Mac Flashback Trojan
Excerpted From The Seattle PI
Even if it’s not the "Macpocalypse" some have been warning about, it is something Mac users should be aware of. It is being called the Flashback Trojan, and has infected more that 600,000 Macs, including 274 in Apple’s hometown.
The Trojan doesn’t attack OS X itself, but rather exploit a flaw in the Java platform that runs on Apple’s OS. Oracle (the owners of Java) patched the hole sometime ago, but Apple only got around to releasing a fixed version this week.
It’s important to note that Flashback doesn’t require the user to do anything to install it, unlike previous Mac malware attacks. It uses poisoned Web pages that look for a Mac with the unpatched Java module, then infects it.
If you have not run Software Update on your Mac this week, do it now. And if you’re one of those folks who ignore update notifications on OS X and let them pile up, it’s time to change that behavior.
And shame on Apple for not releasing this patch sooner. The fix has been out for a while, and Apple’s dragging its heels in distributing it likely contributed to the number of infections.
-Bryan
If you have system problems or concerns, call the CCS Retail Systems Support Department at 800.672.4806 or email us.