Stuck a feather in his cap and called it “Macarena”

What do the Macarena and Mac viruses have in common? If you guessed that neither of them had been popular since, oh, the last century, you’d certainly be right. But it seems that the once-upon-a-time dance craze has had its identity stolen by a proof-of-concept Mac virus. Symantec posted a warning about the virus a few days ago, explaining that the malicious code can infect Mach-O binaries (the format that OS X uses to store its executables and other code).

The Macarena virus itself is really nothing to worry about: the number of infections is under 50 (probably well under), and it’s a proof-of-concept, meaning that the code doesn’t actually do anything; it merely replicates itself and, even then, only in the current directory. Symantec has given the virus its lowest possible threat level. As always, we recommend all Mac users practice safe computing: don’t open attachments, keep an eye on the websites you visit, etc. At the moment, that will go farther than most anti-virus software.

Meanwhile, Mary Tyler at Infinite Loop has penned a rather blown-out-of-proportion response to the news about Macarena—ironic, given that she’s arguing that the reporting about the virus has been blown out of proportion. Perhaps I’ve been out of the, er, loop, but I didn’t see too much made of this news. The only coverage Tyler references is Macworld’s article; a short piece that consists mainly of quotes from a security consultant and which I’d be hard-pressed to read as inflammatory or panic-inciting in any way (by way of full disclosure, we are, of course, owned by Macworld’s parent company).

If the alternative to providing a short, factual piece on a legitimate news story (as, sad to say, all Mac viruses are, given their rarity) was to not report on it at all, I’d gladly take the former. If you want to take issue with reporting, look no further than Patrick Marshall’s Seattle Times column, where he asserts that there are “a great number of viruses that can afflict Apple computers.”

The most important part of this story for Mac users is that they understand that they are not de facto invulnerable to viruses and malware. Sure, as some have said, the fact that you might get sick someday shouldn’t preclude you from enjoying and boasting about your good health now—but neither does it mean that you shouldn’t take preventive measures to ensure your continued good health.