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Computer Virus Aboard the ISS

Posted by timothy on from the like-a-little-piece-of-home dept.

chrb writes "BBC News is reporting that laptops taken to the International Space Station by NASA astronauts are infected with the Gammima.AG worm. The laptops have no net connection; officials suspect the worm may have been transferred via a USB flash drive owned by an astronaut. NASA have said this isn't the first time computer viruses had travelled into space."

17 of 290 comments (clear)

  1. Even In Space by Skeetskeetskeet · · Score: 3, Funny

    Microsoft can't hear you scream.

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  2. I'd be willing to wager by RisingSon · · Score: 4, Funny

    that Captain Kirk picked up something nasty from those green bitches. Damn space viruses.

  3. Re:Solid proof!!!! by totally_mad · · Score: 5, Funny

    You don't really understand. There is nothing they could have done to prevent the worm. The astronaut was installing Outlook which asked them to "close all software like antivirus and firewall which may interfere with the installation". The rest is history...

  4. Re:One has to ask by Gori · · Score: 4, Funny

    My thoughts exactly. There is no reboot after you hit the Blue Planet Of Death...

    *ducks*

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    Complexity is a measure of our ignorance...
  5. Geez... by VE3OGG · · Score: 5, Funny

    Network security really isn't that hard! It isn't like it's rocket scie... oh... nevermind...

  6. Re:No antivirus? by BabyDave · · Score: 5, Funny
    >p>To be fair, it's because they know the real reason that the Mir space station came down ...

    "Norton Antivirus has detected that the following file is infected with a virus:

    gyrocontrol.dll

    The infected file has been deleted

  7. This sounds like a great movie plot... by Steeltalon · · Score: 3, Funny

    Will there be an Andromeda Strain of this Virus?

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    Regards, Ian
  8. Re:Solid proof!!!! by ByOhTek · · Score: 3, Funny

    So much for extrans.

    I _FAIL_

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    Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
  9. Re:Solid proof!!!! by El_Muerte_TDS · · Score: 4, Funny

    Honestly though, Why the hell dont the laptops have Minix?

    Because Minix doesn't support text formatting.

  10. Re:Solid proof!!!! by Thelasko · · Score: 5, Funny

    Honestly though, Why the hell dont the laptops have anti virus software? if they are going to run a OS that is targeted by the bulk of viruses out there then it's dumb to send it up without AV software installed.

    It looks like Mark Shuttleworth might have to make another trip up there to drop off some Ubuntu disks.

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    One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
  11. No internet?? by Apoorv+Khatreja · · Score: 4, Funny

    Q. Where do these NASA guys get their pr0n from?

    A. Oh yeah.. the USB drive.

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    RutSum.com
  12. Re:One has to ask by mlush · · Score: 5, Funny

    What *Windows* is doing in space in the first place.

    I've always thought that opening Windows on a space ship is a bad thing

  13. If i know my star trek... by Trent+Hawkins · · Score: 4, Funny

    The virus is actually an alien computer system attempting to interface with the station's computer systems.
    Kirk: Spock __ Can __ you translate __ their message? Spock: Yes Captain. The message is, "Do you wish to enlarge your penis?" Kirk: Make it so...

  14. Re:One has to ask by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    I've always thought that opening Windows on a space ship is a bad thing

    Yes, the results would prove conclusively that Windows quite literally suck(s).

  15. Obligatory XKCD Reference... by Temujin_12 · · Score: 3, Funny

    http://www.xkcd.com/463/

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    Faith is a willingness to accept something w/o complete proof and to act on it. Reason allows you to correct that faith.
  16. Re:Solid proof!!!! by MrNaz · · Score: 5, Funny

    The reason NASA didn't bother with AV is because there's no pressure on their IT department. In a normal office, the IT department usually gets screamed at when computers don't work. But in space, nobody can hear you scream.

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    I hate printers.
  17. bragging rights by v1 · · Score: 3, Funny

    will definitely go to the first bot herder that manages to get a node on the ISS.

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    I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.