Mac OS X is not, on the whole, known as an OS which attracts too many problems when it comes to malware. However, in the last few days there has been something of a scare involving the Immunizator Trojan. According to IT security specialists Sophos this may well just be a case of one bad apple which should not induce panic amongst users.

Sophos reports that the Troj/MacSwp-B Trojan, if you want to be formal about naming, appears to try and scare Mac users by claiming there are privacy issues on your computer and the cure is to purchase some software which is not in fact required.

"Windows users are no stranger to scareware like this, but it is rarer on the Apple Macintosh. Nevertheless, the discovery of this Trojan horse does follow fast on the heels of other malware that has been identified on the Mac OS X platform in recent months," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Cybercrime against Mac users may be small in comparison to Windows attacks, but it is growing. Apple Macintosh users need to learn from the mistakes made by their Windows cousins in the past and ensure that they have defences in place, are up-to-date with patches and exercise caution about what they run on their computer."