Softpedia has learned that Snow Leopard Build 10A432 has already been made available to the public via file sharing web sites. Build 10A432 of the software is said to have reached a Golden Master (GM) status this week, with pressing personnel awaiting the order to make the installation discs.

Apple hasn’t officially released OS X 10.6 to the public yet, hence build 10A432 is non-approved by the company for consumer use. Needless to point out, the software was only aimed at select developers and people close to the company. If you are not one of these people, acquiring and installing a copy of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard is considered illegal.

Another point of interest regarding the leakage of Snow Leopard is that pirated Apple software can also come with extra pieces of malware. The last time we heard thousands of Trojans had been downloaded on Macs was when pirated copies of Apple’s iWork and Adobe’s Photoshop had been leaked on torrent sites. Downloadable packages of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Build 10A432 may well contain such extras as well.

Perhaps the strongest reason not to acquire Build 10A432 this way is Apple’s decision to sell the original software (launching in about two weeks from now) for just $29, as an upgrade from Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Qualifying customers acquiring compatible systems before the operating system’s official launch can upgrade for even less – just $9.95. Patience is a virtue, dear readers. Just wait for Apple to roll out the original stuff.

Softpedia doesn't encourage downloading non-approved Apple software via file-sharing / torrent sites. This article has a purely informational purpose and doesn't, in any way, suggest that Mac users should go forth with downloading the developer builds of Snow Leopard currently available on such file-sharing / torrent web sites.