Malware

Okay, it’s clear that this is not a Mac issue; the Conficker/Downadup worm, while described as an epidemic, is the most dangerous malware seen on Windows in some time. It’s gotten so bad that three European military networks have gotten infected: the British, French and Germans. Microsoft is offering a bounty of $250,000 for information leading to the prosecution of those behind this worm.

But while it’s not a Mac issue, it may affect your Mac if you run Windows. If you get files on your Mac and transfer them to your Windows installation, under Boot Camp or virtualization software, you may infect yourself. Or if you transfer files to Windows-using colleagues, or work on a network with Windows computers. VirusBarrier X5 protects against this worm, spotting its dozens of variants and eradicating them. VirusBarrier Server and Mail Gateway also provide network protection for users running their Macs as a server, with Mac OS X Server or the client version of the operating system. So don’t worry about this worm; use safe computing practices, and keep your virus definitions up to date.