Is This The Mac-Pocalypse? Beware These Apple Viruses (Yes, They're A Thing)

It’s just like Contagion for computers, and Gwyneth Paltrow is your Mac.

Two very dangerous viruses have put to rest the long-held belief that Macs were impervious to such viral infiltrations.

The Guardian says we should keep an eye out for a “malicious program” that takes over your computer as if it were an administrator, bypassing security features without ever needing a password. It does this by taking advantage of a weakness in the latest Mac OS X.

There will apparently be a fix in their next OS, El Capitan, but that’s not being officially unveiled to the world until September. It’s going to be a nerve-wracking few weeks.

Meanwhile, researchers at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas – which probably sounds more awesome than it really is – figured out how to use Apple’s weaknesses to create a “worm” they’ve charmingly christened “Thunderstrike 2.”

This little nasty can infect a Mac via email, and then automatically infect any other physically connected hardware. When that hardware is plugged in elsewhere, the virus spreads. It is the first firmware virus to affect Macs.

While it’s worth noting that the “Thunderstrike 2” isn’t actually circulating right now, the fact it could be invented means that scammers might soon try to deploy something like it.

Here’s hoping El Capitan comes to save the day sooner rather than later.