“Spyware and keystroke loggers have often been thought of as a Windows only problem, but Nicholas Raba, CEO of SecureMac.com and co-author of Maximum Security says many Apple Macintosh users may have a false sense of security. SecureMac has released MacScan which detects and removes Macintosh spyware, remote administration utilities and keystroke loggers. In a telephone interview, Raba talked to us about current and future Macintosh spyware and virus threats,” Humphrey Cheung writes for TG Daily.
Cheung writes, “MacScan, one of the few Macintosh anti-spyware programs, was released in 2002 and recently reached version 2.0. It currently recognizes, quarantines and deletes dozens of spyware programs and keystroke loggers and Raba adds, “And I’m not talking about cookies. You’ll see that other anti-spyware programs classify browser cookies as spyware.” The program is freely downloadable for a 15 day free trial. Afterwards, a perpetual license is $24.95. With a booth at the upcoming Macworld in San Franscisco and a retail push, Raba wants MacScan to become a household name like Ad-Aware or Symantec.”
Cheung writes, “People who are frustrated with computer viruses and spyware are constantly told to buy a Macintosh, but Raba told us that this just gives them a false sense of security. ‘Sure it may be one of the more secure operating systems, but you can’t go with the attitude that there are no viruses for the Mac,’ says Raba. He adds that proof of concept virus code is already running around the Internet and that a major Mac virus is inevitable. ‘Anyone with programming skills could make something, the majority don’t bother because they don’t want to go to jail,'” says Raba.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: There are zero Mac OS X viruses. Surely there are better ways to promote your product, Mr. Raba? You want to become to “become a household name like Symantec?” Well, you’ve certainly started down the right path to becoming as poorly-regarded as is Symantec by Mac users worldwide. Why are you talking about viruses when your product promises only to “detect, isolate, and remove: spyware, keystroke loggers, trojan horses, and administration applications?” What’s next, galoshes for earthworms, just $24.95 a pair?
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Related MacDailyNews articles:
Why pay Symantec for flawed ‘security’ app designed to protect Apple Macs from nonexistent threats? – December 27, 2005
‘Highly critical’ flaw in discovered in Symantec AntiVirus for Mac OS X – December 21, 2005
Why Symantec’s ‘scare tactics’ don’t worry Mac users – September 28, 2005
$500 bounty offered for proof of first Apple Mac OS X virus – September 27, 2005
Symantec details flaws in its antivirus software – March 30, 2005
Motley Fool writer: ‘I’d be surprised if Symantec ever sells a single product to a Mac user again’ – March 24, 2005
Symantec cries wolf with misplaced Mac OS X ‘security’ warning – March 23, 2005
Symantec’s Mac OS X claims dismissed as nonsense, FUD – March 22, 2005
Symantec warns about Mac OS X security threat – March 21, 2005
wheres the proof??? come on..
Cracks me up when firms develop a product before there is a proven need. Then hawk the hell out of it for just $24.95.
I want to see that virus before I shell out $24.95.
Raba is an idiot.
The “proof of concept” code he is talking about is probably that stupid bash script that somebody wrote and advertised earlier in the year.
I have been working with an entire group of people trying to create the first self-replicating virus for OSX since Jaguar. Apple has not made it easy at all.
Don’t buy his product, or any of the other stupid anti-virus products for OS X. YOU DO NOT NEED THEM.
– Angry Munkee Security Coder
Don’t know what to say really, except what a complete tosser this guy seems… Spreading FUD around in the hope of ensnaring a few scared Windows switchers; pathetic and lamentable excuse for a business.
ClamXAV protects you from non-existent viruses for free.
MDN word: saying
I’m just saying that if you are going to scan for non-existent viruses, why pay money for it?
What spyware on a Mac? I have yet to see one factual writing of a real piece of spyware that has infected a Mac on OSX. Don’t waste your money on this FUD program that will not protect you from anything because there is nothing out there to begin with. I would call this scamware to take people to the cleaners with there money for nothing.
merry xmas… we all get no viruses.. and saved 25 bucks
there are keyloggers for the mac os… not sure if anyone uses them.. but they are there.
For only $9.95 I’d be glad to remove all Mac OS X viruses and spyware from your computer. A $15 savings over SecureMac.
Besides non-existent viruses, does he have a point about spyware, key-loggers, trojan horses, and malicious administration programs?
MDN word: test
I guess there’s no test to prevent Mac users with no common sense from allowing obvious malware onto their computer.
There was that one key-logger called “Peeping Tom” from back in the OS 8 and 9 days.
MDN word: problem
Though I never had a problem with it being installed surrepitiously on my computer and stealing information.
it’s funny.. but if you go to their site.. and click on the Spyware link… there is none listed…
On a related note, my pterodactyl repellant works great. I haven’t been bitten once this year!
Did Munkee actually admit to working as part of a group creating a self-replicating Mac virus? Here’s wishing you the worst of luck.
What a turd.
Never ask a barber if you need a haircut.
“proof of concept virus code is already running around the Internet”
Is this the virus code that SecureMac maybe attempted to spread across the internet in order to sell more virus protection software, and which disappointingly failed to infect any Macs??
Gee, I hope they leave their modems unplugged so that proof of concept virus doesn’t escape the laboratory. Remember that’s how killer bees came to bee. http://www.distant.ca/UselessFacts/fact.asp?ID=53
Speaking of viruses:
http://forums.winxpcentral.com/showthread.php?t=15990
Another quote by Mr. Raba on http://www.macobserver.com/article/2005/11/29.15.shtml
“While Mac OS X has yet to suffer from the widespread Trojan Horse, spyware and virus attacks seen in the Windows world, SecureMac.com CEO Nicholas Raba told Mr. Lemos: “Mac OS X is currently more secure than Linux or Windows only for the fact that the shares of users is smaller thus the (number of) researchers discovering the flaws is smaller.”
This guy is a security expert? Not only does he buy into the false security through obscurity crap, but he thinks Linux has larger market share than OS X. I Googled OS market share to check that right when I saw it. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think OS X has larger market share than Linux and yet the “expert” is spewing crap. Bet you money if you google some more on him you’ll find more FUD in the same sentence as the name of the snake oil he’s selling.
Let the recent $ymantec security risk be a lesson to you weenies: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Why would you spend perfectly good money (not to mention cpu cycles) on shit you DO NOT NEED?
Jake,
I actually don’t see a problem with Munkee working to try to create a virus. If he’s not working on putting one in the wild, but rather working to see if it can be done, I see no harm. Research like that can only work to make OS X stronger if he does it right. Report his findings back to Apple rather than release it into the wild, or release the mechanism to the “bad guys”.
A lot of Mac user pass files to and from PC users, I use Anti-Virus as a courtesy to people using Windows, even if they do use Windows.
The sky is falling….
On the mouse in my beer, eh
See the Egress, only $2!
Suckers!
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Gosh, all the old forum content is gone from their site. They can’t name what keyboard loggers and spyware they remove. At least Symantec does to some degree. Does MacScan remove or indentify all versions of Spector? Or BackTrack? Is it a kernel extension? How badly does it muck with permissions (like earlier versions did)?
I tried an early version a couple of years ago. It created problems with my machine then. I know better now.
“‘Anyone with programming skills could make something, the majority don’t bother because they don’t want to go to jail,'” says Raba.”
Anyone could, but they don’t want to go to jail? Wouldn’t that apply to every OS, Raba? Also, if anyone could it, why is there only one POC virus out there? Shouldn’t there be a lot if it was so easy that any hacker could do it.