back to article Chancers try to flog lame Mac malware for $60 a pop

Cybercrooks are attempting to obtain few bucks for a lame piece of Mac malware, dubbed NetWeird. NetWeird (AKA NetWeirdRC) has been offered for sale for the princely sum of $60 through underground cyber-crime forums, according to Mac security specialist Intego. The cross-platform malware potentially affects OS X (versions 10.6 …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The Real Story

    ...is that an anti-virus company did not use this as an excuse to push their wares!!

    From the article:

    "Netweird is not from the App Store and isn't digitally signed by an Apple-endorsed developer, so it won't run on machines running the default security settings built into Mountain Lion, says Sophos."

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The Real Story

      Sophos are good at doing the subtle here's-our-blog-we're-security-experts-so-use-our-software. They're good at their jobs and very experienced. And their Mac anti-virus product is freeware.

      (Incidentally, my office doesn't use Macs-does anyone know what their plan is behind that? Is it sold to corporate customers?)

  2. tkioz
    Trollface

    Should have put a "i" in front of it, they'd have sold millions!

    1. edge_e
      Trollface

      They'd need to put a 1 in front of the price too!

      ...actually is that where the "i" came from ?

  3. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    So it's obvious, reveals its presence, cannot survive a restart, cannot run on basic Mountain Lion settings and probably doesn't know how to phone home either.

    Well all that should be reassuring, except that this is obviously just a first stage attempt from the miscreants. They're going to correct the bugs and make a more efficient version, one that will serve their purposes better.

    In any case, however ridiculous this piece of failed malware may be, it is nonetheless a warning sign : the crooks are targeting Apple machines. Time to batten down the hatches in iLand.

    1. keithpeter Silver badge
      Windows

      Sort of reminds me of scanner applications...

      Back when I used a Mac laptop, I could always tell the applications that had been hacked up by (presumably) Windows oriented development teams. They never fitted in, they had wacky installers that sprayed files everywhere and they looked horrid. CanoScan for instance...

      The Mac OS X native virus producers will be along soon...

      1. Martin 37
        Thumb Down

        Re: Sort of reminds me of scanner applications...

        Oh Christ, Canoscan.

        Started everytime you booted up and ran at 100% CPU all the time. Since I scan about once per month (timesheets!) it had to go. Luckily it wasn't hard to kill, but it sounds like it made better malware than this Netweird thingie.

  4. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

    Why is this worth reporting?

    I mean, there must a gazillion monkeys writing code that doesn't work, and this thing doesn't seem to be more functional than "Hello world". Slow news day?

    1. Martin 37

      Re: Why is this worth reporting?

      Slow news day? On a bank holiday weekend when it's actually sunny, (for the moment), you're posting stuff on the Register?

      Get a life!

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    this is what happens when you pay peanuts for your malware writers

    I PAY MY MALWARE WRITERS A HANDSOME SALARY AND THEY LIVE WELL.

    1. RICHTO
      Mushroom

      Re: this is what happens when you pay peanuts for your malware writers

      Probably they outsourced this virus to India?

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I Remember When All This Were Fields

    Remember when malware wasn't about the money? "Ha ha I deleted all your files for no reason!"

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hang them by their thumbs

    All cybercriminals should be hung by their thumbs for a few months to make a clear impresssion on them what is unacceptable.

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
      Thumb Up

      Re: Hang them by their thumbs

      A few months?! Those thumbs are likely to go all green and runny well before then, and drop off. Then all your criminals will fall off the hooks and be lying on the floor, in an untidy heap, there'll be blood and pus everywhere, and it'll be a right old mess. Who's going to clean it all up? That's what I want to know.

      People who suggest other people be hung up by the thumbs, should be hung up by their thumbs for a few months.

      Oh, hang on a minute...

      Can't decide on the icon. There's thumbs up and down, but none falling off...

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