Hackers serve up pre-release malware to Mac fanboys

Virus slingers are taking advantage of the release of Apple's Snow Leopard operating system by offering malware from sites touting operating system upgrades.

Dodgy sites supposedly offering Snow Leopard were rigged to push an Apple-specific DNS changer Trojan, detected by Trend Micro as JAHLAV-K. The malware is a MAC OS X mountable Disk Image file (.DMG) that comes contaminated with various malicious scripts, as explained here.

Users infected with the Apple specific malware would find their internet connections redirected to phishing sites and other fraudulent endeavours. Some of these bogus sites hosted scareware (fake anti-virus) packages.

Fake sites offering the Mac malware were in operation in the run-up to the release of Snow Leopard on Friday. There are more details in a blog on Trend Micro's website, here.

A similar attack, detected earlier this week, offered malware in the guise of Foxit PDF Reader software for Apple Macs. The pirated version "Foxit Reader for Mac" comes loaded with the Jahlav Trojan horse, anti-virus firm Sophos warns.

Foxit Reader is not yet officially available for Apple Macs. When it does come out, prospective users ought to use the official Foxit website, Foxit advises.

"While imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, we are not happy about the recent malware attacks masquerading as our Foxit Reader," said George Gao, vice president of sales and marketing at Foxit Corporation. "Foxit has always striven to insure that our solutions are secure for our users, and remains committed to address any Foxit product security issue in a professional and timely manner." ®