Apple releases Flashback Trojan patch for OS X 10.5 Leopard

Jos

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Apple released a patch for the much-publicized Flashback Trojan back in April covering the most recent versions of its operating system, OS X 10.7 “Lion” and the almost three-year-old 10.6 “Snow Leopard”. That still left a number Mac owners running OS X 10.5 (about 16.4%) relying on third-party tools to handle the malware threat, but now Apple is finally coming forward with a patch for Leopard.

The updates come in two packages: the Flashback Removal Security Update and the Leopard Security Update 2012-003. Besides removing any infections the patch will turn off Safari’s Java plugin, thus closing the vulnerability that was allowing Flashback to install on users’ computers, and disables outdated versions of Adobe Flash Player, pointing users to Adobe’s website so they can download the most recent release.

Both packages are available as separate downloads and also via Software Update.

The Java flaw exploited by the Flashback Trojan dates back to February and it was estimated that at least 550,000 Macs were infected until Apple finally addressed the issue a couple of months later. The Cupertino-based company was criticized for its slow reaction and accused of being at least “10 years behind Microsoft” in terms of computer security by Kaspersky Lab founder and CEO Eugene Kaspersky.

The increased malware occurrences are likely the result of Apple’s growing popularity, but the good news is they appear to be taking the issue more seriously. According to Computing.co.uk, Apple recently invited Kaspersky Lab to work with the company on improving the security of its operating system.

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