A new malware attack in Mac has caused a queue of Apple customers reporting infected machines, renewing a timeless debate on the state of Macintosh security versus Windows.

Complaints in the Apple's support forums, with at least 200 posts saying that a program popped up on their systems with a message, telling that their systems are infected with virus and they must install anti-virus software. On installing it, the program would open porn websites on their computer.

One of the posts said,“I just installed a MacProtector version 2.6 as an update and now rude websites are started popping out when my son was surfing the internet.”

Another said, “I can’t remove an application that opens at startup. It can’t be closed or removed because it says it is in use. How can I bypass the normal startup without a boot disc, or how can I make a boot disc? This obnoxious software is call Mac Protector - anyone has any experience with it? It says it is a virus scan (I thought it was a Apple product), and starts scanning automatically.

The belief of the windows consumers that they have shifted to a more secured system, i.e. Mac, is at stake.

According to security researchers, there is nothing about Mac that makes it inherently more secure than Windows, indeed, the Mac platform has been easily penetrated in the Pwn2Own hacking contest.

It is because of a much wider market that Microsoft Windows has, that appeals hackers to target it. With the growing popularity of Mac, the company is going through an increasing number of malware attacks, said security researchers.

Security Researcher Charlie Miller, who has repeatedly won the annual Pwn2Own hacking contest by hacking Macs and iPhones, does not believe that those 200 posts define the opinion of the entire market.

Miller pointed out that one piece of Mac malware is being discussed which indicates it is “still relatively rare, but is getting worse.”

Apple Microsoft Malware Microsoft