The Flashback Trojan horse is a fairly recent malware package developed for OS X that attempts to steal personal information by injecting code into Web browsers and other applications on an OS X system. When these programs are then launched, the malicious code attempts to contact remote servers and upload screenshots and other personal information to them.

This malware was initially found in September 2011 while being distributed as a fake Flash Player installer (hence its "Flashback" name). In in the past few months it has evolved to exploiting Java vulnerabilities to  target Mac systems.

While the exploits used by recent variants of the Flashback malware have been for older, patched vulnerabilities, over the weekend another variant surfaced that appears to be taking advantage of Java vulnerability (CVE-2012-0507) that currently is unpatched in OS X.

For OS X systems with Java installed, simply visiting a malicious Web site containing the malware will result in one of two installation routes, both of which have been characteristic of prior variants of the malware. First it will ask for an administrator password, and if supplied it w... [Read more]

Air Display running Mac OS X's HiDPI mode.

Avatron Software has just added a way for users see their Mac desktops at "retina-like" resolution -- via the new iPad.

Avatron Software's app Air Display allows users to "extend" their Mac desktops to an iPad, essentially turning the tablet into a second monitor. An update to the app now offers an option to enable HiDPI mode, a setting tucked away in Apple's Mac OS that renders the user interface at four times normal resolution (twice the resolution in each dimension).

That's well-suited for Apple's new iPad, which as luck would have it features four times the number of pixels as the iPad 1 and 2, and a higher pixel density than any panel found on Apple's desktop or notebook computers. At least for now, that is.

Speculation around HiDPI has swirled for months, in no small part to its growing presence in builds of OS X. As noted by Daring Fireball shortly after the release of Mac OS X 10.7.3, Apple included a handful of HiDPI graphic elements -- for instance, the hand cursor in Safari and Mail. Other identified HiDPI elements, particularly in Apple's upcoming Mountain Lion OS X update, suggest that a high-resol... [Read more]

"There's a lot of cynicism about search," Stephen Brady told me when we first met in August last year. He was working on a new personal search utility, then called BitLev and now called Found, that, he said, would help people find all their stuff, no matter where it was.

People have tried this before, and most have failed. X1, Copernic, and even Google's own Desktop Search app never got mainstream traction. And then Microsoft and Apple built desktop search into their operating systems. They made desktop search work better, but not soon enough. Nowadays, people store so much personal data in the "cloud," that searching your own local computer, no matter how fast you can do it, kind of misses the point.

Found searches your desktop and your personal cloud archives together. The interface is slick and fast.

Found is a personal search engine that spans local and cloud-based sources to get you the file or data you're looking for, no matter where you've put it. It's the right idea. Does Found deliver?

User proposition From the user's perspective, it has great potential. The Mac-only (so far) app is as easy to get into as Spotlight (press the con... [Read more]

Blogger, Tumblr, and WordPress.

Whether you already run a blog or you're thinking of starting one, this collection of apps is for you. Perhaps you're tired of being tethered to your computer, or you think you don't have enough time to blog because you're always mobile. Fortunately, these apps offer enough utility to get the job done. Read on to find the app that best suits your needs.

Blogger

Blogger for Android

No doubt the most simplistic of the three, Blogger is Google's, well...blog platform. The app only has a couple of screens to look at, but that isn't always a bad thing. If you're just looking to title, date, share some thoughts, and add a picture or video, Blogger is your app. You can manage all of your blogs through the app's interface, and sign-in is easy if you have your Google account linked to your phone.

Tumblr

Tumblr for Android

In the posts area, convenient edit and delete links are available for making quick changes. There's also a Favorites tab and the last tab d... [Read more]

Internet Explorer has reversed a slide in usage, at least for now.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer regained some of the browser usage it's lost in recent years, holding Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari at bay in March.

IE rose from 52.8 percent of worldwide browser usage in February to 53.8 percent in March, a relatively large monthly jump in the statistics tracked by Net Applicaitons.

Related stories

• Windows XP won't give up top spot without a fight
• XP loses ground to Windows 7 but still top OS
• IE holds rival browsers at bay

Meanwhile, the top four rivals dropped: Firefox from 20.9 percent to 20.6 percent, Chrome from 18.9 percent to 18.6 percent, Safari from 5.2 percent to 5.1 percent, and Opera from 1.7 percent to 1.6 percent.

IE of course has a big advantage over other browsers, at least on personal computers: it comes with Windows. What's changing now is that Microsoft, with the current IE9 and the forthcoming IE10 that'll ... [Read more]