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iPods Come Complete With Windows Virus
kaufmanmoore writes "Cnet is reporting that some video Ipods made after September 12th have the RavMonE virus loaded onto it. In Apple's announcement they take a swipe at Windows security and encourage Windows users to install anti virus applications."
Apple's products are made (and to some degree, designed) in China just like everybody else's. I wonder how many other memory products (that is, USB mass storage devices) have similar issues.
THIS THING CAN TURN ON A DIME, MACROSSZERO STYLE ALSO FUCK BETA, ~NYORON
I'm not one to try and defend Windows security with a straight face, but this is apples fault for shipping infected ipods. They failed to protect their customers, regardless of windows lack-lustre security
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If I just distributed a device with a virus on it I would not be throwing stones at the security practices of another company.
Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
Wow...trying to deflect some of the blame, huh?
-Hey! Whatcha lookin' at fool? -The Duk
and this is why in the long run, apple wins? Simply because MS can't do anything like this back to Apple.
those apple people are genius'
The class of Apple to complain about Windows being susceptible to viruses that Apple Quality Control fails to catch. Maybe Apple QC should install AV as well when they develop for windows?
(emphasis added)
It's nice that they're "upset with themselves for not catching it" in the last part of that statement, but what's that first part in bold all about? Oh yeah, it's the part where they shirk complete responsibility for this by half-blaming Microsoft for the virus Apple introduced in its own hardware. It's the most half-assed way of apologizing imaginable.
In other news, rapists who blame their victims will now be in charge of issuing Apple's PR statements on their website.
They didn't blame Microsoft for their failure to stop the iPods from shipping, but there is a certain element to truth to the statement. If you take away the fact that Apple is involved and look at it--a technology product was infected with malware because a Windows PC on the production line was infected and it wasn't caught in time.
The number of Windows machines on production lines in China is staggering--and if Windows had better security, the spread of viruses and malware wouldn't represent such a massive threat. Simple acts like requesting permission to install new software, etc. would go a long way toward cutting this off. Windows, left to its own devices, happily installs crapware without user intervention or notification, and that makes it harder to KNOW when your computer has been compromised.
So yeah, Microsoft is dumb in this capacity, but it's still Apple's responsibility.
I'd prefer to think along the lines of "why you can't get anybody at Apple to care." It doesn't affect Macs, after all.
Still, it does give food for thought. I can easily see it as an act of malice as much as a QA failure.
I recall a *brand new* Sandisk flash drive that loaded & installed its own software (including Skype, its own little menu system, utilities, etc.) onto my computer the moment I plugged it in.
How much would it be worth to a spammer/botnet group to infect the image that gets copied to all these devices? Enough to pay sufficiently large sums of money to subvert employees at the manufacturing plant?
It's still inexcusably sloppy of Apple, but my real concern isn't in the companies involved: It's that it will likely happen elsewhere as well. Flash drives, DVD's with 'extended' PC content... stuff like that.
Anywhere media with readable content is replicated can be a vector for viruses.
-- Sometimes you have to turn the lights off in order to see.
If apple are going to make products for use with windows, then it is their responsibility to ensure that those products don't contain virii for windows systems. Suggesting that the virus being present in their product that they're shipping (regardless of the susceptibility of Windows to that virus) is the fault of Microsoft is passing the buck in a most horrible way.
The simple fact is that they choose to make their device work with Microsoft Windows systems, and they are damned sure responsible for ensuring that their device will not cause problems with those systems, regardless of the flaws or vulnerabilities of Microsoft systems.
I quite like Mac hardware and software, and have previously been glad that they may be gaining market share, but frankly if they are going to continue to market themselves by making stabs at Microsoft (and no I'm not suggesting the virus was placed intentionally), rather than by marketing their products' strengths and features, I'm not so sure I will continue to feel the same way.
Your script will not propogate itself; will not use up my computer's resources; will not open a backdoor to allow others access to my information, bandwidth and/or processor cycles. How come people always cite an unintended "rm -rf /" as the most terrifying and catostrophic event ever? I backup my data. I'd rather suffer your script than have an undetected MS virus, worm or rootkit.
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Bullish Machine Tzar