Java Virus Software On Their

The update is available only for OS X 10.6 and 10.7, since Apple has stopped supporting prior versions of OS X.

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But as Apples market share has grown, so has the threat to Mac users security.

Last week, a Russian-based security company called Dr.

Web reported that up to 600,000 Macs appeared to be part of a growing botnet, mostly in the United States and in Canada.

Security researchers are referring to the virus as Flashback.

Mike Geide, a senior security researcher at ZScaler, said that while he cant confirm Dr.

Webs numbers, the conditions sound right for a malware problem of that scale.

The virus should be a wake-up call to those who still think that their Mac is invulnerable to attacks like this, he said.

The main part of the story is that Mac is not impenetrable to threats threats exist, he said.

Geide said that Macs were particularly affected in this attack because of a vulnerability in the Apple version of Java the company stopped using Oracles releases of Java a couple of years ago, and supports its own versions.

Yet while Oracle had patched the problem with Java that caused this problem months ago, Apple had yet to address the problem until April 3, when it issued a patch for the vulnerability.

Exploits were seen in the wild since around early to mid-March.

Several experts have said that this appears to be one of the largest-ever attacks on Macs.

To improve Mac security in the future, Geide recommends that users keep updated versions of Java as they come and automate their computers to check for security updates regularly.

Java Virus Software On Their

He also recommended that users who have yet to do so bite the bullet and install some kind of antivirus software on their Mac, which should also clean up any machine thats been infected.

If you want to check if youve been infected without downloading anti-virus software, the security firm F-Secure has instructions for a good, if technical, way to do so.

There are, of course, also some practices that users can use to minimize the likelihood of infection.

For one, dont click on links in e-mails that youre not absolutely sure have come from someone you trust.

If a URL looks suspect, dont click on it no matter how hilarious a video is said to be.

Dont believe promises from ads that sound too good to be true and dont agree to download any software that you didnt specifically set out to find.

If you dont see it, theres a chance youve been redirected to a fake site, particularly if the signal that youre on a secure server has been there before.

Related stories: VentureBeat: Alarmed about botnet trojan, Apple releases update for Macs Apple releases MacDefender update Apple Mac Computers Hit in Hacker Attack, Researcher Says Comment s Hayley Tsukayama Hayley Tsukayama covers consumer technology for The Washington Post.

A Minnesota native, she joined The Post in 2010 after completing her masters degree in journalism.

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Java For Mac Virus