More Mac Malware Spotted

A new attack on the Mac OS X has been seen in the wild, as numbers of Mac malware grow.

So you thought that Mac was safe from malware? It’s definitely time to think again. There might be nothing like the amount of malware there is for PCs, but the numbers are growing.

The latest is known as Puper, a Trojan that disguises itself as a video program for the fictional MacCinema system on OS X.

Researchers at McAfee Avert Labs have determined that the malware attack appears as a disk image, which then launches an installer application for the non-existent software. Once installed, the user’s computer is infected with a malicious script file called AdobeFlash.

This then launches itself punctually every five hours and tries to download, then launch, other malware on the system.

By pretending to be a video player or plug-in, the new malware uses the same system as other recent Mac attacks.

Although attack numbers remain small, Mac users are advised to still take basic security measures, including not downloading files or attachments they feel to be suspicious.