The Week in Computer Security: Both Macs and PCs Suffer

A handful of fairly significant security problems made themselves known this week, and we're not referring to Pres. Obama keeping his BlackBerry. Some powerful worms and Trojans are running rampant that may pose substantial threats in the near future. Security professionals are working hard to solve the problems, but are still discovering new secret threats. Beware, Beware, be a very wary bear.



Macs have traditionally been known as relatively immune to computer security issues. But the recent news of infected copies of iWork '09 proves that even Apple is susceptible to Trojans in pirated software. Of course the malware can't be passed on like a virus, but only installed alongside the copy of iWork. The prevention is simple; don't try to work around paying for iWork. The remedy however is pretty drastic. You may have to completely reformat their Mac and reinstall (from master discs) OS X.

Our next security issue is shocking, just not due to the infected OS. Hearing about a Microsoft Windows vulnerability isn't really surprising, but the worm that is taking advantage of the weakness may have already infected nine million computers. The worm is going by the alias' Conficker and Downadup, and is traveling on portable gadgets (USB keys) and has a knack for guessing network passwords (How did it figure out 'Rumpelstiltskin'?). Apparently users won't even notice their computers have been compromised. And while the virus has yet to cause any huge damage, security experts fear that the infected computers compose a botnet that may simply be waiting for the command from their master. Still no word on where the worm came from, but they seem to be partial to Ukrainian users.

Another developing botnet of note this week has been gaining subordinates by using a fake Obama website. Apparently the pseudo-site infects curious readers trying to follow a link the tabloid worthy "Barack Obama has refused to be a president" article. For those still confused after the inauguration, Barack Obama has accepted to be the President, his daughters use Kodak cameras, and he still has his BlackBerry. You might even be able to find a photo or two recording the event if you missed it.

Of course whether you missed the inauguration or not, you probably aren't up to date on all of this other (and malware free) technology news:

Sprint Starting a Cell Phone Price War?

Dell Adamo Is Coming Later than Anticipated

Palm Pre Gets an Earlier Release Date and Other Juicy Rumors

Google Gdrive in 2009?

EA to Intelligently Design Four New Spore Titles in 2009

For more information on how to avoid and repair virus attacks, take a look at our antivirus software review.