Quite a number of no-goodniks who thought they'd save a few bucks by downloading a pirated version of iWork '09 have gotten more than they'd bargained for -- in the form of a Trojan Horse called OSX.Trojan.iServices.A. This guy installs itself in the computer's startup as root, and once in place it can connect to a remote server and broadcast its location, allowing malicious users to take charge of the machine remotely. And since it has root access to the OS, the trojan can not only install additional components but can also modify existing apps, making this thing extremely difficult to remove. According to a white paper released by Intego, at least 20,000 people may have downloaded the infected software -- which they'll get around to installing as soon as they finish those episodes of Celebrity Rehab they grabbed at the same time.

[Via Macworld]

The Moss-man has gotten into a down-and-dirty review of Apple's latest version of its Office-battling software suite iWork '08 (which includes Pages, Keynote, and the new spreadsheet program Numbers) and delivers a one-two punch to the new package. Apparently, Cupertino's entry just can't match up to Office's triple power play of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, though Walt says that iWork '08 is an elegant and sophisticated solution for users looking for something with a little less power -- which should come as no surprise to most. Mossberg's not all doom and gloom though, happily noting that Pages has reined in its desktop publishing aspect and become more of a dedicated word processor, Numbers is a "refreshing innovation," that's more "approachable" than its competitor, and Keynote actually bests PowerPoint in ease of use. In the end, however, Mossy says all the flair and high design doesn't make up for the succulent and unbridled power in Office -- but you knew that already, right?

[Via Techmeme]

While we're all waiting to see what Apple and EMI have in store for us later today, feast on this: the latest Leopard rumor. Dubbed an "exclusive" by Think Secret, they cite the usual "reliable sources" calling for a Leopard release in June, "most likely at or around its Worldwide Developers Conference" scheduled for 11 June -- the purported iPhone launch date. Recall that during WWDC 2006, Jobs' called for a spring release and technically, Apple has until June 21st before spring has sprung. TS's proclamation also aligns with Gartenberg's own confirmation of a spring release as noted last week. TS is also reinforcing the commonly held notion that Leopard will be a "more significant release than anyone expected" as there is "much more to come" in the final release than Apple has been willing to share in the developer builds. They also claim that Apple will be launching their long overdue iLife and iWork updates with "extensive Leopard-dependent features" at the same time. So does this all point to Multitouch support or a Beryl-like 3D interface? Who knows. One thing is clear, June is shaping up to be a pinnacle month for Apple and the faithful.

ThinkSecret has unearthed what appears to be a screenshot of the oft-rumoured forthcoming spreadsheet application expected to ship with a future version of iWork -- either the app is still very early in development, or Apple plans to take its minimalist design ethic to new heights (lows?) with this anti-Excel app. Internally referred to as Lasso, the spreadsheet is expected to be named Numbers or Charts, offer Excel import/export, templates for typical personal and business finance, sales, and marketing, and 200+ spreadsheet functions to help those business types stick it to Microsoft -- but from the looks of the above screenshot, don't be throwing away your copies of Office just yet.

[Via TUAW]

Update: That screenshot is looking pretty fake, after all.