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Apple admits anti-virus need for Mac OS

Mac users may think they are safe, but Apple admits that users should be running anti-virus software on their systems.

By Asavin Wattanajantra, 2 Dec 2008 at 12:50

A recently updated technical note on Apple’s web support site has recommended that users install anti-virus software.

The quietly published note appears to be an admission by Apple that no operating system is safe from the threat of the malware writers, which includes Mac OS.

Apple said it "encouraged" the widespread use of multiple anti-virus utilities, to make the virus writing process more difficult.

Recently, Arbor Networks reported it found a new example of Apple Mac OS X called OSX/Jahlav-A, which could be downloaded from a malicious website.

A fake website would be created containing a video which produces a messages saying you don’t have the right codec to run it. The site offered an EXE file if you ran Windows and DMG (disk image) using an Apple Mac, which both resulted in a malware download.

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