linux servers and a few Apple desktops. And I have been intimately working with all of them for decades (Linux being a ‘build/port’ of Unix that has been around for over 30 years). And my knowledge is simply not just web surfing or printing pictures. I have and do continue to use all of these in business production environments – digital pre-press, medical fields, financial fields, government and many other industries. [I also won’t even go into the ‘more stable’ argument I often here from some fan-boys because I’m sure they have never RIP’d a 300+MB file on a Mac vs a PC or had to crunch massive digital files. Suffice it to say all systems crash but in my personal experience it has been Mac’s that do so more than any other under heavy processing]
Before you jump on me; I have had apples since my first Apple IIe. I still have lots of Apple hardware. So don’t call me a hater. I just don’t like being ‘locked’ into items or forced to spend loads of cash for hardware upgrades just to keep my software up to date.
As an illustration of that point.
"If you took your car in for service and they welded your hood shut, you wouldn’t be very happy,"- Apple shutting owners out of their iPhones.
http://goo.gl/HDmNY
Another VERY important thing for many to consider is the cost of hardware of each system. Apple systems do and will cost you a HIGH premium over similar Windows based systems. AND Apple is very good at making sure you will have to replace your system every few years! I am not kidding. If you have an Apple machine that is over 3 or 4 years old there is most likely no way you could run the latest version of their OS (OS X Snow Leopard). If you have a ten year old Windows PC sitting around you could still put Windows 7 on it and also upgrade most of the hardware too!!
However please remember the ‘best’ product is one that will do what you want it to (or minimum you will accept) and provides the user experience you desire.
That’s it!
Technology is only a tool, a means to an end. Not the end in and of itself.
I also won’t waste the space here to go over the VERY false argument that Mac’s are immune to being hacked or compromised. This is a statement NEVER made by anyone who deals with security on a regular basis such as myself and many of my colleagues! Mac’s have just had a much smaller ‘target’ on their head in the past but are still just as easily compromised as PCs.
If you have been using a Mac or Windows PC and it works for you stick with it unless you have some other overriding need to switch. The learning curve for Windows 7 and OS X is very short now days compared to the differences of even a decade ago.
If you are primarily just going to be browsing the web, looking at photos and some simple office type application work you will do OK with either one.
Now some entertaining illustrations:
