Mac Security Expert Says 'The Cat and Mouse Game Has Begun'

Apple has issued a new update to the Xprotect malware definitions added with the release of Security Update 2011-003 earlier this week. According to security experts, the tag-you’re-it game between Apple and cyber criminals has officially begun.

Up until the Mac Defender threat, Apple could safely say that cyber crooks were reluctant to throw resources at its Mac OS X operating system.

Not anymore, and the people in Cupertino, California are now taking the appropriate steps to keep Macs clean.

Intego, an Austin, Texas based security software vendor with a focus on Macintosh computers, issued a note on its blog saying: “Following the appearance of a new variant of the MacDefender fake antivirus, Apple has issued an update to its Xprotect malware definitions.”

The firm says this update is efficient in detecting the new variant, and notes that users are now alerted of its presence. However, this doesn’t mean Apple has won.

When Apple closes one hole, hackers will open another, Intego says.

“The cat and mouse game has begun. We will be following this closely, and testing all new variants as they appear,” the company says. “The people behind this malware have shown that they can react very quickly, and Apple has reacted rapidly as well.”

As usual, Intego promotes VirusBarrier X6 which detects all variants of Mac Defender without the need for an update, “because of the multiple techniques it uses to detect malware,” the company says.

“In addition, VirusBarrier X6 can detect malware downloaded via any application, while Apple’s XProtect system only functions with files downloaded by certain programs, notably Apple software such as Safari, Mail and iChat,” adds Intego.

It’s also worth noting that similar solutions are available for free. Sophos and Avast both have free antivirus applications for the Mac user base.

We recently scored an interview with the former’s senior technology consultant, Graham Cluley.

In it, he provides his own thoughts on the recent growth of malware targeting Macs.