Mac Gets Hacked

A MacBook Air goes down first at the CanSecWest security conference's hacking contest.

Gone in 2 Minutes: Mac Gets Hacked First in Contest

It may be the quickest $10,000 Charlie Miller ever earned.

He took the first of three laptop computers -- and a $10,000 cash prize -- Thursday after breaking into a MacBook Air at the CanSecWest security conference's PWN 2 OWN hacking contest.

Show organizers offered a Sony Vaio, Fujitsu U810 and the MacBook as prizes, saying that they could be won by anybody at the show who could find a way to hack into each of them and read the contents of a file on the system, using a previously undisclosed "0day" attack.

Nobody was able to hack into the systems on the first day of the contest when contestants were only allowed to attack the computers over the network, but on Thursday the rules were relaxed so that attackers could direct contest organizers using the computers to do things like visit Web sites or open e-mail messages.

Miller, best known as one of the researchers who first hacked Apple's iPhone last year, didn't take much time. Within 2 minutes, he directed the contest's organizers to visit a Web site that contained his exploit code, which then allowed him to seize control of the computer, as about 20 onlookers cheered him on.

He was the first contestant to attempt an attack on any of the systems.

Miller was quickly given a nondisclosure agreement to sign and he's not allowed to discuss particulars of his bug until the contest's sponsor, TippingPoint, can notify the vendor.

Contest rules state that Miller could only take advantage of software that was preinstalled on the Mac, so the flaw he exploited must have been accessible, or possibly inside, Apple's Safari browser.

Last year's contest winner, Dino Dai Zovi, exploited a vulnerability in QuickTime to take home the prize.

Dai Zovi, who congratulated Miller after his hack, didn't participate in this year's contest, saying it was time for someone else to win.

Apple Mac Ads on Websites

Apple's funny 'Buy a Mac' ads are popular nowadays, that those ads are now seen on several tech websites.

The Buy a Mac Ads

"Hi, I'm a Mac - And I'm a PC"
Those are almost always the first line in the popular Buy-a-Mac ads. Famous for pointing out the blunders of Windows and promoting the Mac, these ads are found on the Apple website. With people representing the machines (the pudgy guy as PC, and the younger guy a Mac), they talk about each other's differences and advantages, but usually ends up with the Mac guy the winner.
Now, these ads are seen on several tech websites, including PCWORLD.com. The ad consists of two parts; the broad large part on the top, and the tall, narrow part on the right (or left) of the screen. PC and Mac are on the narrow part, and usually, the characters 'breaks the ceiling' and interacts with the banner on the top.

They are simply hilarious, and fun to watch. Ads on the websites, however, are not available on the Apple website. Still, there are a handful of Mac ads available at www.apple.com/getamac/ads.

Vista Market Share Increases

Windows Vista and Mac users are still increasing, and Linux, despite its small percentage, doubled in number last year, research shows.


Vista and Mac Shares Increase
According to a research firm, Windows Vista made its biggest leap yet in November. It was used on nearly one out of ten Internet-connected computers last month.

Vista's exact share rose about one percentage point to 9.19 percent in November, up from 7.94 percent in October, according to Net Applications. In contrast, Vista's predecessor, Windows XP, fell by about one percentage point from 79.41 percent of all Internet-connected computers in October to 78.37 percent in November, according to Net Applications. Meanwhile, the Mac platform's share continued to grow, reaching nearly 7 percent.

Windows' overall share continues to exceed 92 percent, according to the Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based research firm.

Linux was in use on 0.6 percent of PCs worldwide, according to Net Applications. Despite its small share, Linux's slice of the market has nearly doubled since the beginning of the year.
Vista's share has grown from 0.2 percent to 9.2 percent since the beginning of the year. XP's share, meanwhile, has fallen from to 78.4 percent from 85 %at the beginning of the year.

Internet Explorer 7's share continued to grow, reaching nearly 37 percent. It is poised to eclipse its predecessor, IE6, which has fallen more than 14 percentage points since the beginning of the year, to 40.2 percent. Altogether, IE was in use on 77.4 percent of Internet-connected computers, down from 80 percent at the beginning of the year.

IE's main competition, Firefox, held a 16 percent share of all Internet-connected computers. That's up from 13.7 percent at the beginning of the year.

Apple Inc.'s Safari held 5.1 percent, up from 4.7 percent at the beginning of the year.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/

PC + Mac QuickTime Flaw

Symantec warns that both Windows and Mac systems may be vulnerable to exploits of an unpatched Quicktime flaws



Windows and Mac Shares QuickTime Flaw

Last Sunday, Symantec warned in a DeepSight Threat Management System alert that attackers are trying to exploit an unpatched vulnerability in Apple's QuickTime software that could let them run code on a victim's computer.

Attackers appear to be aimed at Windows users, but Mac OS users could be open to the risk as well, as QuickTime vulnerability in question affects both operating systems. The vulnerability, called the Apple QuickTime RTSP Response Header Stack-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability, was first revealed on November 23, and still remains unpatched by Apple.

Windows XP and Windows Vista running Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, and Safari are affected by this vulnerability, as well as Apple's own MacOS X 10.4 and 10.5.

Symantec said that there are two types of attacks underway. One involves redireting the victim's computer from an adult web site, Ourvoyeur.net, to another web site that infects the computer with an application called loader.exe. It can be saved to the victim's computer as metasploit.exe, asasa.exe, or syst.exe. Once installed on a computer, this application downloads another binary file, which Symantec identified as Hacktool.Rootkit, a set of tools that can be used to break into a system. It's possible that Ourvoyer.net was compromised as part of the attack.

The second method of attack also involves redirection, however, Symantec is currently investigating the attack to determine what, if any, malicious code is involved.

To protect systems from attack, Symantec recommended blocking access to affected sites. "Filter outgoing access to 85.255.117.212, 85.255.117.213, 216.255.183.59, 69.50.190.135, 58.65.238.116, and 208.113.154.34. Additionally 2005-search.com, 1800-search.com, search-biz.org, and ourvoyeur.net should be filtered," it said, adding IT managers can also block outgoing TCP access to port 554.

Alternatively, IT managers could take more drastic steps. "As a last measure, QuickTime should be uninstalled until patches are available," the alert said.

Update: Apple Leopard

Apple releases its newest operating system today



Add a new Mac to your Mac

October 26 - The newest version of Mac OS X is now available. Apple says Mac OS X 10.5 or Leopard is their biggest upgrade in their operating system, with the new version containing 300+ new features. These includes improved security features, new interface, greatly improved backup system, and fixes from the previous operating system.

You can find more info in the Apple Leopard page at http://www.apple.com/macosx/