Apple removed the previous statement "It doesn't get PC viruses" and replaced it with "It's built to be safe", and "Safeguard your data. By doing nothing" with "Safety. Built in". A comparison of the old and new messages is currently available .

According to Sophos US senior technology consultant Graham Cluley, this is a sign that Apple is starting to take security seriously.

"I view the changes in the messages pushed out by their marketing department as some important baby-steps," he wrote in a blog entry.

"Let's hope more Apple Mac owners are also learning to take important security steps--such as installing anti-virus protection."

In addition to changing its marketing messages, Apple has released a for the iPhone operating system iOS and announced in February that OS X 10.8, or Mountain Lion, would include a new feature called that would restrict which applications users can install on their devices.