OSX Yosemite

[Jorge-Vieira]

Notorious Ransomware KeRanger Infects OS X; Effects To Start Surfacing Tomorrow

As technology and gadgets become an increasing part of our lives, users continue to cede over control to devices and software. Apple, known for its closed systems, has always in particular provided security as one of the primary reasons behind its unorthodox ways; a fact that’s become even more pervasive over the course of the company’s legal tussle against the FBI. So when news surfaces of the Cupertino tech giant’s operating systems being breached, it causes more of an uproar as compared to others.

First Fully Functional OS X Ransomware Detected Through BitTorrent Client

When it comes to Ransomwares, KeRanger has proved itself to be quite notorious. Its managed to extract thousands of dollars through ransoms from various institutions will now also be able to lock down machines running Apple’s OS X. It’s the first time any Ransomware capable of doing so has been detected, according to folks over at Palo Alto networks, and the software could start encrypting machines from tomorrow morning.
KeRanger was detected on Transmission 2.90, a bit torrent client for OS X users. Since it had been signed through a valid Mac app development certificate, it managed to bypass Apple’s Gatekeeper Protection and install itself on machines. Even though the 2.90 update has since been removed and replaced with 2.91 on Transmission’s website, the ransomware starts its encryption three days after installation.
Another interesting fact is that, according to sources, users who updated their torrent client over the air have managed to stay in the clear, with the only users who have been affected being those who downloaded the updated directly from Transmission’s servers.
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Once the ransomware starts encryption, it starts to communicate with C2 servers over the Tor network and after encryption, demands 1 bitcoin in Ransom from the affected user. Another interesting fact is that the software isn’t in its final version as of now, but is still under development. Some additions that we might see in the future include the ability to encrypt backup files as well, making things even more complicated.
As far as Apple’s reaction goes, a company representative speaking to Reuters claims that Apple has revoked the faulty developer certificate behind the breach and has also updated its XProtect antivirus signature. So if you’ve visited Transmission recently and are an OS X users, head over to the link at the bottom to find out if your machine has been compromised. Thoughts? Let us know what you think in the comments section and stay tuned for the latest.
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Noticia:
http://wccftech.com/mac-targeting-ransomware/#ixzz42E8Fcd6P









How To Turn Off OS X System Sounds

Here’s how you can turn off Mac OS X system sounds completely and make everything silent for good.

Apple takes a bunch of decisions in the background to make sure that the user experience is top notch as possible when it comes to using its product on a day to day basis. For instance, on the iPhone and iPad, whenever you click on the power button, the wallpaper slightly animates towards the user giving a sense of waking up something. And such things are all over the place, even the Mac.
However, there are certain things which are bound to enhance the user experience, while at the same time, could prove to be prominently annoying in certain instances. We’re of course, talking about the system sounds in OS X, which, while might prove to be a godsend for giving us audible feedback, but can be annoying to the nth degree if they pop up at unwanted times, especially when you’re hard at work churning out some serious productivity.
In today’s guide, we’ll walk you through the process of turning the system sounds completely off in a few easy steps. And no, we’re not talking about hitting the ‘Mute’ button on the keyboard.
Turn Off All Mac OS X System Sounds – Tutorial

1. Open System Preferences on the Mac.
2. Look for an option called ‘Sound’ and then click on it.

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3. Click on the ‘Sound Effect’ tab at the top.
4. See those two options labeled ‘Play user interface sound effects’ and ‘Play feedback when volume is changed?’ Click to uncheck them.

That’s it, you’re done. From here on in OS X won’t play a single system sound no matter what you do. But of course, if you play a media file through QuickTime, iTunes, VLC etc. then everything will be audible.
If you want to silence everything for good, then don’t hesitate to hit that ‘Mute’ button on the Mac keyboard. But we recommend that you stick to the above steps to dawn silence on your workspace while keeping important things audible.
If you want everything back to the way it was, then simply follow the above guide again and check the last two boxes in the concluding step. Nice and easy.
While system sounds are great and all, but we will go against them when we’re deep into productivity mode, with every pop and click sound could prove to be a roadblock in ways unimaginable.

Noticia:
http://wccftech.com/how-to-turn-off-...#ixzz42EAaerpW