Apple announced today that it is hard at work developing a means of scrubbing the Flashback.k Trojan from the 600,000 or so Macs it’s infected.
According to a statement released today,
Apple released a Java update on April 3, 2012 that fixes the Java security flaw for systems running OS X v10.7 and Mac OS X v10.6. By default, your Mac automatically checks for software updates every week, but you can change that setting in Software Update preferences. You can also run Software Update at any time to manually check for the latest updates.
Apple is developing software that will detect and remove the Flashback malware.
In addition to the Java vulnerability, the Flashback malware relies on computer servers hosted by the malware authors to perform many of its critical functions. Apple is working with ISPs worldwide to disable this command and control network.
Until the Flashback removal tool is complete, here’s what you can do clean up your system. First, see if you’re infected. Second, as Kaspersky Labs suggested when the trojan was first discovered, disable Java, the program’s entry vector. Third, if you absolutely need Flashback off your system right now, you can follow these manual removal instructions. [Apple via Cult of Mac]