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Ransom ware makes its first appearance on the Mac
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 7:25 am
by mikehalloran
Transmission, used by millions for file sharing, appears to be the culprit ... this time.
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/apple-users- ... nance.html
Re: Ransom ware makes its first appearance on the Mac
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 8:55 am
by cuttime
I'm wondering if double checking the installer would prevent installation. For the record, MacUpdate has become a minefield of dicey installers.
Re: Ransom ware makes its first appearance on the Mac
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 9:29 am
by Phil O
Yikes!
Re: Ransom ware makes its first appearance on the Mac
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 10:07 am
by billf
cuttime wrote:I'm wondering if double checking the installer would prevent installation. For the record, MacUpdate has become a minefield of dicey installers.
You can try a checksum on it. It's not infallible though.
Re: Ransom ware makes its first appearance on the Mac
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 12:30 pm
by Gravity Jim
If you're updating a bit torrent client, then you deserve it.
Re: Ransom ware makes its first appearance on the Mac
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 12:57 pm
by MIDI Life Crisis
Gravity Jim wrote:If you're updating a bit torrent client, then you deserve it.
TOTALLY agree! You effin deserve it! Instant karma.
Re: Ransom ware makes its first appearance on the Mac
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 3:56 pm
by mikehalloran
In 2012, Arturia offered a free MiniMoog VI. It was a pain to download but I noticed that they had a torrent link on the web site. I was in the Opera browser (has a more stable FTP client for downloads that don't work otherwise). What I didn't know was it also had a bittorrent client built in till I clicked on the link and it downloaded quickly.
That was the only time I ever saw a legitimate use for bittorrent client. I have no idea if Opera still has this.
Re: Ransom ware makes its first appearance on the Mac
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 4:50 pm
by mikehalloran
Re: Ransom ware makes its first appearance on the Mac
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 6:05 pm
by bayswater
mikehalloran wrote:In 2012, Arturia offered a free MiniMoog VI. It was a pain to download but I noticed that they had a torrent link on the web site.
I've seen a few things like this available via BT and wondered why. Maybe it puts less demand on your servers, something to consider if you're offering something for free.
Re: Ransom ware makes its first appearance on the Mac
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 6:26 pm
by cuttime
Down towards Fig.10 note that the developer is actively working on a way to
encrypt Time Machine backups as well.
BTW, I have also seen legit uses of bitTorrent software for distributing public domain, open source, and freeware-not a lot, but they do exist.
Re: Ransom ware makes its first appearance on the Mac
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 10:08 pm
by mikehalloran
cuttime wrote:
Down towards Fig.10 note that the developer is actively working on a way to
encrypt Time Machine backups as well.. . .
Of course. Otherwise, the threat isn't real. Corrupting multiple Time Machine backups over time will prove to be a very difficult task.
Re: Ransom ware makes its first appearance on the Mac
Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2016 6:25 pm
by monkey man
Transmission is the only client I've ever used, and I downloaded the update last Friday only a matter of minutes after Apple (or the Transmission folk - both entities did some stuff) had tagged the installer to not open.
Unaware of the malware thing, I spent the whole day trying to get it to open, running console scripts I didn't understand and wading my way through countless forum threads which might as well have been in Greek. Interestingly, I couldn't understand why Google searches didn't yield exact matches to my issue. Obviously it was because it wasn't long before a kosher update had been posted, making the "issue" obsolete.
If it weren't for the fact that I regularly read the active topics here (even 'though I can't log in, explained elsewhere on the forum), I'd not have known to seek out the relevant info (for edumahcation purposes only) and download the updated installer.
Thank you, Mike, for the extremely-valuable heads-up!
Oh, and Magilla, a link to "30 Sites For Legal (and Free) Torrents":
https://www.google.com.au/url?q=http:// ... I-8LFKlXzw
Also, apart from legit vendors' provision of torrent links for fast, load-spread downloads of their products, some musos, of which I imagine I'll be one one day, actually place their material up as free torrents for promotional purposes. The theory is that more folks may get to learn about your existence and hear your music than might otherwise have been the case. If a portion of this larger-than-otherwise pool of consumers decides it likes your stuff enough, it will choose to pay for it. Heck, even illegal-torrent posters often stress that if the recipients like what they see or hear, they ought to buy the real thing.
All I'm trying to say is that it's not all knives and daggers, something you mightn't have been aware of given your vitriolic response. I, for example, don't agree that I "deserve it". I'm not asking you to dial back that Sicilian passion; perish the thought! Rather, to perhaps re-evaluate that statement.
Oh, and I hope you've been well, matey!
Re: Ransom ware makes its first appearance on the Mac
Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2016 11:47 pm
by monkey man
... but wait, there's more:
The free download manager the UVI site recommends, which I've just installed as I was only getting 20-30k a second with Safari for the 9GB Digital-Synsations download, includes... wait for it... torrent-download, upload and browsing ability.
I mention this 'cause it seems to me that the method of distribution is still growing at a pace, as is its adoption for lessening the load on proprietary servers for many sites. Whether you're for the "technology" or not, my guess is that we'll all just have to deal with / get used to it as I can't see it going anywhere in a hurry. When you think about it, it's actually a far more efficient method of distribution, reducing or eliminating altogether the focussed burden on a single server or farm.