SecureMac and Intego Security released a warning this weekend about the discovery of two Mac viruses capable of causing significant damage. The two Trojans represent a real threat for Mac desktops and while one is related to the Apple Remote Desktop Agent (ARDAgent), the other is released through an apparently harmless poker application.

The viruses infect the Mac operating system, opening firewalls to allow hackers in, disabling security settings and attempt to steal passwords.

The virus affecting the ARDAgent, leads to a root access that compromises the computer by offering an entrée to privileged resources and a complete computer control to hackers.

The second Trojan, developed under a poker game application named Poker Game, requires a download and after that, as soon as it is run on the computer it activates the Security Shell (SSH) and immediately sends back to the server the user’s name and password. At this point, hackers can access any area of the computer and they can modify the operating system or they can delete files.

"This could be bundled with any arbitrary application very easily," security researcher Dino Dai Zovi said of the Trojan template, according to the WashingtonPost. "Most people assume that if something is going to do something dangerous, that it will ask you for your password first, but this won't."

Even though this is not considered a significantly large attack, researchers feel the need to address the general public about the dangers of such an incident, as very few PC owners keep a clear track of the installed components and programs and usually do not pay attention when receiving a notice about a new security update.