Five OS X security threats that fizzled
Macs have been relatively safe from the kind of viruses that plagued Windows users through the last couple decades. But once it was revealed that a variation of Flashback was able to create a botnet of more than half a million Macs thanks to an unpatched Java vulnerability users stood up and took notice. OS X has largely been free of viruses and worms up to this point, but that still doesn't stop unsuspecting users from being tricked into typing an admin password into a cleverly (or, sometimes, not-so-cleverly) disguised installer.
It should be noted that Flashback originally required an admin password as well, but eventually shed that requirement. But the recent Flashback hubbub wasn't the first indication that malware could affect Mac users—not by a long shot. In fact, the first versions of the Flashback trojan itself appeared as early as September 2011, so the latest outbreak wasn't even the first we've heard of this particular malware.
As Apple continues to increase its share of the PC market, Macs are becoming a viable target for malware authors, sprouting a handful or two of trojans in the last decade. Here are five in particular that were considered (by some) to be harbingers of a great malware infestation for OS X that instead proved to be more bark than bite.
