Apple: 'Opener' Not a Virus or Worm

Apple has officially downplayed concerns over the "Opener" malware program designed for Mac OS X, rejecting reports by antivirus companies.

Opener, also called Renepo, cropped up in late October after a Mac Web site posted details of its malicious tact to disable the OS X firewall and copy user information to a publicly shared folder. But users were split on the program's significance, as Opener is simply a Mac-tailored UNIX shell script and requires administrator access to function.

Some users said the malware does nothing more than issue standard system commands and is no different than giving an individual physical access to the computer. Other industry watchers raised alarm because Opener attempts to copy itself to networked drives, and antivirus companies included the program in virus definition updates.

"Opener is not a virus, Trojan horse, or worm," Apple said in a statement. "It does not propagate itself across a network, through e-mail, or over the Web. Opener can only be installed by someone who already has access to your system and provides proper administrator authentication. Apple advises users to only install software from vendors and Web sites that they know and trust."

Jupiter Research senior analyst Joe Wilcox agreed with Apple's conclusion, telling BetaNews, "Opener is yet another example of a rumored first major Mac OS X virus to be nothing of the kind. One of the operating system's strengths is granular rights and administration privileges that act as a natural barrier to virus propagation."

Investigation by Mac enthusiasts suggests that Opener originally had a noble intention before being transformed for malicious uses. Security companies quickly responded to the program's discovery, stating that Opener could be the start of many malware scripts designed for Mac OS X.

"The real Trojan here isn't the virus but ongoing rumors of Mac OS X exploits that turn out to be nothing," said Jupiter's Wilcox. "That kind of Trojan might be good business for Mac antivirus companies. But nothing more."