Apple downplays new worm

Apple today played down the threat posed by the first Mac OS X-based worm that surfaced earlier today. Although many of the major security vendors have labeled the threat as "low-risk"--most have already offered patches and protection from the malware--the fact remains that Mac users have been relatively isolated from the world of viruses, trojan, and malware, despite warnings by prominent security experts. Apple has played down the threat, saying that "Leap-A is not a virus, it is malicious software that requires a user to download the application and execute the resulting file. Apple always advises Macintosh users to only accept files from vendors and Web sites that they know and trust," an Apple spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal. "We have a guide to safely handling files received from the Internet." Earlier this year, security vendor Symantec reported a major flaw in all versions of its security and antivirus software, which affected Mac OS X users as well as others.

by MacNN Staff