OS X virus theory...

[Kiva]

I apologize if this has been posted before, but I couldn't find it in the search...

http://www.macforensicslab.com/ProductsA...neral_info&products_id=174

it's basically some article outlining the 'theory' of mac malware..i don't have the skills to critique it, beyond saying that there still isn't anything active in the wild...

thoughts?

kiva

EDIT: ok, the article came up on my google search..turns out he sight is selling something - certainly not an impartial 3rd party...

[testcase]

Interesting read.

[JEBB]

I'm no expert but it seems that the malware described can cause havoc in the computer it is allowed into but not in any others. In the biological world it would be like virus requiring your permission to give you the flu.

[TheCaber]

Nearly 2 years old. Nearly content-free. How many viruses for Mac OS X have been reported in the wild since then (29 Feb 2008)?

I thought not.

There _is_ a vector for viruses for any OS on any platform. It sits between the keyboard and the chair (PEBKAC) and knows the root password, or has access to the power switch and can interrupt the boot procedure and modify firmware, and is enticed/enlisted to act in the interest of the malware writer. Social engineering will accomplish what mere software cannot, and can bypass the best efforts of the designers of secure operating systems and security procedures.

Take a look at Ken Thompson's 1983 ACM Turing Award address for a glimpse at just how easily security can be subverted: Reflections on Trusting Trust

[Manlove]

"The discovery of how to do it is a revelation that far surpasses any benefit obtained by being told how to do it."-Ken Thompson

Now that's a maxim to live by.