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Apple is Hit by First Ever OS X Virus

February 17, 2006

Apple Computer Inc.'s Mac Operating System X software has never been ever hit by any virus until a few days back when it was hit by the a virus believed to have been spread from its IM or instant messaging.

This first ever virus to have hit the software company has been dubbed as ‘Leap-A' by the antivirus company Sophos PLC. The virus has been hit by the mischievous way of instant messaging. The virus spreads through the Apple's instant messaging service iChat.

The virus gets forwarded to the people in the contact list of the infected user by forwarding the file named as “latestpics.tgz.” Clicking on the file allows the malware to install and disguise itself as a harmless-seeming .jpeg icon. Leap-A is believed to have originally been posted on a Web site for Apple users, posing as a software update. Although the virus is benign and is not believed to be spreading in large numbers, it still marks a minor landmark for a system that has come to be seen in some quarters as immune to such mundane security issues.

Cluley said that some Apple users were claiming that Leap-A was somehow not a real virus because it required the victim to click on the link, an objection he branded as ridiculous. Many PC viruses needed user interaction to set off infection. and this one is no different. The virus is using the broader trend of infecting by spreading through the instant messaging though it is aimed only at Apple users. Instant messaging is an easier way to infect as it is a less protected channel and thus is vulnerable.

Despite being aimed at Apple users, the virus follows broader trends in attempting to spread through instant messaging, the new application target of choice. This is seen as a less protected channel and therefore a point of vulnerability.

Source: Computer World