Apple Finally Responds To Malware Attacks On Mac With Software Update (AAPL)

After legions of people fell for the MacDefender trojan trap within the past couple weeks, Apple decided to make a statement.

Its first statement was telling Geniuses and customer support representatives to keep their hands off when customers would complain.

Apple's second statement came yesterday, when it released a support document explicitly explaining how to remove the malware from your system.

The document also says, "In the coming days, Apple will deliver a Mac OS X software update that will automatically find and remove Mac Defender malware and its known variants.  The update will also help protect users by providing an explicit warning if they download this malware."

If you have MacDefender, MacProtector, or MacSecurity, use these steps to remove the malware:

Removal steps (from Apple's Support Document)

• Move or close the Scan Window
• Go to the Utilities folder in the Applications folder and launch Activity Monitor  
• Choose All Processes from the pop up menu in the upper right corner of the window
• Under the Process Name column, look for the name of the app and click to select it; common app names include: MacDefender, MacSecurity or MacProtector
• Click the Quit Process button in the upper left corner of the window and select Quit
• Quit Activity Monitor application
• Open the Applications folder
• Locate the app ex. MacDefender, MacSecurity, MacProtector or other name
• Drag to Trash, and empty Trash

Malware also installs a login item in your account in System Preferences. Removal of the login item is not necessary, but you can remove it by following the steps below.

• Open System Preferences, select Accounts, then Login Items
• Select the name of the app you removed in the steps above ex. MacDefender, MacSecurity, MacProtector
• Click the minus button

Don't Miss: Macs Aren't As Invincible As You Think. Here Are The Best Apps To Protect Yourself >

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See Also:

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Apple Finally Responds To Malware Attacks On Mac With Software Update (AAPL)

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Steve Jobs Responds To All The Cry-Baby Publishers About Apple's Subscription Payments (AAPL, AMZN, NWS, NFLX)

Apple just rolled out its sweeping new subscription payment service for the App Store.

App Store users will now be able to pay for all digital content with one click within apps. Publishers will set prices and durations of subscriptions.

So, The Daily, for instance, can offer users a one click option to pay for a week of the newspaper at $0.99, or for a year at $40.

While publishers will have to offer the in-app subscription payment option, they will also be able to offer users the option of buying the exact same subscription on their own website. However, the price for the web subscription must be the same as the price for the in-app subscription.

It appears the new subscription plan won't just affect publishers like The Daily, or the Wall Street Journal, but all app makers that offer digital content, including companies like Netflix, and Amazon. In the release, Apple says the new subscription system will apply to, "magazines, newspapers, video, music, etc."

This is great for consumers who will have an easier time buying digital goods like newspapers and books in their applications, but it's somewhat worrisome for developers and publishers.

If an app user opts for Apple's simple in-app payment system, Apple keeps 30% of the sale. If a user goes through the publisher's website -- a more complicated process -- the publisher will keep 100% of the sale.

If this is applied across the board to companies like Netflix and Amazon, it could be a problem.

Right now, Amazon kicks users to its website where they buy a book. Amazon gets 100% of that sale. If it has to offer users the in-app payment option, then it risks losing 30% of the sale.

That's a hefty premium for Amazon to pay just to sell books on iOS devices. (We're emailing Amazon and Netflix for comment, and will update you if they say anything.)

Beyond Amazon, publishers like Time Inc. probably won't be happy with Apple having so much control over the customer experience. Users control their subscriptions through an iTunes account page making it easy to cancel a subscription whenever they want.

To any publishers, or developers concerned about paying the 30% Apple tax, Steve Jobs has a message -- deal with it, it's not a big deal.

Here's the more detailed, nuanced answer from Jobs in Apple's press release:

“Our philosophy is simple—when Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 percent share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 percent and Apple earns nothing,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “All we require is that, if a publisher is making a subscription offer outside of the app, the same (or better) offer be made inside the app, so that customers can easily subscribe with one-click right in the app. We believe that this innovative subscription service will provide publishers with a brand new opportunity to expand digital access to their content onto the iPad, iPod touch and iPhone, delighting both new and existing subscribers.”

Don't Miss: Apple Just Declared War On Amazon Kindle

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Steve Jobs Responds To All The Cry-Baby Publishers About Apple's Subscription Payments (AAPL, AMZN, NWS, NFLX)

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Gene Simmons Threatens Anonymous, Responds to DDoS Attacks Against His Site

"Some of you may have heard a few popcorn farts re: our sites being threatened by hackers," wrote KISS bassist Gene Simmons on his website yesterday, responding to a DDoS attack that took down GeneSimmons.com earlier this week.

The attack was part of Operation Payback, a campaign that over the past few weeks has been targeting organizations who legislate and litigate in support of copyright laws. Loosely organized by Anonymous, a group of Internet "vigilantes" has launched a series of denial-of-service attacks against the likes of the MPAA, the RIAA, the UK Intellectual Property Office, as well as against the KISS bassman.

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The direct action campaign has effectively shut down sites that have been most vocal (and litigious) about their pro-copyright and anti-piracy stances. It has also targeted law offices that have been deemed to be part of a what TorrentFreak has called "pay-up-or-else" schemes, threats of legal action aimed at alleged file-sharers. Anonymous's DDoS attacks have targeted well over a dozen sites over the past few weeks.

According to TorrentFreak, the attacks against Gene Simmons were controversial among those associated with Anonymous, some arguing that it's better to target the legal mechanisms of the film and music industry, rather than artist themselves. But Simmons has painted a fairly large target on himself (or on his site, at least), by speaking out in recent weeks against file-sharing, arguing that the music industry should be suing more people: "Make sure your brand is protected, be litigious, sue anybody - take their homes, their cars, Don't let anybody cross that line."

Simmons's site is down at the time of publishing (Update: as of Monday morning, the website now redirects to the BitTorrent site Pirate Bay), but Slyck posted a copy of the response to the DDoS attack that was posted there yesterday:

Some of you may have heard a few popcorn farts re: our sites being threatened by hackers.

Our legal team and the FBI have been on the case and we have found a few, shall we say "adventurous" young people, who feel they are above the law.

And, as stated in my MIPCOM speech, we will sue their pants off.

First, they will be punished.

Second, they might find their little butts in jail, right next to someone who's been there for years and is looking for a new girl friend.

We will soon be printing their names and pictures.

We will find you.

You cannot hide.

Stay tuned

As Slyck notes, the ability to identify those who are participating in a distributed denial-of-service attack would be pretty challenging, if not impossible. But Simmons's threats and attitude (not to mention his lack of understanding of "hackers") echoes his misunderstanding that everyone who participates in peer-to-peer file-sharing is a criminal who needs to have their pants sued off or end up in jail.

Better round up the KISS Army, Gene. This battle could be brutal.

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