Apple Mac Flashback Trojan terminator released

PanARMENIAN.Net - Apple has released a tool that removes the infamous Flashback Trojan from infected Macs. The utility, billed as a Java security update, also disables Java applets by default - but only on machines running OS X Lion, the latest version. The update turns off Java applet execution by default for all browsers, not just Safari, The Register reported.

Users can re-enable this if necessary, perhaps to use an online banking site that mandates Java, but the functionality is disabled again automatically in the absence of applet use within 35 days, as Apple's security bulletin for Lion explains.

The picture is different for Mac users running Snow Leopard, where disabling Java in a browser won't happen automatically. The update for Snow Leopard does include Flashback Trojan removal.

Both the OS X Lion and Snow Leopard updates, released on Thursday, April 12 come with a patched version of Java that was made available in a separate set of updates earlier this week. Apple has made good on its promise earlier this week to release a Flashback removal tool but the move came after several security firms independently released their own Flashback detection and removal tools.

The Flashback Trojan created a zombie army of remote-controllable 650,000 Apple Macs, or more, by exploiting a Java security vulnerability that Apple only patched last week, six weeks after a patch for Windows machines became available.

The Flashback Trojan has declined over recent days from a peak of around 670,000 machines to around 270,000 bots (Symantec's latest estimate) or lower. Despite the decline the zombie network remains an undead menace.