At first, Apple seemed to completely ignore the malware to the disapproval of many users. The company even reportedly told its AppleCare and retail staff not to acknowledge it to customers and strangely, not to remove it from users' computers.
Now Apple seems to have had a change of heart, posting an online support document with removal instructions and promising an update for Macs that will attempt to prevent future infection.
"A recent phishing scam has targeted Mac users by redirecting them from legitimate websites to fake websites which tell them that their computer is infected with a virus," Apple wrote in its support document. "In the coming days, Apple will deliver a Mac OS X software update that will automatically find and remove Mac Defender malware and its known variants. The update will also help protect users by providing an explicit warning if they download this malware."