New Mac malware attack spotted

A new malware attack for MacOS X systems has been spotted in the wild.

Known informally as 'Puper,' the trojan attack disguises itself as a video program for OS X systems called "MacCinema."

According to researchers at McAfee Avert Labs, the attack appears as a disk image which then launches an installer application for the fictional 'MacCinema' software. Once the installer completes its task, the user becomes infected with a script file named 'AdobeFlash'.

The malicious script then launches itself ever five hours at attempts to download and launch other malware on the infected system.

This latest attack is similar to others which have targeted OS X users in recent months. The attacks often entice the user to download and install the malware by posing as video players or 'codec' plug-ins required to view movie files.

Other attacks have bundled Trojan installers with pirated software. One such attack was used to construct an all-Mac botnet.

Researchers have warned that though levels of Mac malware pale in comparison to those of Windows systems, users should still adopt basic security measures, such as keeping an updated system and avoiding suspicious downloads or file attachments.