When Apple announced that a small number of iPods had left the factory with a virus on board, many were expecting Apple to take a whole load of heat, and for a good reason. Strangely enough, the fact itself is being pretty much ignored, being used instead as a ramp for the launch of yet another Mac security scare bunch of articles.

"While the small batch of Apple iPods infected with a Windows virus pose no threats to iMacs or the iPods themselves, the fact they were infected at all is a big worry. Now, the potential for virus and malware writers to start targeting Mac OS X in a bigger way cannot be ignored, and should be a massive wake-up call to Apple and its users: owning a Mac does not mean you're invulnerable," Alex Zaharov-Reutt writes for iTWire. "It's only a matter of time before a big outbreak on Apple systems occurs, similar to the 'Code Red', 'I love you' virus, 'Nimda' and other attacks that swept the PC owning world over the past few years," Zaharov-Reutt writes.

Exactly how the fact that a Windows virus slipped onto iPod at the factory is a bit of a mystery and leads to an increased potential for virus writers to start targeting the Mac. Similarly, it is unclear why this should be a 'massive wake up call' to Apple users. The only thing that is crystal clear is that Apple isn't using all Macs at its factories, or this would not have happened. Security experts have been warning about the impending, looming, fast approaching, unavoidable, security threat that is headed for Macs for years now� Is it no wonder that after years of crying wolf whenever they come across a paraplegic puppy in the wilds, the Mac community has stopped listening to anything they say.

Everyone is pointing fingers at Apple, saying they don't take security seriously, but so far, in the real world, real people and their real computers have been problem free and virus free for many years on end. If there ever will be a serious problem, and Apple steps forward and says there is one, the entire Mac community will step forward all ears, and will be quick to respond. As for the security experts, their glorious cries of 'we've been saying this for years' and 'we knew this was happening' will continue to be ignored. Keep making the same prediction for long enough and eventually it is bound to come true; in the mean time, we'll skip the manic street preachers and the little old ladies with crystal balls.