Apple's Mac Defender malware removal help U-turn

By Richi Jennings. May 25, 2011.

Apple (AAPL) has finally deigned to help users infected with the Mac Defender malware. It climbed down from its lofty, pedantic pedestal after days of reports that it was refusing to help Trojan victims -- despite it stealing their credit card details and popping up porn. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers wonder what AppleCare management is smoking.

Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention: the Disgruntled Bomb: Java Edition...

Ed Bott has been gleefully tracking the story:

How is Apple responding to the flood of customer calls about ... the Mac Defender malware? According to multiple ... insiders, the company has doubled down on its policy of denying any help to affected customers. ... In a particularly Orwellian turn of phrase, the [policy] ... “Is to empower the customers to become more internet and security savvy.”
...
Apple has made no public statement and did not respond to two requests for comment. ... The total number of customers affected could be between 60,000 and 125,000.  

 
Chester Wisniewski can't quite believe his eyes:

Apple tech support ... still have their heads buried in the sand when it comes to assisting their customers.
...
Apple's famous PR savvy apparently doesn't apply to handling security. ... It is genuinely tragic. ... You could argue that Apple created this false sense of security through ... suggesting Apple users are immune to security threats.  

 
Jacqui Cheng notes that Apple has finally given in to the criticism:

The company posted an online support document Tuesday evening that outlines how to identify and get rid of ... Mac Defender. ... The company also promised to issue a software update soon that will specifically hunt out and remove Mac Defender and its variants.
...
One of the more controversial aspects of Apple's [initial] reaction was that there was none. ... Now, however, the company has apparently had a change of heart.  

 
And Adrian Kingsley-Hughes seems to be bored waiting:

In the world of security software ... [this] is a geological timescale. Threats evolve quickly and if Apple is going to keep on top of things it is going to have to learn to move faster.
...
I think Apple should take some of that massive cash pile it is sitting on and buy a security firm.  

But Jonny Evans keeps the fanboi faith:

Apple was slammed on strength of claims it has instructed Mac support technicians not to [say] how the malware can be removed from affected machines. At times ... you'd almost believe the Mac platform is as leaky and virus prone ... well, as Windows.  

 
And Finally...
Disgruntled Bomb: Java Edition
[tl;dr: fun with randomly redefining the values of some integers]
 
 
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Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. He's the creator and main author of Computerworld's IT Blogwatch -- for which he has won American Society of Business Publication Editors and Jesse H. Neal awards on behalf of Computerworld. He also writes The Long View for IDG Enterprise. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, you can follow him as @richi on Twitter, pretend to be richij's friend on Facebook, or just use good old email: itbw@richij.com. You can also read Richi's full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.