14 DAY TRIAL // Softpedia has learned that iLife '09 has been pirated by 20,000 + users who are currently using file sharing web sites to illegally download the newly updated software. iLife '09 brings major updates to iPhoto, iVideo and GarageBand. The suite normally retails for $79.
Following Apple's Macworld 2009 keynote address delivered by Philip W. Schiller, SVP of Worldwide Product Marketing, torrent sites were (immediately) fed pirated copies of iWork '09, Apple's productivity suite of applications for Mac OS X. Security firm Intego soon discovered that a Trojan horse (OSX.Trojan.iServices.A) was circulating in copies of Apple’s iWork '09 found on BitTorrent trackers and other sites containing links to pirated software. The productivity suite was complete and functional, but the installer had an additional package called iWorkServices.pkg containing the malware.
Not long after updating its virus definitions, Intego acknowledged yet another Trojan. This time, the malware was doing the rounds hidden inside pirated copies of Adobe Photoshop CS4. Intego's second security notice revealed that the situation was the same as with pirated copies of iWork '09 – once installed, the malware would gain root privileges, go online and alert its creator that the unwary Mac user had been infected.
With as many as 20,000 pirated iLife '09 copies now on the loose, we can only expect the likes of Intego, Sophos and SecureMac to issue new security alerts this week. Apparently, those who download the suite from these untrusted sources can start using the software immediately, by doing a standard installation. It is worth noting that some trackers list iLife '09 as containing no malware threat - “iLife 09 DVD No Troyen.” Others simply list the software as “iLife 09 Install DVD.”
Softpedia doesn't encourage downloading non-approved / pirated Apple software via torrent sites. This article has a purely informational purpose and doesn't, in any way, suggest that Mac users should go forth with downloading pirated copies of iLife '09 via means of file sharing services like BitTorrent.