Apple Ships iPods With Windows Virus

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is typically known for offering products with safe operating environments, but the computer maker on Tuesday warned that some of its market-leading digital music players have shipped with a Windows virus.

A small number of Video iPods produced after Sept. 12, 2006, are harboring the RavMonE virus. Apple said there have been fewer than 25 reports of the issue, which does not affect other models of the MP3 player or its Macintosh computers.

Apple issued a formal apology on its Web site, but not without taking the opportunity to deal a blow to rival Microsoft: "As you might imagine, we are upset at Windows for not being more hardy against such viruses, and even more upset with ourselves for not catching it."

Apple provides instructions on its Web site for removing the virus for users who don't presently have antivirus software, as well as links to antivirus providers offering free 30-day trials of their products.

Sounding the Alarm

In the wake of the discovery, Sophos Labs is reminding consumers to scan storage devices they attach to their computers for malware. Floppy disks, CD ROMs, USB keys, external hard drives and other devices are all capable of carrying malicious code which could infect the computers of innocent users.

"There are a number of different pieces of malware which use a file called 'RavMonE.exe,' and so we don't know at the moment precisely which Trojan horse or virus may have been shipped," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for IT security firm Sophos.

"The name 'RavMonE.exe' actually comes from a perfectly legitimate program called 'RAV Anti-Virus,' so it would be wrong to call a piece of malware by this name. Hackers sometimes spoof the names of legitimate programs to cause greater confusion."

The good news, Cluley added, is that if you have kept your antivirus software up to date then your security software should have no trouble detecting it before it can do any harm.

Mobile Infections

The bad news, however, is that this may be just the beginning of the rise of mobile viruses. Mobile device usage is gaining momentum because of the low-cost appeal to what Verisign iDefense Senior Analyst Ken Dunham calls the "you" generation, meaning the devices are all about what "you," the consumer, wants.

"These devices are going to become ever more prevalent. As they do, they are going to increase in functionality, open up new doors to attackers and introduce new problems in production," Dunham told MacNewsWorld.

On the Rise

Indeed, antivirus company Kaspersky Lab recently reported some disturbing findings: In the past two years, mobile viruses have attained the same levels of penetration that took 20 years on the desktop. What's more, awareness of mobile malware is far behind awareness of PC users. Kaspersky adds an average of 10 new viruses aimed at mobile platforms each week.

"In the past people talked about mobile phone viruses and were worried about the threat. Today we have millions of mobile devices, we have proven malicious code attacks, we have mature hackers and we have assets at risk," Dunham concluded. "Money is the motive clearly today."