Leopard Attacked by a Horse!

"Hello, I'm a Mac."

"And I'm a PC. Hey Mac, what's wrong? You seem a little distracted."

"Oh, well I was visiting a naughty web site the other day and I picked up a Trojan Horse. Now every website I go to is a scam! My owner is really upset with me." [Mac hangs his head]

"Oh, you should get some security software to take care of that. I can't believe you fell for the oldest trick in the book."

"[mumbles] I just never thought it would happen to me."

"Ahhh... that's how you get into trouble my friend. That's how you get into trouble." [PC puts his hand on Mac's shoulder and hands him a box of software]

Until recently, the thought of an Apple operating system (OS) being attacked seemed ludicrous. However, reports now suggest that hackers have indeed gone after Apple's upgraded operating system OS X Leopard. (Source: Wired.com)

A piece of malicious software called OSX.RSPlug.A has made history as the first Trojan Horse to ever hit a Mac. (Source: Allthingsd.com)

Security researcher Gadi Evron told Wired, "Apple's day has finally come, and Apple users are going to get hit hard, OS X is the new Windows 98."

That might be a little premature, and the malware has only been associated with explicit websites so far. In a press release, the Mac Internet security firm Intego is reporting that Mac users are being tricked into downloading the malicious software by the following message:

"Quicktime Player is unable to play movie file. Please click here to download new version of codec." (Source: Intego.com)

After installation, the computer is driven to phishing websites or, if an imitation site is not available, to another porn site. Unaware, a user enters personal information which is then stolen, and, well, you get the picture. (Source: Macworld.com)

In a statement, Apple spokeswoman Lynn Fox said: "We've been made aware that a small number of Web sites attempt to trick Mac OS X users to install malicious software on their Macs. Apple has a great track record for keeping Mac OS X users secure, and as always, we encourage people to install software only from trusted sources." (Source: WSJ.com)

So, will Apple products be just as vulnerable to attack from now on? Only time will tell. But with Apple announcing that 10 million copies of Leopard were sold in the first weekend alone, how many unsuspecting Mac users will get their first taste of foul play this week? (Source: Apple.com)

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