Malware threats reach a new high

The No. 2 security software maker, McAfee Inc, said production of software code known as malware, which can harm computers and steal user passwords, has reached a new high in the first six months of 2010.

McAfee said total malware production continued to soar and 10 million new pieces of malicious code were catalogued.

McAfee also warned users of Apple's Mac computers, considered relatively safe from virus attacks, that they may also be subjected to malware attacks in the future.

For a variety of reasons, malware has rarely been a problem for Mac users. But according to McAfee, “those days might end soon”.

In April, McAfee Labs detected the Mac-based Trojan known as "OSX/HellRTS," which reads or modifies the contents of the clipboard or plays tricks on the user like opening and closing the CD drive.

After reaching a high point last year, the spread of spam messages has plateaued in the second quarter.

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