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Digital Picture Frames Infected by Trojan Viruses

Posted by Zonk on from the watch-where-you're-buying-things-from dept.

CR0WTR0B0T writes "The San Francisco Chronicle is running a story on viruses loaded into digital picture frames, similar to the ones we discussed at the end of last year. The difference is in the virus used: 'The authors of the new Trojan Horse are well-funded professionals whose malware has 'specific designs to capture something and not leave traces ... This would be a nuclear bomb of malware.' Apparently, a number of regular folks have hooked them up to their home computer and loaded the virus. And if you think you're too smart to be fooled, apparently the Anti-Virus software makers have not caught up to the threat quite yet."

4 of 174 comments (clear)

  1. Put the pieces together by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 5, Insightful
    1. The authors of the new Trojan Horse are well-funded professionals whose malware has "specific designs to capture something and not leave traces,"

    2. Computer Associates has traced the Trojan to a specific group in China

    3. It spreads by USB drives

    4. "It is a nasty worm that has a great deal of intelligence,"

    Follow the money. My money's on an espionage tool from the Chinese government or its affiliated corporations. Let the flaming begin...I said "China" and "espionage" in the same sentence, I'm sure folks out there would like to lynch me just for even suggesting that there is such a laughable concept as espionage, or bash me for so-called China-bashing (which includes any criticism of China except those for human rights, that's OK).

    --
    Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
  2. Be Safe: Roll Your Own DPF by wehe · · Score: 5, Informative

    Do you want to be on the safe side and have some fun, too? Just make your custom DPF and install Linux on it. Here are some DIY instructions to make a digital picture frame from an old laptop or notebook. And here is a survey of Linux used on selfmade digital photo frames

  3. Re:Well... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    - Run an OS that does not automatically try to mount devices, without user interaction.

    And this would help HOW? Maybe it'd allow certain wiseguys to point at and blame the user for mounting the volumne in question - but ordinary users who just want to put pictures on their frame would *have* to mount it it, and it doesn't matter whether you have to click or whether it happens automatically. In fact, given that you'll likely only ever plug in the frame when you actually do want to access it, automounting seems like a good idea that does save you work in this case.

    Automatically running code without the user asking for it is another issue, of course - that is a colossally stupid idea indeed, yes.

  4. Re:Well... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    The picture itself in not a virus, rather it becomes one when the malformed image causes some type of overflow /exploit to the program that renders that picture
    , so not having something run auomatioally doesn't really matter, when you do open the picture it Runs by exploiting a flaw in the program that renders it. whether it starts automatically or not is of less relevance.

    This fact isn't being made very clear in this forum or the document.
      Pictures are not viruses they ar caused to become one on very specific software that render them .
    EX: The same image when viewed or if even viewable on different rendering software will have no effect .