Surprise surprise. There’s a new morsel of PC malware out there plaguing Windows machines. Nothing to write about there: it’s non-news, the equivalent of Paris Hilton getting a polite note from the Center of Disease Control.
What makes this bit of malware interesting to Apple heads, though, is the way it’s propagated: through an e-mail urging victims to download a new version of iTunes that has been upgraded for “best iPad performance, newer features and security.” Download the infected executable and the code, called Backdoor.Bifrose.AADY, then tries to slurps up the victim’s software serial numbers, IM, e-mail and protect storage login details.
Needless to say, even if you’re on a PC, you’re better off going directly to Apple.com or allowing iTunes to alert you to a new update than downloading a strange executable from even the most earnest of Russian malware mafioso.
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
