This Reuters article mentions how Apple found some unwelcome code lurking in some of its user machines. “A site used by web developers” is secret talk meaning the programmers were looking up snippets of code so they could cut and paste it (which isn’t such a bad way to do it, really. Why rewrite everything by hand when someone else already did? Efficiency!).
Using code library sites like github or others to enable hacks is pretty darn ingenius. Usually the bad guys just hook up their infiltrating programs onto the underbelly of porn photos or movies.
What does this mean for normal people? It means that Apple products have enough market share to attract bad guys. This means we need to be careful with our laptops, ipads, iphones, etc. We need to install anti-virus software made specifically for Apple products. I’ve almost always had anti-virus software on all my Apple machines, but to be honest it was probably a bit overkill. Not anymore.
Another thing I do but don’t expect the rest of the world to deal with: I block java in Chrome. This means I must click a button to allow javascript to run. I can read/use most sites without enabling javascript, but sometimes when forms or videos or such need to be rendered, I have to click the “run javascript” button and reload the page. I don’t run the script if I don’t have to or if I don’t trust the site. This process is laborious and out of the purview of most end-users, though.
Install and run some anti-virus software. Go to your App store and click on Updates. Install any of those you see there. (I’ve seen some Apple machines that have over 100 updates for apps and system software waiting to be run. Yikes! Just do it, people!)
Be safe out there on dem Interwebz roadz.