“Malicious worm aims to bite Apple”

Symantec would like Mac users to start worrying about trojans and viruses. Over on MacWorld there is an explanation of how this Leap-A thing works and I must admit that I’m a little surprised to see that it does not require an admin password. However, it appears that a simple permissions change can shut this thing out.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Malicious worm aims to bite Apple: “Installing and running the worm requires users to go through several stages and this, along with bugs in Leap-A’s code, have led security firms to play down the threat it poses.

‘The important piece of advice for any iChat users running OS X 10.4 is not to accept file transfers, even if they come from someone on a buddy list,’ said Kevin Hogan, Symantec security response manager.

Symantec said Leap-A was a level 1 threat on its ranking system - the lowest level. Computer security firms McAfee and F-Secure also said it posed little threat.”

Perhaps Symantec ought really to give sensible advice like: feel free to accept file transfers from your contacts, but ask them first what the file actually is.

Possibly related:

• Coca-Cola threat to quit schools
• Excite Truck: Platinum
• A Guide to Using RSS, Which Helps You Scan Vast Array of Web Sites