Bradshaw

Well, I’m being a little hypocritical with my headline on this one since I use Bit Torrent from time to time (for legal things!) but I’m very aware that this stuff could contain something malicious if not simply annoying.

Now there is proof of an actual malicious Trojan Horse for the Mac! Let’s repeat: a Virus-like thing has been released into the wild for the Mac. You won’t get it unless you’ve used Bit Torrent to download a pirated copy of iWork ’09, but according to zdnet, about 20,000 people have downloaded it already.

Don’t freak out about this one because if you’re not doing anything nefarious in the first place, you’re still immune. I just want you to be aware of the possibility.

Also, this morning I got a call from a client saying that after clicking on a google link she was greeted with a message like “your computer has been infected! You must install a protection package right away to protect from malware and spyware! Click here to install!” Well, needless to say, that message was a hoax, and luckily they didn’t click on it… but if they had it could have been a similar Trojan or Virus.

Lesson being: Don’t download illegal things and don’t believe it when a website tells you the world is going to end unless you click to download something. ALWAYS navigate directly to the site you’re trying to download something from rather than using some ad or link to it!

If you have any more questions about this, feel free to email or call me about it!

justin

UPDATE: According to ZDNet, there is now an “iBotnet” of Macs who have been infected with this virus that came from pirated copies of iWork and Photoshop. Again, if you didn’t get the software illegally, you have nothing to worry about… but this is a troubling development because it’s the first coordinated hacker effort against the Mac that has gained ANY traction (to my knowledge)