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Apple releases fix for Flashback malware
It promised earlier this week that a fix was coming, and Apple has now delivered a Java security update that is says removes "the most common variants of the Flashback malware." That update also reconfigures the Java web plug-in to disable the automatic execution of Java applets by default (in Lion, at least -- those still on Snow Leopard are advised to do that themselves), although folks can re-enable that functionality if they choose. As usual, OS X users can download the update through the Software Update application.
Java for OS X 2012-003 update kills Flashback malware, available now
Just this morning we noted that Apple had not yet come out with a tool to kill the Flashback malware, and that Kaspersky and F-Secure had both developed their own free tools. This afternoon, Apple released Java for OS X 2012-003 to remove "most common variants of the Flashback malware." According to the update notes, the Java web plug-in is also configured to disable the automatic execution of Java applets -- that's another way to keep malware like Flashback from spreading. Apple says that "This update is recommended for all Mac users with Java installed." Note that the link about the update was not live at the time of publication, but was listed as http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5242. You can get the update directly from Software Update.
Daily Update for April 12, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Flashback malware removal tools released by security firms
While Apple has said it "is developing software that will detect and remove the Flashback malware" that has affected up to 600,000 Macs worldwide, it has yet to release any fix. In lieu of that a few security and antivirus firms have gone ahead and released their own Flashback removal tools. Kaspersky Lab, a Russian antivirus firm, has released the Flashfake Removal Tool. The firm asks that you first check here to see if your Mac is infected with Flashback. If your Mac is, then you can download Flashfake to rid your Mac of the malware. A second antivirus firm, F-Secure, has also released their own Flashback Removal Tool. Their tool works by creating "a log file (RemoveFlashback.log) on current user's Desktop. If any infections are found, they are quarantined into an encrypted ZIP file (flashback_quarantine.zip) to the current user's Home folder. The ZIP is encrypted with the password 'infected.'" Before Kasperky Lab's and F-Secure's removal tools, users had to manually remove the malware by using OS X's Terminal, which some might have found confusing. There's no word from Apple yet on when their own removal tool will become available.
Apple publishes support page for Flashback malware, is working on a fix
After the Flashback / Flashfake Mac trojan was exposed by Russian site Dr. Web, Apple has finally responded by publishing a support page about the issue and promising a fix. If you haven't heard by now, the malware exploits a flaw in the Java Virtual Machine, which Oracle pushed a fix for back in February, but Apple didn't patch until a botnet consisting of as many as 650,000 Macs was identified on March 4th. Antivirus maker Kaspersky has confirmed the earlier findings, and released a free tool affected users can run to remove the trojan from their computers. Other than the update already delivered for computers running OS 10.6 and 10.7 Apple recommends users on 10.5 and earlier disable Java in their browser preferences. What isn't mentioned however, is when its fix is incoming or any timetable on its efforts with international ISPs to cut off the IP addresses used by the network. This is not the first time Macs have fallen prey to malware and as their market share grows will likely not be the last, so don't think just opting for OS X is automatically keeping you a step ahead security-wise. Check the links below for more information about what the malware does, and how to get rid of it.
Apple responds to Flashback trojan, promises removal tool
In a tech note published today, Apple discussed the Flashback trojan (past coverage here) and reminded users of OS X 10.6 and 10.7 that they should install the April 3 Java update to remove the vulnerability that the malware uses to infect Macs. For users of OS X 10.5 Leopard or earlier, Apple has not updated Java yet to patch the flaw; in that case, Apple's recommendation is to turn off Java in the browser to guard against Flashback. The note also says that "Apple is developing software that will detect and remove the Flashback malware." No ETA on that yet; in the meantime, the company is working with network service providers to disable or block the command and control servers that Flashback checks in with. [via The Loop] Photo by Joost J. Bakker | flickr cc
Talkcast tonight, 10pm ET: Fighting Flashback
As this holiday weekend draws to a close, the unfortunate fact is that we may be dealing with the largest Mac-centric botnet ever documented in the wild. While the Flashback trojan is easy to find and simple to prevent -- in fact, a stock Lion installation includes neither Java nor the Flash plugin, cutting down dramatically on the attack surface for malware of this kind -- there are still thousands of compromised Macs out there. Given the requirements of a Java installation to enable the trojan's exploit, it looks like a nontrivial number of infections have hit experienced Mac users. We recommend immediately updating your Java install with Apple's patch. You can test for the Flashback trojan using the standalone Terminal method or a simple utility -- and you can also install some free virus protection if you're so inclined. That's our topic for tonight's Talkcast, same as it was two weeks ago: Mac (and iOS) security. We welcome your calls, questions and comments at 10 pm ET, 7 pm PT tonight live on Talkshoe. To participate in the call, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8. If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients -- basic instructions are here. Skype users with dial-out credit can call in via the service, or use those free iPhone minutes. Talk to you tonight!
How to find/remove the Flashback trojan
According to Russian antivirus firm Dr. Web, over 600,000 Macs worldwide are infected with the Mac flashback trojan. The trojan can be installed if you visit a malicious website, and it will attempt to connect your Mac to a botnet. Fifty-seven percent of infected machines are located in the US and 20 percent are in Canada. There are even 24 infected machines supposedly connected to the botnet from Apple's Cupertino campus. This trojan targets a Java vulnerability in Mac OS X that was recently patched. It should be noted that in OS X 10.7 Lion, Java isn't included by default; only those who have deliberately installed it are potentially vulnerable to this exploit (or those running Snow Leopard or earlier OS X versions). If you installed it at some point but no longer have a reason to run Java, you should probably turn it off completely or at a minimum disable it in Safari. F-Secure has provided a set of diagnostics that'll let you know if you have been infected. If you have the malware on your machine, F-Secure's page can walk you through the steps to remove the infection. Thanks to everyone who sent this in. [Via The Loop]
Two new Mac malware concerns: Tsunami and DevilRobber
As reported yesterday by Computerworld, there are two malware threats for OS X to concern yourself with (temporarily). The first, Tsunami, isn't much of a threat yet. The other, DevilRobber, may be slowing your Mac down as we speak. Here's more info on each of them. Tsunami Basically a ported version of some rather old Linux malware, Tsunami isn't being seen widely just yet. Still, the trojan appears to be evolving, and has even been updated for Macs in the variant Tsunami.A, as discussed on this ESET Security blog post. What does Tsunami do? The original was a backdoor program, which uses IRC to control your machine and coordinate Distributed Denial of Service attacks. Tsunami.A adds the ability to copy itself, and includes an updated IRC command and control server (which were not active at the time ESET wrote their post). Thus far, Tsunami is merely on the radar and appears to be in active development, but not widely disseminated yet. DevilRobber While Tsunami may be on the horizon, DevilRobber is out there right now, and could be slowing your Mac down. DevilRobber, as Intego reports, isn't just one thing, it's a Trojan horse, a backdoor (allowing control), it can steal data (and surreptitiously mine Bitcoin virtual currency) and it can send personal data to servers (thus making it spyware as well). Sounds nasty, eh? Apparently the malware installs DiabloMiner, which is used in creating Bitcoins. Using this legit software, DevilRobber, aka OSX/Miner-D, can suck up processor cycles and generate the hashes used in Bitcoin's currency. Essentially the malware is using your computer to generate Bitcoins likely without you knowing what is going on. Worse, Sophos senior tech consultant Graham Cluley told Computerworld that DevilRobber can take pictures of your screen, thus stealing sensitive info, and "it runs a script that copies information to a file called dump.txt regarding truecrypt data, Vidalia (TOR plugin for Firefox), your Safari browsing history and .bash_history" -- all of which are bad things. So how big a threat is DevilRobber? Chances are, if you don't download torrents of commercial Mac software, you're fine. Intego's Mac Security Blog has some more info on DevilRobber, but for now it doesn't appear to be widespread. Also, as with Flashback.C, some users are reporting that if you have LittleSnitch installed and enabled the malware will bail. As usual, we suggest you don't illegally download commercial software via Bittorrent and only download from trusted sources (a developer's site is a good bet, and don't forget about the Mac App Store). If you suspect your machine may be infected, schedule a trip to a local Genius Bar or use antivirus software to scan your machine.
'Amy' dev Paul Cuisset discusses game's autistic character, female leads
Flashback designer Paul Cuisset heads up French studio Vector Cell, developer of forthcoming PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade title Amy. Beyond the scary monsters and spooky name, Amy is a game about two female protagonists in the near future. One is a little girl named Amy, who suffers from autism, and the other is Lana, a woman who must protect Amy from the monsters that have appeared. Cuisset speaks to his unique character choices in a recent interview with Edge, explaining, "Amy is verbally impaired but she's not completely autistic ... you discover in the story why she doesn't want to speak." While he understands the risks involved with making a game starring two ladies without guns who run away from monsters, Cuisset says "the story of Amy and Lana is very important to us, and it justifies the risk we've taken because I think it's a good one." To him, "most games look the same and tell more or less the same story" nowadays, and he's grateful for digital platforms like PSN, which have room for games that might be deemed risky. Cuisset makes a point we can't help but agree with, and wish we heard more from developers. "A good story needs good characters, and good characters need good relations to build something. I think that we tend to forget that we can do something different in games." Amy arrives this summer on PSN first, and on XBLA "eventually."
The Road to Mordor: A look back at Volume 2
Last year, I spent a column giving my reflections, thoughts, and observations on the entirety of Volume 1 of Lord of the Rings Online's epic storyline, and today I'd like to do the same for Volume 2. Since these stories are at the center of LotRO's player experience, it's important to see how they function and hold up in today's increasingly story-centric MMO environment. I've gone through Volume 2 twice, once before the "solofication" of the recent update and once after. The second journey was, by far, much more enjoyable since I didn't have to sit there for weeks hoping to find enough players on the same part of the Fellowship portions to continue the tale. Being able to go through it at my own pace was vastly more enjoyable, especially when I could dedicate huge chunks of time to knock out several chapters in one go. And this is a good thing, as this volume of the epic story not only gives you one of your legendary traits but greatly helps you build reputation toward a faction that will give you another one (the Iron Garrison Guards). As such, Volume 2 will continue to be an important part of any character's journey. So let's dig into this puppy (not... a literal puppy, you understand) and see what Volume 2 has to offer. If you haven't yet gone through this part of the epic story, beware: Here be spoilers!
Why You Should Be Playing City of Heroes: Content on demand
With all the talk about the Skirmish system in Lord of the Rings Online and the World of Warcraft dungeon finder, it's hard to argue that people don't really like having the option to simply pick up and start playing something. Both of these systems thrive on the strength of their pick-up-and-play nature -- you don't have to wait to find a group, you just jump right into content without any slowdown. The obvious question, then, becomes "why didn't someone notice that people like to just jumping in and playing the darn game?" Of course,the full answer is a bit less obvious but no less true: someone did. Several someones, in fact. Paragon Studios and Cryptic before them both realized how much people like to just pick up and go. That's why City of Heroes currently sports three different systems to allow you or a full team access to content quickly, ranging from reliving your character's greatest triumphs to fighting Nazi vampires on the moon.
There's something fishy about Flashback on iPhone
You likely remember (maybe with just a tinge of embarrassment) our giddy delight at the release of adventure/platforming classic Flashback on the iPhone. But a report from Pocket Gamer indicates you might want to hesitate before you plunk down the $5 asking price.For one, it seems you're actually paying for an emulator that downloads a ROM independently (kind of a shady workaround of App Store policies against otherwise copyrighted material). Since this version of Flashback apparently isn't designed for the phone there are also complaints of wonky controls. Speaking of which, can anybody tell us how to pick up the holocube? ... Anybody?
Flashback now available on iPhone
iPhone users, today could very well be one of the most important days in your life, because Flashback is available right now in the App store. It's a port of the Amiga version of the game, done by platform newcomers Manomio LLC, and features the requisite touch-based controls and a redesigned menu system. We'd like to say that this iPhone version of one of the greatest games ever made is a surefire hit, and you should download it immediately, but, frankly, we just don't know. It could be another Mega Man 2, which is an amazing game on just about every platform besides the iPhone.Flashback ($4.99, Manomio LLC) %Gallery-51820%
Gears of War 2 Flashback maps hit XBLM for $5
Hey, remember the Flashback Map Pack for Gears of War 2? You know, the one that you can only get by purchasing a brand new copy of the game at your favorite retailer? Guess what? It's now available on Xbox Live Marketplace for 400 Microsoft Points, also known as $5. That's five maps for a buck a piece, which isn't too shabby. Strangely, the text description of the content still says that it's only available as a free download with new copies of the game, but it's definitely listed for 400 points. If you've been worried about losing the Flashback maps by picking up a used copy of Gears 2, it looks like you can officially rest easy. Play your cards right and you could even save some money.Find a video preview of the Flashback Map Pack after the break.[Thanks to everyone that sent this in.]
GoW 2 comes with 'Flashback' maps; gold Hammerburst code at special launch events
Those who purchase Gears of War 2 will receive a code in the box to download the "Flashback" map pack from XBM for free. The pack contains visually upgraded versions of original Gears maps: Canals, Gridlock, Subway, Mansion and Tyro Station. This means Gears fans will have 15 total multiplayer maps to practice their chainsawdomy at launch.GamePro has also learned that a code to download the in-game gold-plated Hammerburst will be given out at "Midnight Madness" launch events for the game on Nov. 6. Epic allegedly has no plans to offer the Flashback maps or the special Hammerburst as DLC at this time.[Via X3F]
Virtually Overlooked: Flashback (SNES)
Welcome to our weekly feature, Virtually Overlooked, wherein we talk about games that aren't on the Virtual Console yet, but should be. Call it a retro-speculative.It's been awhile since I've thought about one of my most favorite games of all time. Flashback not only was an important game to me because of its graphics (polygons, oh mai gawds!), but because it showed me that in-depth story telling in a video game was a reality and something totally possible. Sure, there are other, probably better, examples of amazing story in video games prior to this title's release, but there's just the one thing: I didn't play them. So with JC being away from our blogger stronghold deep within the dark confines of your attic (we're watching you) this week, I managed to convince him that I wouldn't totally ruin his weekly feature. While that has yet to be seen, I still ask that you head past the break and read why I want Flashback on the Virtual Console.
SanDisk FlashBack ExpressCard adapter enables continuous backups onto SD cards
Oh sure, there's a million and one ways to rightfully cram an SD card into an ExpressCard slot, but does your current multicard reader provide continuous backups out-of-the-box? SanDisk is certainly hoping not, as it's waving its nifty FlashBack Adapter around at CeBIT and boasting of its ability to "automatically and continuously back up and encrypt critical data onto an SD flash memory card." Put simply, this device enables you to access the recent copies of your most important files should your system crash or become doused with any number of liquids while working. On a positive note, this thing will indeed play nice with SDHC cards; unfortunately, it's made to work seamlessly with Windows only. Still, you suits out there can snap one up in Q2 for $29.99 and simultaneously vaporize any hope of using computer failure as an excuse for not doing work.
CoX Issue 11 patch live on Test server
Affecting client version 16.20071113.3T, NCsoft has released a new patch for the CoX properties, and it's currently active on the Test server. The new patch addresses power set activation times, accolades, graphical and sound effects, Flashback missions, and global chat tweaks for all players. As well, two new costume sets were introduced: an Enforcer set and a Jester set. Attendees of last week's Meet & Greet had the opportunity to see the costumes a week ahead of time, when Sexy Jay showcased his work. Aside from the costume sets themselves, two new pattern sets for existing costume customization are also available.For this particular Issue 11 patch, Heroes will see Scrapper, Blaster, and Defender changes, as well as some adjustment done to Badge levels in Flashback missions. Villains will find some improvement to the Mastermind set, and that Snake Eggs will once again hatch. While there's no stated release date for the patch to go live on the regular servers, if you have the opportunity to so do, download and try it out on Test.
DS Fanboy poll: Remakes of choice
Earlier this week, we asked you, our dear readers, to discuss games you'd like to see given a spit and a polish for the DS in this age of remakes, and as usual, you came through in a big way. In fact, you gave us so many fantastic suggestions that we've decided to split our selected list into two polls instead of just doing one. We can't include everything suggested, obviously, but we've prepared a selection of bigger releases and more obscure titles, and we're going to let you vote every day, just in case you want to throw your support behind more than one game. Once you've voted, we will profile the top two results from each poll and examine exactly why they would be well-suited to our favorite handheld. So try to vote for the titles you think are the most suitable, those that would most benefit from the kind of treatment we're seeing with the Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy titles ... and hey, vote for the games you'd just like to see in portable form as well.And if you just can't decide ... well, that's why we're letting you vote more than once! You can vote your heart and your brain, and the cream will rise to the top.
