Mac

The Russian security firm Dr. Web has uncovered another malware attempt on OS X systems that tries to exploit users with SMS fraud.

The new malware is a Trojan horse, dubbed "Trojan.SMSSend.3666," and is part of a family of Trojan malware for Windows and other platforms that have affected Windows users for years.

As with all Trojans, these pose as legitimate programs that are made available for download from a number of underground Web sites, with this current one for OS X appearing to be an installer for a program called VKMusic 4, a utility whose … Read more

The iconic startup sound of Apple's Mac computers is now trademarked in the United States, following an approval by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Apple filed for the trademark in June, and was granted the trademark yesterday, notes Patently Apple.

The sound, which has changed only a handful of times over the years, was created by programmer Jim Reekes, who spent 12 years at Apple as a software architect. It even made an appearance in Pixar's 2008 film "Wall-E."

Here's a collection of Mac chimes (including the ones indicating massive errors) from over … Read more

Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, two high-profile programs used by graphic artists with a discriminating eye, now support Apple's high-resolution Retina Displays.

The new versions are being distributed through Adobe's new Creative Cloud subscription, which costs $50 per month for a 12-month commitment but is being boosted by a promotional price of $30 per month for a 12-month commitment to prime the Creative Cloud pump.

The idea behind Apple's Retina Displays, which are offered on iPhones, iPads, and MacBook Pros, is to use pixels small enough that the human eye can't distinguish them, removing pixelated edges from … Read more

iMac buyers who already ordered one of the new 27-inch models are now being told by Apple that their units are one step closer to shipping.

A few MacRumors forum members who snagged the new large-screen iMacs say they've received notices indicating that the order status has been changed to "Preparing for Shipment." At least one person also said his credit card has been charged.

Both signs mean the 27-inchers are almost ready to be handed off to the shippers. Customers say the estimated delivery time is still being quoted as somewhere between December 21 and 31, … Read more

The 27-inch iMac now has a vague ship date of January, not exactly an improvement over the previous estimate.

Unveiled in October, the 27-inch iMac popped up for preorder on Apple's online retail site on November 30. The initial ship time was pegged at two to three weeks, but that shot up to three to four weeks after just a few hours.

Three to four weeks after November 30 takes us to December 21 to December 28. That estimate already meant the 27-inch iMac wouldn't make it on the shopping lists of holidays buyers. And now a fuzzy … Read more

Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed what rumors have been suggesting in recent days: Apple is moving some Mac production to the U.S.

Speaking to Bloomberg in an interview published today, Cook said that factories in the U.S. will handle "some" of the Mac production currently being handled internationally. The production will ramp up in 2013.

"We've been working on this for a long time, and we were getting closer to it," Cook said of the production. "It will happen in 2013. We're really proud of it. We could have quickly … Read more

iTunes 11 is finally here. I hear that it's a step in the right direction, correcting many of the missteps and redundancies that have crept into the bloated software over the years.

But I can't really give you a full opinion on iTunes 11 because I really haven't spent that much time with it on a personal level.

That's because I don't use my Mac for media.… Read more

Apple last week was granted a trademark in the U.S. covering "Retina," the marketing term the company uses to describe the pixel-dense screens on its iOS devices and computers.

Apple originally filed to trademark the term on June 7, 2010 -- the same day it officially unveiled the iPhone 4 at the company's annual developers conference.

That device would be the first to sport what Apple called a "Retina Display," with the promise that it was impossible to discern individual pixels when used at a normal distance. The company has since put its retina … Read more

Security company Intego is reporting the discovery of a new malware package for OS X. The package is a Trojan horse called OSX/Dockster.A, that appears to have keylogging features to record what is being typed on an infected system in addition to remote-access features for backdoor access into the system. When installed, the Trojan attempts to contact the server "itsec.eicp.net," likely to receive instructions for allowing remote access to the system.

As with other recent malware for OS X, Dockster is a Java-based threat that will not run unless you have Java installed on … Read more