Updated 09:58 25/05/11: Looks like Apple's seen
the light. Its published a support document with
instructions on how to get rid of the malware, and will be pushing
a security update to OS X that blocks it. Pretty much like I
demanded. So I'm allowed to take full credit, right?
Within the technology teacup, a storm is brewing over an internal Apple memo allegedly instructing staff not to
help customers remove malware from their Mac computers.
In fact, the OS X platform is currently under attack by a trojan called Mac Defender or
Mac Security, which -- like many of its Windows-based
counterparts -- pretends to offer antivirus protection but actually
skims credit card information from users.
Ed Bott from ZDNet spoke to an AppleCare support rep who says the problem is real
and "getting worse".
But what's questionable is how Apple is dealing with that
problem. Bott uncovered the alleged internal Apple memo that seems to explicitly
instruct support staff not to confirm or deny that malware has been
installed on a customer's machine, and not to remove or uninstall
it, which is raising hackles across the web. (We have contacted
Apple to confirm the validity of the alleged leaked memo, but it
had not responded at the time of publication. We will update this
story if and when it does.)
It's an urban myth among many that the Apple's OS X operating
system is immune, or at least highly resistant, to viruses and
malware. In reality that's not necessarily true. Virus creators
tend not to target the Mac ecosystem simply because of its low
market share in comparison to Windows, and that's changing as OS X
becomes more and more popular.
Apple's competitors are no stranger to malware, but they deal
with it in a very different way. Microsoft offers free telephone
support for security issues for all customers, and its major
hardware partners like Dell and HP also have their own support
networks for virus removal.
Smartphone malware hasn't yet become a major issue, but when
Google was made aware of a security flaw in an old version of
Android still running on some handsets, it pushed out a fix within days that'll be automatically installed
on Android handsets in the background without the user having to do
So why is Apple appearing to be so reticent to deal with its
growing problem? It's probably because if it makes any mention of
the word "malware", it eats away at its reputation as being a safe
haven from cybercriminals after your cash. If it acknowledges that
Mac malware exists, the pool of people considering buying a Mac
could shrink ever-so-slightly.
But is that a responsible way to treat current users?
On the one hand, it's your own responsibility to secure your
system and it's not Apple's fault if you're suckered into
installing malware. But on the other hand, Apple shouldn't bury its
head in the sand when it comes to a serious security issue -- it
should be frank and honest with its users, and offer at the very
least some instructions for people to follow to rid themselves of
the problem, if a solution is known.
Should Apple be more honest about the problem? Should it be
helping users fix it? Tell us what you think in the poll and
If you're suffering from a Mac Defender infection yourself,
and stumbled upon this post while looking for a way to fix it,
you'll want these