Morgan Russell didn’t know her Apple computer could get a virus, but it turns out her Mac isn’t as invincible as she thought.
About 600 Mac computers on the UF campus were suspected to be infected with a Trojan virus called Flashback as of Thursday, said Jim Hranicky, an information security monitoring specialist for UF’s Information Security team. The team is monitoring computers on the UF networks in search of the virus.
“This is one of the bigger infections that I’ve had to deal with,” Hranicky said.
Russell, a 19-year-old marketing sophomore, received an email from UF DHNet Internet Services on Wednesday saying there had been an outbreak of a new virus among Mac computers on campus.
An update, sent Thursday evening, recommended using the free ClamXav software to prevent infection. For computers already affected, it suggested downloading a Java security update from Apple’s website. It also recommended that Mac users run their computers’ built-in Software Update feature.
The virus, which can be acquired while visiting almost any type of website, allows hackers to access personal information such as passwords and bank account numbers, said Ross Newman, CEO of iHospital, a computer repair business.
“It does have the potential to do great damage,” he said.
