Today we've collected a number of web-related security news stories to help keep you safe and informed as you browse the Internet and monitor your company's online systems.

First, you may have heard earlier this months that Apple users can no longer feel smug about not being targeted by virus software. There's a rogue antivirus software program, dubbed MacDefender, that targets Mac OS X users. Fortunately, Apple recently posted instructions that explain how to avoid and remove MacDefender malware. The company also plans to update its Mac OS to find and remove the malware automatically.

MacDefender, which can also be found under the names MacSecurity and MacProtector, is basically a phishing scam. It tricks its victims into thinking their computers are infected with viruses and then tries to persuade them to pay with a credit card to remove the infections. The aim of the attack, of course, is to get the money and the credit card information.

While Apple has not stated how widespread the problem has become, one source estimated that between 60,000 and 125,000 users were infected. In short, if you're  a Mac user and have yet to install antivirus software, now is definitely the time.

For more on this topic, visit: http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20065881-248.html

Apple Mac users aren't the only ones feeling the pain of hacker attacks. Sony has been getting hit very hard. You've probably heard about the PlayStation Network attacks; this time, Sony Music Entertainment Japan fell victim. A Sony spokesperson confirmed that hackers snatched information from thousands of accounts in a Canadian Sony Ericsson eShop site. Additionally, hackers stole e-mails, phone numbers, and passwords connected with more than 8,000 accounts at Sony Music Greece. Fortunately, in the latter case, no credit card data was involved.

Since the beginning of April, hackers have hit Sony Music Japan, Sony Ericsson, PSN, SOE, Sony Music Greece, Sony Music Indonesia, Sony's Japanese ISP subsidiary So-net Entertainment, and Sony Thailand's website. As near as can be determined, no single hacker or group is behind the attacks; several different groups have claimed credit for different attacks, including Anonymous, Idahcha (a Lebanese hacker group), and LulzSec.

For more information on this, visit: http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20065816-245.html

Finally, concerned with a different kind of theft, Voltage Pictures just added about 20,000 IP addresses to its piracy lawsuit, bringing the total to 25,000. The studio filed the lawsuit against people it believes illegally downloaded copies of its award-winning 2008 movie “The Hurt Locker.” TorrentFreak claims to have obtained court documents stating that the studio's lawyers believe 10,532 Comcast customers, 5,200 Verizon customers, 2,699 Charter customers, and 1,750 Time Warner customers pirated the film. Other, smaller ISPs are also on the list.

Dunlap, Grubb & Weaver, the studio's legal firm, is attempting to subpoena ISPs for personal information connected to the ISP addresses they have included in the lawsuit. Some ISPs are refusing to cooperate, however. Time Warner Cable, for instance, refused the sign the agreement. In a similar situation last year, the ISP said that looking up the information would take far too much and might have a negative impact on its ability to work with law enforcement on more urgent matters.

Time Warner Cable appears to be the only ISP involved to turn down the lawyers outright. Other ISPs are cooperating...but very slowly in some cases. Charter says it will provide personal information on 150 IP addresses every month through May 2013. Verizon will provide information on only 100 IP addresses. Comcast's agreement with the lawyers is confidential. In short, this case could take a while.

For more information on this topic, visit: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20065614-17.html?tag=mncol;txt 

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