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Apple Pulls 'Old' Antivirus Software Warning By Patricia Resende December 3, 2008 1:56PM     "Oh PC," Apple, Inc.'s TV commercial might say, "achoo! No system can be 100 percent safe from viruses." PC probably won't give Mac back a tissue after Apple posted a warning to Mac users to run antivirus software, then pulled it as "old and inaccurate." But even Apple's Web site warns that no computer is immune.   Related Topics Apple Mac Virus Antivirus Software Ad Campaign Latest News Plasma-TV Ban Could Be Costly Barnes & Noble Nook Is Delayed Flat PC Shipments Hurt Dell's Stock Ballmer Says Windows 7 Sales Good New Pogoplug 'Cloud' Gets Social The latest commercial for Apple's I'm a Mac, I'm a PC campaign against Microsoft has been tarnished. Just days after Apple posted an article telling Mac users to run antivirus software on Mac OS X, the company pulled the article, saying it was old. "We have removed the knowledge base article because it was old and inaccurate," said Monica Sarkar, an Apple spokesperson. "Mac is designed with built-in technologies to provide protection against malicious software and security threats right out of the box. Since no system can be 100 percent immune from every threat, running antivirus software may offer additional protection." Apple had posted the article on its support site, encouraging Mac owners to run antivirus software only to turn around, pull it, and say it was a mistake. Apple in the article had encouraged the widespread use of multiple antivirus utilities so that virus programmers will have more than one application to battle, making virus coding more challenging. In the article, Apple also suggested running three applications -- Intego VirusBarrier X5, McAffee VirusScan for Mac, and Symantec Norton Antivirus 11 for Macintosh. Tissue and Antivirus Apps Apple's article drew a lot of attention, especially since the company's latest television commercial included a person representing a PC sneezing and saying it has caught the latest virus. The person representing the Mac hands a tissue to the sniffling PC before it crashes. Now it's Apple that might need the tissue after dealing with its own errors and after officials said no operating system is completely safe from all threats. In fact, Apple's Web site tells consumers that no computer using the Internet is 100 percent immune to viruses and spyware. It goes on to say that the Mac is built on a solid UNIX foundation and designed with security in mind. It also says its Safari Web browser alerts Mac users whenever an application is downloaded. Apple Not Immune Reports from security company F-Secure show that 100 or so viruses were written for the Mac OS this year, and 850,000 for Microsoft Windows. But F-Secure also found two Trojan viruses that had a great impact on Mac users, including the PokerStealer Trojan and the AppleScript Trojan Horse Template. The Trojan Horse affected Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5 and was distributed from a hacker Web site, according to MacSecure. A discussion on the hacker site focused on distributing the virus through the iChat and Limewire applications. The virus ran hidden on a Mac system and allowed the hacker complete remote access, sent user and system passwords, and avoided detection by opening ports in the firewall .   Advertisement  Network Security 1.   Peer-to-Peer Software Ban Sought 2.   Los Alamos Computer Security Weak 3.   Security Firm Fortinet Plans IPO 4.   Heartland Restraining Order Denied 5.   Social-Networking Security a Concern Social-Networking Security a Concern Facebook hijacking shows dangers. Average Rating: ICANN Approves International Names Dramatic increase in users expected. Average Rating: Center Opens To Battle Cybercrime Increasing threat from hackers seen. Average Rating:

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Network Security Spotlight

House Lawmakers Push Ban on Peer-to-Peer Software Stung by an embarrassing electronic leak revealing ethics investigations into dozens of lawmakers, Congress moved to prohibit federal employees from using the file-sharing software blamed for the disclosure.   GAO: Los Alamos Computer Security Has Weaknesses Security weaknesses uncovered in Los Alamos National Laboratory's computer network increase the risk of a classified-information breach, says the Government Accountability Office.   Computer Security Firm Fortinet Plans IPO This Week Fortinet plans to go public in an initial public offering, giving investors a chance to tap a network security provider with sales that are expected to grow. The IPO could be valued at $137.5 million or more.

Enterprise Hardware Spotlight

Flat Shipments Hurt Dell Despite Increased Earnings Dell's earnings are up and expectations are solid, but the company's stock still took a hit after analysts signaled the company isn't playing a key role in the PC market recovery.   New Pogoplug 'Personal Cloud' Does Social Networking Cloud Engines has released its newest version of the Pogoplug, a small "multimedia sharing device" that connects hard drives to the Internet and allows a user to access the files remotely.   Apple Tablet Rumored Delayed as Publisher Gears Up There have been so many rumors of an Apple tablet that it has taken on legendary status. But now the legend is being revised with reports of a delay and that a major publisher is getting ready.

Enterprise Technology Spotlight

Flat Shipments Hurt Dell Despite Increased Earnings Dell's earnings are up and expectations are solid, but the company's stock still took a hit after analysts signaled the company isn't playing a key role in the PC market recovery.   Smartphones: A Bigger Target for Security Threats Smartphones are increasingly prevalent and adept at handling more tasks, including trading stocks, paying bills, and buying stuff online. That makes them attractive to thieves and hackers.   FBI Says Hackers Targeting Law Firms, PR Companies Hackers are targeting law firms and public relations companies with a sophisticated e-mail scheme that breaks into their computer networks to steal sensitive data, often linked to large corporate clients.

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