Apple bug
A Trojan aimed at Mac users disguises itself as a video program

McAfee warns of new Mac malware attack

'MacCinema' program loads systems with a Trojan

Shaun Nichols in San Francisco

Researchers at McAfee Avert Labs have warned that a new malware attack for Mac OS X systems has been spotted in the wild.

Known informally as 'Puper', the Trojan disguises itself as a video program for OS X systems called 'MacCinema'.

Advertisement

The attack appears as a disk image which launches an installer application for the fictional MacCinema software. Once the installer completes its task, the user becomes infected with a script file named 'AdobeFlash'.

The malicious script then launches itself every five hours, and attempts to download and launch other malware on the infected system.

This latest attack is similar to others which have targeted OS X users in recent months, often enticing the user to download and install the malware by posing as a video player or 'codec' plug-in required to view movie files.

Other attacks have bundled Trojan installers with pirated software. One such attack was used to construct an all-Mac botnet.

Researchers have warned that, while levels of Mac malware pale in comparison to Windows, users should still adopt basic security measures, such as keeping an updated system and avoiding suspicious downloads or file attachments.

  • Have your say
  • Send to a friend
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • Share

Do you agree?

Related whitepapers

Related jobs

Most watched

iPhone

Video Review: iPhone 3GS

We put Apple's latest iPhone through its paces

V3.co.uk weekly debrief, 5 Feb 2010

This week we cover the continuing controversy surrounding the Orange T-Mobile deal

Analysis and Reports

Using managed services to protect mobile data users from the latest security threats

Counting the cost of data security: the benefits of secured mobile services

Shifting Disaster Recovery targets with SharePoint and SQL server configurations

Using a hostbased recovery system for mission-critical systems

Poll

Adobe Flash poll

Adobe Flash poll

Do you agree with Steve Jobs about Flash being buggy?

View poll results

Advertisement

White paper library

Keep up to date with the latest products, services and technologies from the world's leading IT companies; IThound.com brings you over 6,000 white papers, case studies and analyst reports.

Advertisement

Newsletter signup

Sign up for our range of FREE newsletters:

Existing User

Newsletter user login:

Enter email address to edit your newsletter preferences

Job of the week

Search thousands of IT jobs :

Search thousands of IT jobs:

Advanced search

Hiring now on ComputingCareers:

Related IT jobs

Search thousands of IT jobs :

Search thousands of IT jobs:

Advanced search

Advertisement

Spotlight

Windows 7

Microsoft denies Windows 7 battery problems

Replacement warning functioning normally, claims software giant

Safer Internet Day

Safer Internet Day highlights online threats

Annual initiative warns of phishing, ID theft and social network...

AMD Fusion

AMD details Fusion innovations at ISSCC

Forthcoming chip with four CPU and one GPU cores will...

MSI Wind U135

Review: MSI Wind U135 netbook

A decent netbook incorporating the latest Intel technology in a...

Primary Navigation