Here’s more about hacking for our Boston Tech Support Customers. A recent article in Network World today warned Mac users of a new Trojan horse that masquerades as a PDF document.
The malware, which was spotted by U.K.-based Sophos and Finnish antivirus vendor F-Secure, uses a technique long practiced by Windows attackers.
“This malware may be attempting to copy the technique implemented by Windows malware, which opens a PDF file containing a ‘.pdf.exe’ extension and an accompanying PDF icon,” said F-Secure today.
Mac users had quite a big malware scare earlier this year which resulted in a series of fake security programs , known as “scareware,” targeting them.
The Mac malware uses a two-step process, composed of a Trojan “dropper” utility that downloads a second element, a Trojan “backdoor” that then connects to a remote server controlled by the attacker, using that communications channel to send information gleaned from the infected Mac and receiving additional instructions from the hacker.
The discovery of this latest threat marks yet another evolution in Mac malware, and should serve as a warning that cyber criminals are increasingly targeting the operating system.
It’s no surprise that it’s better to be in front of the eight ball and get rid of known weaknesses. In the words of Benjamin Franklin “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. I.T Security is our business it should be yours too.
You can read this Network World article in it’s entirely by clicking here
