Here are your Apple rumors and news items for Thursday:
Muscling Out Malware: One of the chief selling points of Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) PCs has been the high quality of Apple’s security. Its operating system has never been the target of viruses or malicious programs used by scam artists, identity thieves, and hackers. The reason, however, is that Apple’s Macs simply weren’t used by enough consumers to make malware worthwhile for criminals. With sales increasing every quarter and Apple’s market share inching higher, Macs are becoming vulnerable targets. A new malware program called “Mac Defender” — a program offered as antivirus software but is actually used to acquire a user’s credit card information — has become widespread enough that Apple has had to issue instructions on how to remove it. The Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday that Apple will also be releasing an update that seeks out and removes Mac Defender and its variants from the system.
AT&T Details 4G Plans: Original iPhone partner AT&T (NYSE:T) has announced that its new 4G network will serve an estimated 70 million customers in 15 markets by the end of 2011, predominantly in cities like Chicago and Atlanta. The company announced on its website that it has invested $75 billion in developing the network, with plans to pour another $19 billion into broadening its reach by the end of this year. AT&T came under fire during its long relationship with Apple because its 3G network was notorious for poor service. Though it’s been rumored that Apple’s next iPhone will be built to work on networks like AT&T’s, that version of the phone may not be released until 2012.
Outdoor Ready: A Thursday report at Apple Insider details an Apple patent made public this week that will solve some of the iPhone and iPad’s visibility issues when those devices used outdoors. The patent titled “Display that Emits Circularly-Polarized Light” will prevent the screen from distorting when viewed using polarized sunglasses.
As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here. Follow him on Twitter at @ajohnagnello and become a fan of InvestorPlace on Facebook.
