Some Viruses Come Pre-Installed

I have for a long time thought that many computer viruses were created by anti-virus manufacturers, but this article sheds a whole new light.

From iPods to navigation systems, some of today's hottest gadgets are landing on store shelves with some unwanted extras from the factory — pre-installed viruses that steal passwords, open doors for hackers and make computers spew spam.

The problem with the gadgets these days is, you can't live with 'em cant' live without 'em

Wow, that's a bit of a worry..

From the same article

Monitoring suppliers in China and elsewhere is expensive, and cuts into the savings of outsourcing.

In that case, it would be appropriate to have warning labels on these products. Kinda like the health warnings you get on cigarette packets..

Everything is a freaking scam. The warranty ends and all of a sudden it dies. Put a bug in something and it wont last as long as it really should.

Companies must allow this (if true) as otherwise they would put a stop to it.

Consumption is not about the consumer, its about the company that can rape the land for the biggest profit.

In my job we do alot of reverse engineering and security testing of software and hardware...and almost everything we look at has some issue in it.

We regularly come across stuff from the PLA and they get their claws into alot of places, as for companies knowing about it and allowing it... I assure you that this is probably wrong for the most part, as companies outsource so much stuff its impossible to keep tabs on everything that goes on inside a device, as far as the company is concerned...as long as the device works, they aren't bothered there is some embedded code that will siphon off data.

It's for reasons like this that I usually only use open-source software and operating systems such as Linux. I've always speculated what the article suggests, and situations such as Sony's installation of a rootkit into their systems only adds to the speculation.

I am so glad everyone is on board with this one. I was honestly expecting a whole bunch of people saying I was paraniod.
good work.
It does make me wonder if there was something to Y2K and we got to it before the thing went off....so to speak

[edit on 28/3/2008 by VIKINGANT]

It does not look like the companies really care about the security issues. I have been temping on office jobs , and 90% of the computers got Service Pack 1 Windows XP !!! I was really impressed as there are over 800 "critical security issues" with Windows XP SP1

However , for the home I use Linux too - on both laptop and desktop.

Linux is now easier to install , just boot the dvd and get some "next next " clicks . Why I choose Linux?

1) security issues - no known bugs on the Linux kernel. If some are reported, they are repaired in hours/days (months for Microsoft)
2)price- Linux is free, even for Business Users
3)Free extra software available - no need for FireWall (built-in for Linux) , anti-virus, spyware programs etc . Saves loads of money , free for Business use (most of the free software under Windows will not be allowed for Business use ..)
4) new versions every 6 months , you allways experience something new with Linux
5) impress friends !

reply to post by VIKINGANT


the security holes are intentional (created by the software producers) , they are used to penetrate computers. This is why you cannot see the code of the Windows operating system , however with Linux you can see the code, change it as you wish and design your own operating system..
www.linux.org could give a better view on Linux.
About anti-viruses - yes, lots of viruses are created by the anti-virus comanies. There are "armies" of virus-makers , that claim to create viruses in orded to build up the anti-virus databases of the program.

A very good antivirus for Windows is
www.avast.com
free for non-business use , very good daily updates.

[edit on 28-3-2008 by sty]

reply to post by VIKINGANT


just because you aren't paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get you

i know that a lot of internet connectible products have holes the size of holland in them, but for the most part these are either oversights or a misguided attempt by a developer to make his life easier to tack on another bit of code to do something new, when the next service pack comes around.

my brother inlaw fixes holes in linux software for fun and he says that almost all of them were there for a reason that was either historical (something used to do something, doesn't any more and was never taken out or patched up), for future use ( ready to tack on a new port or protocol leaving a security vulnerability) or just someone being dim (say leaving a simple mail server open, unsecured and ready to send spam, outside the firewall on a version of a well known linux OS - i fell for that one unfortunately!)

I'm not sure its fair to blame chinese spies or workers for the problem? A mate of mines dad used to work for phillips ( helped develop cd's and other technologies and claims his job was to make sure electronics were "more likely than usual to fail" after 12 months. True or not, i wouldn't be at all suprised!

Viruses pre-installed? Most certainly. Vista is just one giant virus for Microsoft - with that digital rights management system built-in and unable to be removed/turned off. What else is hidden in that Microsoft code that we don't know about yet?

reply to post by the way


Na Phillips make a great product. I have a great surround sound system that I love from them that has lasted many years until it got hit by lightning. I need to get that fixed if it can be for not so much money. I have used their car speakers as well and they were also very top notch.

This is due to quality control in Chinese factories. I work with some embedded systems and boards that come from China. They're cheap in both ways quality and price. :p

I do recommend using Linux. Yet sometimes it's a problem to be able to open certain formats, but hey the security is worth some of that.

Yes, Linux is much better. At least they dare to make their code visible , i guess this would not happen very soon @ Microsoft. For Linux I guess this would be the top 5 :

1) Debian Linux
2) Fedora Linux
3) SUSE linux
4) Ubuntu Linux
5) Knopix Linux

For people paranoic on security , I guess they should go with the "live" edition of Knopix. This one can boot from the DVD and you do not even need to have a hardisk in order to use the system. I used it when my harddrive was broken, while I was waiting on e-bay for a new one.

[edit on 30-3-2008 by sty]