THIS is why you don't get OS X from anywhere but the official source (Apple)

[Lifeisabeach]

New OS X malware 'iWorm' discovered in pirated software | Electronista

A new Trojan threat, possibly disguised as a fake unauthorized build of OS X 10.10 Yosemite, is making the rounds by taking in users who attempt to pirate software. The new malware, dubbed "iWorm" by Russian research firm "Dr. Web," has supposedly been installed by duped users on over 17,000 unique IP addresses worldwide thus far. Users would have had to have downloaded and installed the software in order to be victimized by the Trojan, which is mostly aimed at gathering user data.

 

[chscag]

Moved here to Security and Awareness.

Although this certainly qualifies as a "Rumor or Report", I felt it would be more appropriate to place it in the "Security and Awareness" forum.

 

[midway40]

Reminds me of years ago when WinXP: Malware Edition came out. It was loaded with "goodies" for the ignoramus that installed it.

 

[harryb2448]

I think Dr. Web is also a concern!

 

[dtravis7]

Well to me if they want to pirate OSX when the Beta WAS FREE and even the release probably will be FREE, that is what they get and to me deserve! Sorry, they asked for what they are getting.

Even Snow Leopard was 0nly $19.95! Wow, such a HIGH price with Windows at $100-300.

 

[chas_m]

The report from Dr Web is sketchy at best. I've heard tales that they actively develop threats as well as "fix" them, though I can't verify it.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Moved here to Security and Awareness.

Although this certainly qualifies as a "Rumor or Report", I felt it would be more appropriate to place it in the "Security and Awareness" forum.

No problem. *thumbs up*

The report from Dr Web is sketchy at best. I've heard tales that they actively develop threats as well as "fix" them, though I can't verify it.

Thanks chas, thanks a lot. Now any schmuck wandering in here will see your reply and shrug off the risks of downloading pirated copies of OS X based on your assurance that this report is "sketchy".

 

[chas_m]

I'm glad you assign me more credibility than anyone else in the world. I didn't say the threat was sketchy; I said Dr Web is sketchy (because they are).

For example, they claim over 17,000 Macs are "infected," but in the report they say that it's actually 17,000 unique IP addresses. Big big difference there.

That's sketchy in my opinion. Maybe you don't think so, but I do.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

I'm glad you assign me more credibility than anyone else in the world.

I don't. But incoming noobs might.

I didn't say the threat was sketchy; I said Dr Web is sketchy (because they are).

For example, they claim over 17,000 Macs are "infected," but in the report they say that it's actually 17,000 unique IP addresses. Big big difference there.

That's sketchy in my opinion. Maybe you don't think so, but I do.

You want to be pedantic? I can too. Here's Dr. Web's original report:
New Mac OS X botnet discovered — Dr.Web - innovation anti-virus security technologies. Comprehensive protection from Internet threats.

And here's a choice quote from their own mouths:

A statistical analysis indicates that there are more than 17,000 unique IP addresses associated with infected Macs.

Please show me where in that quote, or elsewhere in their report, that they said that those 17,000 unique IP addresses translates into 17,000 unique Macs.

For the enlightenment of those who are trying to follow this... an infected MacBook could be signing in to that botnet from multiple IP addresses as the owner takes it from home, to office, to coffee shop, and so on. Emphasis on "could". This "could" be a single well-traveled MacBook that has been to 17,000 unique wi-fi hotspots, or 8,500 MacBooks that have been to a pair of hotspots each. It could also be 17,000 Macs sitting on a desktop in 17,000 unique locations, or it could be 34,000 unique Macs with a pair sitting on the same hotspot/router.

 

[johnodd4]

Excuse me in this post do you understand why people pirate mac os x instead of downloading it legally it has to do with how apple decided to rig mac os x maverick and yosemite to there own boot.efi files to lock out older unsupported macintoshe's which from what we have seen in youtube is funny because the mac pro and mac mini and even the white iMacs can run maverick no problem its just apple wanted to make some more money and force people to upgrade with this change came another change I'm sorry your computer doesn't support maverick there for you cannot download it from the app store which forces people to pirate the software because of apples stupid limitations on downloading.

this is why you have fake torrents and even funnier on this why would you download a torrent from russia that most likely 98.9 percent of the time will have malware because russia has the largest computer infection rates because they don't buy legit they steal

 

[dtravis7]

Ever tried Mavericks on an Unsupported Mac? I have. It's not pretty! Not at all. There is a lot more than just the boot.efi file like 64Bit video drivers for the old Video chipsets in the Non supported Macs for a start.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Excuse me in this post do you understand why people pirate mac os x instead of downloading it legally it has to do with how apple decided to rig mac os x maverick and yosemite to there own boot.efi files to lock out older unsupported macintoshe's which from what we have seen in youtube is funny because the mac pro and mac mini and even the white iMacs can run maverick no problem its just apple wanted to make some more money and force people to upgrade with this change came another change I'm sorry your computer doesn't support maverick there for you cannot download it from the app store which forces people to pirate the software because of apples stupid limitations on downloading.

Riiiiiight.... there's no chance anyone would be faking those videos, eh? No chance at all. Or maybe your definition of "no problem" is very much different from ours. Fact is that with Mountain Lion and onwards, OS X was fully migrated to a 64-bit OS and booting requires a 64-bit EFI. It also requires a minimum level of GPU support because much of the UI is 3D-rendered. On top of this, the increased minimum RAM requirements means some older Macs were left out. Oh sure, I suppose you could force OS X to run with less than the minimum RAM requirements, but as Dennis said, it wouldn't be pretty.

Now, of course you can hack your way around many limitations, but it's just naive to think these limitations are completely arbitrary. If they were, then Mavericks would have cut out some Macs that Mountain Lion supported, and Yosemite still more Macs (though not officially announced as far as I know, it is expected to be fully supported on anything that can run Mountain Lion and Mavericks). And regardless of the justification for going an "unofficial" route, the risks of doing so are still real.

this is why you have fake torrents and even funnier on this why would you download a torrent from russia that most likely 98.9 percent of the time will have malware because russia has the largest computer infection rates because they don't buy legit they steal

LOL! I don't know where you live, but do you have any idea how rampant piracy is in the US? Maybe not to the levels in Russia and China, but there is quite a lot of it.