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iWork '09 Torrent Carrying OS X Trojan
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As disturbing as it may seem, not all of Mac users use iTunes. Some do pirate their music via Limewire and the like, even to this day.
Well it was going to happen sooner or later.As Macs get more popular and it's software (iWork) we will see more like this. Better keep the virus protectors up date and stop downloading illegal stuff. :/
Hugh
It's not a virus, it's a Trojan and there are differences between the two.
As much as I don't like riding the high horse, it does serve the pirates right in a base form, though I think people who code viruses/trojans/worms/whatever are scum.
What's even funnier is that the comments on some of the sites tell you to do that rather than download the torrents.
and yet they'd use iWork 09 - picky bunch...
Still, this is new - torrents of Mac S/W have been around for a long time...
Crazy Loons!
Apple were the pirates back in the 70's/80's. Anyway, that's another story and for a different thread I suppose (think pirate flag and blue boxes).
To answer a question I've seen surface a few times, people are downloading the torrent because they believe it is an exact image of the iWork installation disk which, as we know, does not require a serial number.
Apple were the pirates back in the 70's/80's. Anyway, that's another story and for a different thread I suppose (think pirate flag and blue boxes).
To answer a question I've seen surface a few times, people are downloading the torrent because they believe it is an exact image of the iWork installation disk which, as we know, does not require a serial number.
+1 For Pirates
I find your use of the word derogatory and inflammatory. You make it sound as they are subhuman wretches who board ships and plunder them for their riches, kill their crew, and use those ships to further commit acts of criminal influence.
so do they recommend deleting that file? or can it be searched for using antivirus/trojan software?
you must be pretty dumb to download it, but i'm sure a lot of readers have, and want a fix.
you must be pretty dumb to download it, but i'm sure a lot of readers have, and want a fix.
First they told me that Trojans prevent disease; now they say Trojans spread viruses. Is there anything left to believe in?
I had Porn4Mac download to my computer once. But I was smart enough to not type in my password.
Indego's Blog said:
You should be able to delete it by deleting the iWorkServices folder in Startup Items.
The best way to guarantee it is completely removed is to zero-write the drive and reinstall the OS.
Just to clarify....
What Is a Trojan horse?
A Trojan Horse is full of as much trickery as the mythological Trojan Horse it was named after. The Trojan Horse, at first glance will appear to be useful software but will actually do damage once installed or run on your computer. Those on the receiving end of a Trojan Horse are usually tricked into opening them because they appear to be receiving legitimate software or files from a legitimate source. When a Trojan is activated on your computer, the results can vary. Some Trojans are designed to be more annoying than malicious (like changing your desktop, adding silly active desktop icons) or they can cause serious damage by deleting files and destroying information on your system. Trojans are also known to create a backdoor on your computer that gives malicious users access to your system, possibly allowing confidential or personal information to be compromised. Unlike viruses and worms, Trojans do not reproduce by infecting other files nor do they self-replicate.
What Is a Virus?
A computer virus attaches itself to a program or file enabling it to spread from one computer to another, leaving infections as it travels. Like a human virus, a computer virus can range in severity: some may cause only mildly annoying effects while others can damage your hardware, software or files.
Almost all viruses are attached to an executable file, which means the virus may exist on your computer but it actually cannot infect your computer unless you run or open the malicious program. It is important to note that a virus cannot be spread without a human action, (such as running an infected program) to keep it going.
People continue the spread of a computer virus, mostly unknowingly, by sharing infecting files or sending e-mails with viruses as attachments in the e-mail.
What Is a Worm?
A worm is similar to a virus by design and is considered to be a sub-class of a virus. Worms spread from computer to computer, but unlike a virus, it has the capability to travel without any human action. A worm takes advantage of file or information transport features on your system, which is what allows it to travel unaided.
The biggest danger with a worm is its capability to replicate itself on your system, so rather than your computer sending out a single worm, it could send out hundreds or thousands of copies of itself, creating a huge devastating effect. One example would be for a worm to send a copy of itself to everyone listed in your e-mail address book. Then, the worm replicates and sends itself out to everyone listed in each of the receiver's address book, and the manifest continues on down the line.
Due to the copying nature of a worm and its capability to travel across networks the end result in most cases is that the worm consumes too much system memory (or network bandwidth), causing Web servers, network servers and individual computers to stop responding. In recent worm attacks such as the much-talked-about Blaster Worm, the worm has been designed to tunnel into your system and allow malicious users to control your computer remotely.
What Is a Trojan horse?
A Trojan Horse is full of as much trickery as the mythological Trojan Horse it was named after. The Trojan Horse, at first glance will appear to be useful software but will actually do damage once installed or run on your computer. Those on the receiving end of a Trojan Horse are usually tricked into opening them because they appear to be receiving legitimate software or files from a legitimate source. When a Trojan is activated on your computer, the results can vary. Some Trojans are designed to be more annoying than malicious (like changing your desktop, adding silly active desktop icons) or they can cause serious damage by deleting files and destroying information on your system. Trojans are also known to create a backdoor on your computer that gives malicious users access to your system, possibly allowing confidential or personal information to be compromised. Unlike viruses and worms, Trojans do not reproduce by infecting other files nor do they self-replicate.
What Is a Virus?
A computer virus attaches itself to a program or file enabling it to spread from one computer to another, leaving infections as it travels. Like a human virus, a computer virus can range in severity: some may cause only mildly annoying effects while others can damage your hardware, software or files.
Almost all viruses are attached to an executable file, which means the virus may exist on your computer but it actually cannot infect your computer unless you run or open the malicious program. It is important to note that a virus cannot be spread without a human action, (such as running an infected program) to keep it going.
People continue the spread of a computer virus, mostly unknowingly, by sharing infecting files or sending e-mails with viruses as attachments in the e-mail.
What Is a Worm?
A worm is similar to a virus by design and is considered to be a sub-class of a virus. Worms spread from computer to computer, but unlike a virus, it has the capability to travel without any human action. A worm takes advantage of file or information transport features on your system, which is what allows it to travel unaided.
The biggest danger with a worm is its capability to replicate itself on your system, so rather than your computer sending out a single worm, it could send out hundreds or thousands of copies of itself, creating a huge devastating effect. One example would be for a worm to send a copy of itself to everyone listed in your e-mail address book. Then, the worm replicates and sends itself out to everyone listed in each of the receiver's address book, and the manifest continues on down the line.
Due to the copying nature of a worm and its capability to travel across networks the end result in most cases is that the worm consumes too much system memory (or network bandwidth), causing Web servers, network servers and individual computers to stop responding. In recent worm attacks such as the much-talked-about Blaster Worm, the worm has been designed to tunnel into your system and allow malicious users to control your computer remotely.
Just wait ...
For the next trojan to be include with the Snow Leopard torrent.
Apple is popular enough that this is going to happen with increasing frequency.
hope not.
What's the point
Ok , I can undretand maybe getting a pirate copy of adobe creative suit or something like that, it's around £3000 new or something. iWork is £69, pennies compared to some apps, why not just save yourself hastle and buy a kosher copy
Ok , I can undretand maybe getting a pirate copy of adobe creative suit or something like that, it's around £3000 new or something. iWork is £69, pennies compared to some apps, why not just save yourself hastle and buy a kosher copy
Some onslaught ... since there are still 0 self-replicating, self-installing viruses in the wild.
From a blog I saw earlier, it starts a DoS attack on a certain website.
It is possible, and if I was a malware/virus writer, I would definitely consider that to be an effective method of delivery.
As long as you haven't installed a torrent of iWork recently.
I wish you had. It might have taught you a lesson. Seriously man, not cool.
I had a pirated version of Office on my system for a short time, but got rid of that quickly. Never want to mess with that.
jW
Too little too late,
If they have gained access to the system with this trojan they could have installed a key logger, grabbed your password file, created a back-door account.