5 ms·

Was there anything particularly special or intrusive about the virus? I'm struggling to see the significance of the news. Surely viri of this caliber are writte

• amaccuish 8y ago
  The fact that it lay undetected for 17 years, and was able to use the webcams of those infected.
  • ashleyn 8y ago
    Part of the reason it lay undetected was that he was using it primarily for child exploitation, and not for financial gain, which is typically how evidence of malware rapidly turns up.
    • gbersac 8y ago
      Child exploitation is not true. He was spying people, not especially children.
• gammateam 8y ago
  I guess because nobody uses macs, despite the bubble we live in this was just nobody looked because it wasn't that popular to look
  • toyg 8y ago
    Wouldn’t that mean the webcam light would be turned on, though? It’s supposed to be hardware-linked...
    • NietTim 8y ago
      IIRC you can turn it on and off quick enough for the LED to be barely noticeable
    • tumetab1 8y ago
      No, it has been software for many years. But I recall seeing something recent that Apple was trying to make it hardware linked now.
      • saagarjha 8y ago
        It is hardware linked.
        • jtbayly 8y ago
          Which models? And please provide a reference.
        • zeckalpha 8y ago
          Not on iOS devices
          • saagarjha 8y ago
            …which don't have a light? I don't see what your point is.
  • coldtea 8y ago
    >I guess because nobody uses macs, despite the bubble we live in Nobody as in a solid 8-10% of the US market? http://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/all/united-states-of-america http://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/all/united-states-...
    • gammateam 8y ago
      my point exactly. > this was just nobody looked because it wasn't that popular to look do you have a rebuttal to that?
      • coldtea 8y ago
        >my point exactly. Point being what? You said "nobody" (of course implying very small number) and it's 10%, which is tens of millions of people. Not only that, but it's the most lucrative 10% of the US computer-buying population. So, the "nobody" point is already taken down. >> this was just nobody looked because it wasn't that popular to look > do you have a rebuttal to that? That's an even worse argument. Not only the user base is large enough, but Apple news (including Mac news) receive close, or often even more publicity than Windows developments (especially any negative news). Besides there are lots of decade+ spanning cases like that on Windows side too, which, you'd have to agree, is not an unpopular platform. The reason it went undetected all these years is already revealed in TFA: "it infected a very small number of victims".
        • gammateam 8y ago
          > TFA just breathe
• coldtea 8y ago
  >I'm struggling to see the significance of the news For one, there was an arrest. It's not like the news is about the mere existence of such a virus.