Well…don’t count on Apple Care doing jack sh*t about fake malware (Mac Defender and Mac Security Rogues).  I think Apple has been caught with their “security pants down” on this.  I mean let’s face it, one of their biggest selling points of a Mac are those people who say “Oh I use a Mac, they don’t get viruses”.  If Apple loses that stigma (of not getting viruses) then you can bet there’ll be a pretty big hit to all Mac PC sales.  Anyway, check this memo out that was leaked from an Apple employee.

Apple Internal Use Only – Issue/Investigation in Progress – Confidential Information – Do Not Disclose Externally

Symptoms

Customers may call AppleCare to report and issue with malware (trojan) software known as Mac Defender or Mac Security, or because they are concerned that their Mac could become infected.  The name may vary as new variants are released onto the internet.  This malware is installed from malicious websites.

Products Affected

Mac OS X 10.6, Mac OS X 10.5, Mac OS X 10.4

A second memo adds:

Important

• • Do not confirm or deny that any such software has been installed.
  • Do not attempt to remove or uninstall any malware software.
  • Do not send escalations or contact Tier 2 for support about removing the software or provide impact data.
  • Do not refer customers to the Apple Retail Store.  The ARS does not provide any additional support for malware.

After reading those few lines above it looks like the only way an Apple Care customer can get their PC clean is to hire someone to do it for them.  Sucks to be one of those poor saps that paid for Apple Care expecting to get software support, not just *some* software support.   Read the fine print I suppose…wherever that is…