Not a Virus, But Still Could Be Bad
Numerous readers have written to correct my incorrect use of the term virus to describe the program currently attacking Mac OS X. Here's reader Lawrence Rhodes's explanation:
You've probably received a thousand of these, but the Opener script discussed on MacInTouch doesn't replicate, so it's not a virus. It might be part of a Trojan though--be careful of what you install. MacInTouch reported only one instance so far.
And here's one that hurts, from Sean Gilligan:
Love your writing (on non-tech topics) [ouch--vp]! Opener is a "root kit" and is only useful after you have taken control of a machine with a virus or other method. At least for the time being, OS X users do not have to worry about viruses.
At any rate, I'd rather have my OS X machine back and worry about Opener than stick with the old OS. Thanks to everyone who wrote to correct me.