InformationWeek is running a story on Symantec's warning of the Mac OS X virus they have dubbed OSX.Macarena. Like many, if not all, Mac virus scares, this one is a proof of concept virus. This particular malware infects files in the current folder on the compromised computer though it doesn't actually carry any malicious payload.

Symantec warns that this is just the beginning and suggests we all buy their product and keep our virus definitions up to date. The SANS Internet Storm Center keeps the gloom going saying that though "the virus is no big deal in itself. But it is yet another warning for a lot of parties involved."

SANS ISC goes on to say "It is a warning to get antivirus protection for those Macs, even if the shopkeeper told you you do not need it, even if there are no viruses in the wild today, even if it's hard to buy it, and even if the antivirus vendors seem not to know what they talk about..." The SANS ISC article then displays the image we show here on the left.

I'm not here to nay say the possibility of Mac viruses, just here to calm down any hysteria from Mac users or schadenfreude from PC users. It's not the end of the world... but that is not to say that it isn't a sign. I totally agree with one of the later passages of the SANS ISC article: "So Apple, Apple shopkeepers, antivirus vendors and Mac users, PLEASE get a decent framework in place and please be aware there is no magic shield preventing malware on a Mac (or any other modern platform)."

Stay calm, but stay safe.