Users of Mac computers have by and large been free of the internet-born viruses, but now bot herders are going after Apple owners as well.

By the way, in case you were wondering, a bot herder is a cracker which automatically scans a network to discover a vulnerable system. A computer without a current internet patch is such a system and they exploit the hole by installing their own particular bot programme. The machine, now infected, is regarded as a zombie. A number of zombies make-up a botnet and this infiltrated network is then controlled by the bot herder. And one of the best techniques for controlling such a botnet is via an internet relay chat channel.

So, there we are, and with computers becoming increasingly popular, and the percentage of Macs in use also going up, they have now become a viable target for cyber criminals. And the Achilles heal for Mac users is pirated software.

In the frame is the well-known, peer-to-peer site BitTorrent, which Mac fans use to share large files. It’s thought by computer security experts that doing the rounds has been a number of examples of pirated Apple software, including Adobe Photoshop and iWork. The programmes might work, but the sting in the tail is that they are infected with a trojan called OSXIservice.

This trojan infiltrates the Mac by installing remote control software. Once installed, it contacts other computers within the network with the aim of destroying websites, or web servers, with a denial-of-service attack. Such an attack is a form of extortion. The trojan shuts down a website and the hackers approach the owners and demand money for the key to get it back working. Although it’s hard to get figures on how often this happens – website owners who have been affected are naturally coy when admitting they have to pay ransom demands for their own website back – the problem is getting worse.

And whereas Mac users were not of the number for the hackers to be bothered with, their recent success has ironically led to some unwanted attention.

So, Mac users, beware of pirates bearing gifts it could cost you dear in the end.

Guest Article by Neil Camp