First virus hits Mac OS X
Chris Jenkins
FEBRUARY 17, 2006
ANTIVIRUS companies are reporting what they say is the first virus to attack Apple's OS X operating system.
Known as "Leap.A", "Leap-A" or "OSX/Oompa-A", the virus spreads via Apple's iChat instant messaging application, carried by a message attachment labelled "latestpics.tgz".
Leap.A then attempts to resend itself to all iChat contacts, anti virus group Symantec reported. The virus would only run on computers running OS X 10.4, Symantec said.
Security group Sophos described Leap.A as "the first real virus for the Mac OS X platform".
While the Unix-based OS X has often been touted as a safer alternative to Microsoft's Windows, flaws in the operating system have been discovered and experts have warned that as OS X became more popular, it would increasingly become a target for virus writers.
Critics of the anti-virus companies argue they are talking up the potential threat in an attempt to extend sales to a new OS X market.
Leap showed "that the malware threat on Mac OS X is real", Sophos senior technology consultant Graham Cluley said.
"Some owners of Mac computers have held the belief that Mac OS X is incapable of harbouring computer viruses, but Leap-A will leave them shellshocked," he said.
Rival Symantec rated the worm a low-risk security threat.
