Apple is developing software to detect and remove the Flashback malware affecting Macs. The Trojan was recently discovered and has affected 600,000 Macs worldwide.
In a statement, Apple said it has already released a Java update for systems running Mac OPS X v10.6 and up which fixes the security flaw which the Trojan exploits. It recommended Mac owners running earlier versions of OS X to disable Java in their web browsers to protect themselves until the update is released.
Last week, anti-virus vendor Doctor Web discovered the BackDoor.Flashback Trojan, saying it infected 600,000 Macs globally. Some 0.1pc of these affected Macs were located in Ireland.
The Trojan infects computers after a user is redirected to a bogus website and exploits a Java vulnerability. It saves an executable file onto the hard drive which downloads malicious payload from a remote server to launch it.
After searching for anti-virus applications on the machine, the Trojan then uses a special routine to generate a list of control servers.
Along with developing software to combat the Trojan, Apple said that as the app relies on computer servers hosted by malware authors to function, the company is working with ISPs globally to disable this network.
