Can a Macintosh get infected with malware?!

Alright ... this isn't really a question. I just wanted to put an old myth to rest!

Macs are not invincible, and they never were. The MAC Defender malware is a public demonstration, and what's worse is, it's taking people's credit card information. It's Scare-ware. They try to scare unsuspecting users into thinking their Mac OS X system is infected, and then trick them into buying the $100 software just to clean it up.

Now, we've seen this over and over in the Windows world. People cannot be naive when it comes to computers now--no matter the operating system. Mobile phones (including the iPhone) are hacked every year at Black Hat. I'm sure iPads (and the whole collection of slates) are next on the agenda, since they are being put in corporate areas.

Sorry for the rant, but it's the truth. You can no longer hide behind Apple's wall of obscurity.

Here's a pretty good article on the whole thing: Ars Technica Article
Secondary article, if the first doesn't work: NewsFactor Network

Just on a sidenote: This problem, just like in Windows, can be avoided by turning off scripting. Use Firefox in Mac OS X and use the NoScript plugin, providing scripting rights for only trusted sites. That will stop this kind of attack dead in its tracks. Most exploits are through the browser, no matter what OS you are using!

(And, yes, I own a MacBook Pro, iPhone, iPad 2 (soon), and several other Windows-based machines.) I am in no way a "fanboy" of any brand.