New Apple Malware Identified Ahead of Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Release

Report of a new malware targeting Apple's ninth major OS X release, version 10.8 Mountain Lion, has created a flutter among tech enthusiasts.

The news report gains prominence as OS X Moutain Lion, touted as the improved operating system for Macintosh computers, is being launched today. The operating system comes packed with a whole set of features gained from iOS that allow users to send unlimited messages to other Macs running OS X Lion.

Sophos, a security vendor, described the malware's delivery mechanism and payload as interesting, a report published by GMA Network stated.

Apparently, the vendor received samples of the malware, dubbed as Crisis and Morcut in a file named AdobeFlashPlayer.jar.

Generally, the JAR files are used as a standardized way to package and deliver Java software. They enable easy delivery of a Java program along with programming libraries, configuration data, images and support files, the GMA Network report added.

Reportedly, the malware can run on other operating systems as well as its author appears to target cross-platform support feature.

Further, the WebEnhancer file found in the malware is claimed to be adept in determining if the PC it is attacking is running on Windows or OS X.

The GMA Network report also cited how Sophos noted cybercrooks consider Mac users to be apt victims as they easily target multiple platforms.

As a move aimed to protect users against any probable attack by the malware, the security vendor advised users to uninstall Java if they do not require it adding that it closes down one avenue for malware writers.

When a flashback malware was identified to target OS X Lion users last year, the tech giant released a standalone malware removal tool. It remains to be seen as to how far the new malware will affect the OS X Mountain Lion and how Apple will counter the attack.