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Flashback

New Flashback Trojan variant found for OS X

This year has been relatively silent with regard to malware in OS X, but today security and antivirus firm Intego reported that the criminals behind the Flashback Trojan have been hard at work releasing new variants to their malware package. The seventh variant of Flashback has been identified, which shows it is using new and unique techniques for infecting Macs.

Flashback is a Trojan horse attack that, according to Intego, now uses numerous methods for infecting Mac systems. First it will try to take advantage of Java security holes to install itself, but if you do not have Java installed (… Read more

New Flashback malware variant follows XProtect update

When the MacDefender fake antivirus malware was making its rounds early last year, there was a daily cat-and-mouse game between the criminals developing the software and various malware detection companies, plus Apple with its XProtect routine that establishes its "Safe Downloads" list.

While MacDefender has been properly addressed and is no longer an issue, the latest cat-and-mouse game appears to be revolving around the recent Flashback malware that was found for OS X. Flashback is a Trojan horse that is distributed as a fake version of Adobe's Flash player program. When installed it will insert a payload … Read more

Apple issues late XProtect update for Flashback Trojan

As with many modern operating systems, OS X is relatively difficult to infect with self-propagating malware attacks like viruses or worms, so malware developers have resorted to social engineering and trickery, with Trojan horse programs being the main mode of attack on home computer systems.

A Trojan horse is a piece of maliciously crafted software that is disguised as a legitimate software package, but which when installed by an unsuspecting user will corrupt files, break down system security measures, or send personal information to external servers among other malicious activity.

Malware generally is distributed via underground Web sites, though in … Read more

Latest Adobe Flash Trojan for OS X gets revised

A few weeks ago Intego discovered a new Trojan horse for OS X that poses as an installer for Adobe Flash. The Trojan attempts a somewhat complex attack that involves disabling security features and inserting into existing applications code that attempts to send personal information to remote servers.

This Trojan, called OSX/flashback.A, is one of a few new malware attempts on the Mac platform that have surfaced in the past few months (others being a PDF-based malware attack and another fake Flash installer).

As with any malware attempt, we expect there will be future revisions as the criminals … Read more

Screen star

BB FlashBack Standard Edition is an incredibly easy-to-use program that allows you to create video recordings of on-screen activities. The program's cool features and intuitive design make it a great choice for presentations, tutorials, and more.

The program's interface is quite well-designed, and getting started with the recording features is easy. A small (but optional) toolbar appears next to the your system tray, with buttons for Record, Stop, and Play, as well as access to a more detailed menu. When you're ready to record, just click the button, and a brief wizard appears that allows you to … Read more

The case of the dual-core Pentium

In the course of writing this week's CPU Roadmap feature (detailing what Intel and AMD will be up to in the next few years), we had a chance to solve the mystery of the Pentium Dual Core T2060 processor, which kept showing up in advertisements and options lists for budget laptops. See, the Pentium brand was supposedly retired with the announcement of Core processors in early 2006. A quick search of Intel's product page reveals no dual-core Pentium. To make matters more confusing, it has what looks like a Core Duo model number. What?

So we put on … Read more