One of the main reasons many of us turned to Apple’s machines and its OS X operating system is the belief that the company’s software is more secure than Windows, its biggest rival. However, Eugene Kaspersky, CEO and co-founder of Kaspersky, one of the industry’s leading security specialists, believes that Apple is “10 years behind Microsoft in terms of security,” and that Apple need to invest more into security audits for its software.

Think your Mac’s safe now that you’ve removed that Flashback infection? Think again. New research conducted by security specialists Sophos has revealed a “disturbingly high level” of Macs are currently carrying malware, though much of it is designed to attack Windows machines.

Of the 100,000 Macs that Sophos analyzed, one in five was found to be carrying Windows malware, while one in 36 was carrying malware designed for and dangerous to Mac OS X.

The Flashback saga has yet to reach its end, as a recent report debunks earlier claims that the number of infected Macs had fallen from 600,000 to 140,000 over a matter of a few days. Apple released a security tool to combat Flashback last week, and Norton Symantec reported that the number of infected machines had fallen to 140,000 shortly after. That number has been proven to be inaccurate.

In an interesting turn of events, the original Flashback whistleblower, Russian security firm Dr. Web, has revealed that around 650,000 Macs are still infected with the notorious trojan. Not only are there many Macs connected to the botnet that were previously unaccounted for, but more OS X computers are added every day.

If you don’t think that your Mac is susceptible to a virus, then you couldn’t be more wrong. With the popularity of the Mac growing every day, they are becoming more of a target. If you want to protect your computer – and speed it up at the same time, the latest Cult of Mac Deals offer is just for you!

With this killer bundle you’ll get 1 year of ultimate protection against all known malware and viruses, like the one that recently made the news: Flashback. With VirusBarrier X6 you’ll be able to protect your Mac from network threats, viruses, trojan horses and all other malware. Washing Machine 2 enables you to clean up web files that compromise your privacy and slow down your Mac in the process.

And this deal is only $36 for a limited time. When you think about it, the only thing you have to lose by not taking advantage of this Cult of Mac Deals bundle is your Mac. Don’t let that happen.

With the number of Flashback-infected Macs dwindling more each day and Apple’s release of software updates that can both clean an infected Mac and prevent infection or reinfection, it’s easy for IT departments and individual Mac users to think that the crisis has passed. That doesn’t mean that it’s time to forget about the issue of malware targeting Macs, however. In fact, the entire event has been a wakeup call to IT and security professionals as well as to the wider Mac community – Macs are not invincible.

When reflecting on the Flashback events of the past couple of weeks, there are five major themes or lessons for businesses and IT department to consider when it comes to supporting Macs going forward.

Apple’s operating systems and its software are generally believed to be the best available in terms of security and stability, but a new report from Trend Micro reveals that’s a huge misconception… at least in recent months. In fact, the Cupertino company suffered more vulnerabilities during the last quarter than rivals like Oracle, Google, Adobe, and even Microsoft.

The notorious Flashback trojan infected 600,000 Macs over the last year. We’ve been following Flashback closely, and Apple started waging its war on the botnet earlier this month. After releasing two security updates and one final tool to remove Flashback from infected Macs, Apple has nearly killed Flashback once and for all.

According to new research from Norton Symantec research, Flashback now infects around 140,000 Macs. That’s a significant drop considering Apple’s removal tool was only released 4 days ago.

With more and more security threats to OS X like the recent “Flashback” trojan, now’s a better time than ever to protect you Mac from any and all possible security threats. In this video, I’ll show you the best ways to keep your Mac safe from viruses and malware.

Episode 8 of The CultCast is in iTunes now, and if you’re itching for a new Macbook Pro, you’re not going to want to miss it.

Join us and special guest, Ars Technica Writer Chris Foresman, as we reveal the secrets of the rumored new Air-like Macbook Pro, and explain why Intel says it could pack a Retina Display; and Facebook just bought Instagram, is now the time to jump ship?

All that and lots more on this week’s CultCast — subscribe now on iTunes!

Following two independent Java security updates and one last patch to detect and remove the Flashback trojan, Apple has released another software tool for getting rid of Flashback on a Mac running OS X Lion without Java installed.

Flashback is the name of a virus that was able to infect a Mac and link it up to a botnet of around 600,000 other Macs. If you’ve updated your Mac with the latest Java patch, you should be fine, but Apple has provided this new tool for safe measure to Mac users running Lion without Java already installed.