Macbooks CAN Get Infected! Protect Thyself!

According to the BBC News, as well as many other computer news sites, over "Half a million Mac computers [are] 'infected with malware'.

Yes, we knew the day would come and it looks like it may be here.

FIRST, make sure your Macbook has the latest software updates:

Getting updates immediately

1. From the Apple () menu, choose Software Update.
   
   
   Apple menu in Mac OS X v10.6.6 and later
   
   
2. Software Update checks for available updates. In the Software Update window, select the items you want to install, then click Install. Usually, you should install all available updates.
3. Enter an administrator account name and password.
4. After installation is complete, restart the computer if required.

You can repeat these steps to see if more updates are now available. Because some software updates are prerequisites for others, you may need to repeat these steps several times to complete the software update sequence. Note: Mac OS X v10.5 and later can automatically run Software Update checks in the background and let you know when an update is available for your computer.

After you do that, then:

Grab the latest Java update from Apple:

Snow Leopard: Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 7

OR

Lion Java for OS X Lion 2012-001"

depending on which OS you have.

Check these articles for more information:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17623422

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57409619-83/more-than-600000-macs-infected-with-flashback-botnet/

It is always a great idea to make a Time Machine backup of your Macbook before doing any type of updating or maintenance. Remember that you need a dedicated external drive that is big enough (at least 500GB).

The question you always have to ask yourself is" What will I lose if my computer crashes"? Backups are always are really, REALLY good idea.

See my earlier post titled "Save Those Puppies".

Mr. V