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A new computer threat to Mac users and system administrators has been uncovered, powerful enough to bypass firewalls and turn off security software. The Renepo worm, also known as Opener/SH worm can disable Mac OS X firewall while downloading necessary tools for password sniffing and cracking. Anti-virus experts at Sophos warn it can also make key system directories world-writeable and can easily turn off accounting and logging to disguise its presence. Although no version of the worm has been found in the wild experts say the programme is a warning for Mac users not to become complacent about the malware threat. “The Renepo worm reminds Mac users who may have felt smug that most viruses target the Microsoft Windows market that they should be careful not to turn a blind eye to security,” said Graham Cluely, senior technology consultant at Sophos. “You do not want the Renepo worm anywhere near your Mac OS X network,” he said. “Renepo makes so many security changes to your systems that all bets are off once you have been compromised.” He said because the worm attempts to harvest the user configuration and password data for a wide range of applications it represents a security nightmare for all administrators by leaving open a backdoor for further attacks. Similar to previous attacks, the worm writers left credits and figments of comment for anti-virus experts in the shell script. Thank you messages for those who helped Renepo with extra ‘code’ as well ‘additional ideas and advice’ were also found. Sophos recommends a safe computing policy for all Mac users and advises running up-to-date AV software. Oct 29, 2004 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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