Apple Acknowledges Flashback Malware Threat

The Flashback trojan bonnet has spread in the news pretty much the same way it spread across the globe to infect over half a million Macs. Apple is now taking appropriate action by acknowledging the problem.

The fruity company headquartered at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California has issued an official statement on the matter, promising to release new software that will thwart the malware.

In a knowledge-based article posted on its Support site, Apple acknowledges that “a recent version of malicious software called Flashback exploits a security flaw in Java in order to install itself on Macs.”

“Apple released a Java update on April 3, 2012 that fixes the Java security flaw for systems running OS X v10.7 and Mac OS X v10.6,” the company states.

“By default, your Mac automatically checks for software updates every week, but you can change that setting in Software Update preferences. You can also run Software Update at any time to manually check for the latest updates.”

“Apple is developing software that will detect and remove the Flashback malware,” Apple then confirms.

Apple outlines that the Flashback malware also relies on computer servers hosted by the malware authors to perform many of its critical functions, in addition to leveraging the Java vulnerability.

“Apple is working with ISPs worldwide to disable this command and control network,” the company states.

Macintosh users running Mac OS X v10.5 (Leopard) or earlier versions of the Mac OS are advised to downright disable Java in your web browsers’ preferences, to protect themselves against this piece of malware.

Antivirus vendors like Kaspersky Lab and Intego, a Texas-based firm that deals with Mac security exclusively, have already released free removal tools for the Flashback malware targeting Macintosh computers.

Kasperski, for its part, has also set up a site where users can check and see whether their computers are infected.