Flashback the largest Mac malware threat yet, experts say

Found on CNet News on Saturday, 07 April 2012
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Unless you've been living under a rock for the past week, you've probably heard about Flashback, a piece of malware targeting users of Apple's Mac OS X that's now estimated to be quietly running on more than 600,000 machines around the world.

While earlier versions that relied on a piece of software meant to look like Adobe's Flash installer were squashed as part of security updates, this latest variant went through Java instead. Oracle updated Java to patch the vulnerability the attackers were going through in February, though Apple took longer to patch the version it maintains and delivers to users through its software update tool.

"Flashback was patched by Adobe for all major platforms back in February, but Apple only patched it this week," Schoewenberg said. "Waiting two months is not acceptable, and we see OS X threats evolving."

The easy times for Mac users are over. They never were as secure as the fanboys claimed; they were just such a small minority that nobody bothered to target them. However, now that they have gained a little more of the market, they get attacked, like every other OS out there. Plus, before it's forgotten: say no to Java and avoid Adobe.