Apple issues security updates for older OS X Leopard

Apple Inc. has issued security updates for computers running an older version of its OS X operating system, to fight off the Flashback malware. The patches are for users who chose to stay with OS X 10.5 Leopard instead of upgrading to 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or 10.7 (Lion), computer security firm Sophos said. "It's encouraging to see Apple has not left users of this older version of the Mac OS X operating system completely out in the cold when it comes to protecting against the latest threats," Sophos said in a blog post. "Clearly they realize that it's not good for the Apple Mac's image if older computers connected to the Internet are harboring malware that could cause problems for others in the Mac community," it added. On the other hand, it noted there are still users of even older Mac OS X flavors still out there,  including 10.4 (Tiger). "(T)hey don't have the benefit of these security updates and are effectively playing a dangerous game with their systems as the malware threat on the Mac platform increases. There's no indication that Apple plans to bring security updates to these users," it said. Sophos noted the fixes were released last month for users of newer flavors of OSX, Snow Leopard and Lion. Earlier this year, the Flashback malware had turned OS X machines into zombies by attacking an unpatched version of Java on OS X. Sophos said Apple's Leopard Flashback Removal Security Update will help clean up Macs not yet running a proper anti-virus program. It said the update will scan Mac users' hard drives for the most prevalent variants of the Flashback Trojan and remove them. The security update will also disable the Java plugin of the Safari browser by default. Another patch, Leopard Security Update 2012-003, disables versions of Adobe Flash Player that do not include the latest security updates. It also encourages users to get the latest version directly from Adobe's website. "This additional level of protection when it comes to Safari users running Flash is good to see – as Adobe's software is so frequently exploited by malware authors and malicious hackers to infect web surfers," Sophos said. Both security updates require the latest version of Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.8) and can also be applied via the normal Software Update feature built-into Mac OS X. — LBG, GMA News