Well, there’s finally some malware for the Mac. Apparently, it targets users like myself; those who frequent rumors sites and those who are constantly tugging at the curtain to see the great and powerful Woz, I mean Oz. Though this malware is difficult to classify, it basically takes advantage of human curiosity to insinuate itself into a user’s Library folder where it uses several Mac services to spread itself. In order to get it to work, the user has to download and open the file. I download tons of stuff every day. Usually, I’m confident of the source of the information; but, I can easily imagine myself falling victim to this particular ploy.
So what to do about it?
- Use Software Update to make sure you have all of the latest security updates from Apple.
- Never open email attachments unless you are expecting it.
- Know your source. If you are downloading a program from someone, make sure you know what you’re getting!
- If you think there might be a problem; there probably is. Look around and see what others are saying.
- *Optional as of this writing…* Invest in Anti-Virus Software for the Mac.
This malware, whatever classification should be the cause of some celebration as we Mac users are finally worth the time of the clever, if nefarious, hacker community. Mac users cannot hide behind marketshare for safety, we do, however, have evidence that Apple is usually most proactive in providing security updates. We’ll see if Apple has anything to say about this particular problem since it involves user participation and allegedly gives people a preview of unreleased software (something of which Apple do not approve).
Onward!