It has been believed for several years now that Macs were almost impervious to virus, malware, and spyware attacks. However, those watching carefully understood that it was not the system itself which afforded the user a greater amount of security, but instead that the authors of such malware did not see any reason to attack the Mac due to its small market share.
However, as the Mac has grown in popularity for the aforementioned reason, some authors have now seen bit of a challenge in infecting the Mac platform. The newest attack comes from the world of Bit Torrent and has disguised itself as iWork09. Simply put, iWork09 is a pirated version of the popular software for the Mac.
Once the file is downloaded, and installed the software can take control of the infected computer. The software then connects to remote computers where it is given further instructions by the author of the software, including installing more malware, or stealing information from the infected Mac. Unfortunately it is not a simple matter to remove all pieces of code from the Mac and often takes up a substantial amount of time. This is due in large part to the lack of malware support for the Mac.
Mac users must now become wary of such pirated software available from Bit Torrent and other such P2P sharing protocols. It was only a matter of time before the Mac was to be attacked. Nevertheless it begs the question, how long before the other Mac products are attacked such as the iPhone.
The safest bet is to never take a chance with your computer system no matter what format it is. Never visit questionable sites and never ever download anything for free that is pirated. It is only common sense and if you follow this advice it is likely that you will have a much better chance of not becoming infected with malware, spyware, or viruses.
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