iPod...Oops!
I am a die-hard iPod junkie - it goes everywhere with me and is the primary motivator for me to get ~anything~ done (everything gets done better with a soundtrack, doncha think?)
So, when someone sent me this link, my first thought was, "Wow! Glad mine is an older iPod (pre-video)."
Since I decided to blog it, I went digging a little deeper this morning and found a new, updated article. Apparently some of the iPods shipped in the last month (Sept 2006) from a particular manufacturer carry the RavMonE.exe virus. This virus only affects computers running MS Windows.
Apple has declined to name the manufacturer or give a precise number as to how many units may be or are affected, just that it is less than 1%.
What gave me the giggles, though, was the finger-pointing going on in the second article.
In all fairness, though, I think MS is basically blameless in this. Sure, the virus only affects them, but, umm... It is the most commonly used OS in the world--no one writes viruses for DOS anymore because no one uses it. Heck, let's face it, Microsoft has big ole hacker target hanging over their products all the time. If I'm honest, as an open-source proponent, this doesn't bother me much except when it affects my security (I'm not brilliant enough to have figured out what other OS I *could* use instead of Windows. Unlike Tom, I am not a geek so it would have to be pretty darn idiot-proof).
The biggest downside to this, aside from the bad PR for both companies, is how long it will take to fix the problem if yours is one of the infected iPods. I scoured the Apple tech site this morning and found a few posts about it, but no solutions were offered. I dunno about you, but *I* don't know how to run my antivirus package on my iPod.
If you know a fix, please share it in the comments section.
So, when someone sent me this link, my first thought was, "Wow! Glad mine is an older iPod (pre-video)."
Since I decided to blog it, I went digging a little deeper this morning and found a new, updated article. Apparently some of the iPods shipped in the last month (Sept 2006) from a particular manufacturer carry the RavMonE.exe virus. This virus only affects computers running MS Windows.
Apple has declined to name the manufacturer or give a precise number as to how many units may be or are affected, just that it is less than 1%.
What gave me the giggles, though, was the finger-pointing going on in the second article.
In all fairness, though, I think MS is basically blameless in this. Sure, the virus only affects them, but, umm... It is the most commonly used OS in the world--no one writes viruses for DOS anymore because no one uses it. Heck, let's face it, Microsoft has big ole hacker target hanging over their products all the time. If I'm honest, as an open-source proponent, this doesn't bother me much except when it affects my security (I'm not brilliant enough to have figured out what other OS I *could* use instead of Windows. Unlike Tom, I am not a geek so it would have to be pretty darn idiot-proof).
The biggest downside to this, aside from the bad PR for both companies, is how long it will take to fix the problem if yours is one of the infected iPods. I scoured the Apple tech site this morning and found a few posts about it, but no solutions were offered. I dunno about you, but *I* don't know how to run my antivirus package on my iPod.
If you know a fix, please share it in the comments section.
posted by Dy at 9:18 AM
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