(Credit: Intego)

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past week, you've probably heard about Flashback, a piece of malware targeting users of Apple's Mac OS X that's now estimated to be quietly running on more than 600,000 machines around the world.

That number, which came from Russian antivirus company Dr. Web earlier this week, was confirmed today by security firm Kaspersky. More than 98 percent of the affected computers were running Mac OS X, the firm said.

That's certainly a big number, but how does it stack up to past threats?

"It's the biggest, by far," Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at antivirus and computer security firm F-Secure, told CNET in an e-mail. "I'm afraid the malware-free times of Mac users are behind us permanently."

Separately, Catalin Cosoi, chief security researcher for antivirus-software maker Bitdefender, said the infection was likely the largest for the Mac so far this decade, but that there's no precise way to measure how many Mac OS computers have been compromis... [Read more]

SwiftKey 3 Beta, the newest version of the incredibly popular Android replacement keyboard, is now available to SwiftKey's VIP Community members. And from what I've seen so far, it is something for the public to be excited about.

If you're not familiar with SwiftKey, it is a Google Play Editors' Choice app, and it won the coveted Most Innovative App award at this year's Global Mobile Awards in Barcelona, Spain. What sets it apart from other replacement keyboards is its ability to understand not just patterns in your typing, but also how words work together. This makes it scary good at predicting the next word you want to type, sometimes even before you begin typing it. What's more, Swiftkey continues to learn from your e-mail, SMS, and even social media accounts, so it actually gets noticeably better at making predictions as you use it.

So what's new with SwiftKey 3? Most noticeably, there's an improved UI, with a larger space bar (thank goodness) and a smart punctuation function that rolls out punctuation choices when you hold down the period key. Both of these tweaks, while they may seem minor, help significantly to reduce error and speed up your typing. There are also two new themes -- "Cobalt" and "Holo" -- to customize the look of the keyboard to your liking.

But the biggest news with SwiftKey 3 is the addition of Smart S... [Read more]

Feeling a bit skittish about using a mostly-hidden Mac OS X utility and running lines of code to see if your Mac is one of the 650,000-some infected with the Flashback malware? There's a new tool that's much simpler.

Dr. Web, the same Russian security firm that's been tracking the scope and scale of the Flashback malware's spread worldwide, now has a free, Web-based utility that will tell you if your machine has been compromised, and is -- in fact -- plugged into the botnet network.

Related stories

• Mac Flashback malware: What it is and how to get rid of it (FAQ)
• How to remove the Flashback malware from OS X
• ... [Read more]

The perpetual running game genre that works so well on touch devices doesn't seem to be winding down anytime soon -- and I, for one, am very glad it keeps getting refreshed with new and unique games.

Running games are perfect for when you need to kill a little time because you can go for your high score a couple of times while waiting in line at the DMV or perhaps while riding the train, but they're not so involved that you can't put them down at a moment's notice. There are plenty of classics to explore in this category, such as Hook Worlds, Monster Dash, and many others, but I thought I would run a little comparison of old vs. new to see where the genre is headed.

This week's collection of iOS apps is all about running for your life. The first two are favorites of mine that are easy to recommend for anyone who hasn't tried the running genre before. The second two are new to the genre, and offer both good and bad new elements, but still offer the same heart-thumping action as you'll try anything to stay alive a little bit longer.

As an added bonus, every game in this collection is iOS Universal, letting you play on your iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad.

Tried and true ... [Read more]

Canon 5D Mark III

Evidently the Canon 5D Mark III SLR must be a pretty hot item.

Because Apple just released an update to its Mac OS X camera support whose sole purpose is to let iPhoto, Aperture, and other photo applications view and edit the new camera's raw images.

Related stories

• Lightroom 4.1 test version adds Canon 5D Mark III support
• Is that a Canon 5D Mark III which I see before me?

Usually such Apple updates add support for a collection of new cameras, but time is of the essence now that the 5D Mark III is shipping. Many photographers who use this class of camera shoot raw images (data taken directly from the image sensor, not processed into JPEG by the camera) for the higher quality and flexibility.

Until there was raw support, those photographers would have to wait or use rival software from a company such as Adobe or Canon whose software does support it. (Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom support for the 5D Mark III is only in beta testing.)

... [Read more]

An early version of Flashback impersonates an Adobe Flash installer.

Macs have long had a reputation as machines that rarely catch malicious bugs like trojans and spyware. Windows computers were always the sickly cousins, in need of having an antivirus doctor on hand at all times to ward against illness.

Mac's ironclad image may need to be revised. Russian antivirus company Dr. Web has come out with a report saying 600,000 Macs around the globe are infected with the Flashback Trojan. The report says more than half of those Macs are located in the United States.

Flashback is an insidious piece of software designed to steal personal information from unsuspecting Mac users. CNET's Topher Kessler takes you inside the workings of Flashback, how to detect it, and how to remove it. And CNET's Josh Lowensohn answers all your Flashback questions here.

Apple has ... [Read more]

Apple still appears to be fighting the Flashback malware that was recently found to have infected more than a half-million Mac computers.

A second Java update has been released for Mac users, according to Mac security blog Intego.

No details are available as to why this latest update was released. Intego speculates that perhaps there was a small glitch in the first update. This latest update also seems geared just for the Lion version of Mac OS X, while the initial patch was designed for both Snow Leopard and Lion.

Some confusion also exists over the name, Intego noted. The support document for the new update lists the name as Java for OS X Lion 2012-001, but the Software Update on the Mac labels it Java for OS X 2012-002.

Related stories

• Mac Flashback malware: What it is and how to get rid of it (FAQ)
• ... [Read more]