Mac OS X Leopard Gets Infected By an Email Worm

We all know the umpteen security features supported by Apple’s Mac OS X and I do feel jealous over the Mac Users. Even though getting myself a Mac is in the pipeline, I am waiting for the exact day when I should shift from my usual desktop. Some of the security features provided by a Mac are:

• Application-Based Firewall.

• Stronger Encryption for Disk Images

• Sandboxing(Constraining an application from accessing the file system, network and other resources)

Unlike Microsoft Windows Operating Systems which are virus prone, there is a less chance of a Mac System to be affected by viruses.Even though there are occasions when Mac OS X had been struck by viruses, none of them are capable to bring the entire system down. There are supposed to be minor glitches which can be easily handled by the anti-virus applications like Intego VirusBarrier X5.

Now, there are traces of a new malware affecting Mac OS X machines and it is being called as OSX/Tored.A. This malware gets its basics from RealBasic, which is a version of the BASIC programming language which is generally available for all the famous Operating Systems like Windows, Linux and Mac. This malware consistes of a runtime needed for the RealBasic code to be executed. After getting into the system and copying itself to the System folder and the System/Library/StartupItems folder and renames itself to “systemupdate” or “applesystem” and then grabs the email addresses from the Address Books and send a mail to the recipients with the same malware code which is meant to be executed.

This malware also attempts to create a botnet, and records some keystrokes, and attempts to copy itself to other disks that are mounted.

This malware named Tored is claimed to be less risky and there is nothing to worry as it is not spreading at an alarming rate. Tored is considered to be a lame worm based on the bugs in the code and the funny instances in the messages it transfers to the recipients mail boxes such as the following:

For Mac OS X ! If you are not on Mac please transfer this mail to a Mac and sorry for our fault

There are no reasons to fret as this worm is inconsistent in terms of coding and work efficiency.