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Mac Attack malware

The battle between Apple and Microsoft has raged for decades, with proponents on each side claiming that their religion is the better one.

"The Apple is easier to use" say one side. "Windows doesn't need proprietary hardware" says the other.

From time to time, the battle has even involved legal action -- such as the bunfight over Apple's trash-can icon and its "theft" by Digital Research (in its GEM GUI) then MS Windows.

By and large however, and despite the huge amounts of money involved, the rivalry between Steve and Bill has been relatively friendly.

But now something very sinister has happened that changes all that.

Apple are effectively saying that it's Microsoft's own fault for building such a crappy operating system but I'm sure that more than a few Windows users are not so sure it isn't just a low-life trick designed to rub salt in a wound.

Exactly what has happened?

Well Apple has shipped a bunch of iPods that contain an MS-Windows virus which attacks any Windows-based PC into which the device is plugged.

Apparently, the infected players were only sold after 12 September and carry a nasty little "extra" in the form of the RavMonE virus.

It's claimed that less than 1% of the iPods shipped since that date are infected by the malware, which attempts to steal passwords and install a back-door on infected machines.

Keen to deflect blame, Apple claims that the virus got onto their iPods by way of a Windows PC on the assembly line. Gosh, aren't Apple computers good enough for use in such an application I wonder?

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With online security and subsequent identity theft being one of Net-users major concerns, I suspect that this little incident will do Apple no harm at all, while making more than a few PC users stop and think.

But (as they say in the infomercials) wait -- there's more!

One could be forgiven for thinking that perhaps Apple has recruited allies over at McDonalds as well.

Because, believe it or not, almost exactly the same thing appears to have happened with a bunch of MP3 players that the junk-food giant has given away as prizes in a recent promotion.

Over in Japan, around 10,000 (un)lucky diners found themselves the winners of these devices. Unfortunately, when plugged into a Windows-based PC, they promptly downloaded and installed a copy of QQPass spyware.

Are these "preloaded viruses" a new form of "Mac Attack" (pun intended)?

Is the goal to make life so difficult and risky for Windows user that they just opt to switch to Apple?

Probably not -- but now that someone's suggested it.... :-)

These two events do serve as an important reminder that infected disks and internet connections are not the only potential source of malware these days.

It's worth remembering that a memory stick (or indeed any USB device) carries the risk of infection -- especially if it's been previously connected to machines in an unknown state.

Have you ever been infected from a USB-based plug-in device?

Could hackers soon pick up on this vulnerability and start focusing on this vector as a delivery route for their malware?

Don't ya wish you had an Apple?

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