3/25/2008 - Newton Virus

It's kind of rare to see an actual computer virus these days. I think most people have got the point not to open executable attachments from strangers and most e-mail software will prevent you from doing such a thing. In fact, many people use online e-mail services such as Yahoo or Google which scan your e-mail long before it gets into your inbox. Besides, most malware these days are limited to adware or spyware which, while annoying, can't really be considered viruses in the traditional sense. In fact, the programmers of these particular forms of malware don't want to break your computer because they want to be able to hack into your computer with spyware installed, or they want you to be able to view all the pop-up ads with aware installed. It's only due to poor programming or the interference with legitimate software that makes malware a destructive force on computers.

Anyway, as I said it's actually uncommon to find a computer virus nowadays, and even more uncommon to find one for a Macintosh. This has been true for sometime because virus writers don't bother with the Mac platform because of its low market share. Virus writers want their product the "spread" after all. Things may have changed recently, especially with the remarkable growth of Mac OS X and the backlash against Windows Vista. Have the virus writers found a new target with the Mac platform? Well, here's a "virus" specifically for the Mac, and I must say, if this is a virus, I might want to catch it... looks like fun: