Silicon.com: iPods Shipped with Windows Virus

[Jason Eaton]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://software.silicon.com/malware/0,3800003100,39163341,00.htm' target='_blank'>http://software.silicon.com/malware/0,3800003100,39163341,00.htm</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Apple has warned video iPod users that some of its most recently shipped devices may include a Windows virus. The company said a small number of video iPods made after 12 September included the RavMonE virus. It said it has seen fewer than 25 reports of the problem, which it said does not affect Macs or the player itself. The Mac maker apologized on its website for the problem but also used the opportunity to hit out at Microsoft. Apple said on its site: "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."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/ipod_virus.jpg" /> <br /><br />Et tu, Brute? The McDonalds incident was almost funny. I wasn’t surprised when the announcement was made and in an odd way came to expect that sort of announcement because of the companies involved. Perhaps it was all those shoddy happy meal toys from my youth that jaded my thoughts, but to see this from Apple? Alright things happen and we are all human. If things ended there this might be a speed bump in the news, but when Apple points at Windows to shift the blame, that is just asking for trouble.

[Felix Torres]

...but when Apple points at Windows to shift the blame, that is just asking for trouble.

Really?
Why should it?
I mean, is anybody really surprised by this?
It has never caused them trouble before...
Apple never hesitates to take potshots at Microsoft, merited or not, so why should they resist the urge this time? Its in their corporate DNA to spin everything. Scratch-prone screens, dying batteries, sweatshop factories, stock-option malfeasance; its never *their* fault. Pass the buck and praise the reality distortion zone. Everything always blows away soon enough.
This is neither surprising nor unexpected.
There is a fine line between hype and lies and Apple routinely crosses it back and forth at will with minimal consequences, so why should it shock anybody that they should try to smokescreen themselves out of a minor embarrassment? Lying is second nature by now.
(Besides, they're probably more embarrased to admit they use Windows PCs than they are to admit they don't know how to properly maintain a computer.)
Apple is what their uncritical fans and the media have made of it; its a bit late to be blaming a scorpion for stinging.

[Phronetix]

I don't think they point to Windows to shift the blame, as they quickly counter by blaming themselves:
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.

The fact that Apple is getting a lot of flak about this is interesting. If I get a virus on my PC who is to blame? Has the world of PC users just come to accept that viruses will always be there, and that nothing MS can do will change that, therefore the ownice is entirely on the user/consumer from here on in? I believe that we should not be giving Microsoft that sort of free ride.

I think Apple expresses it perfectly. They got a virus, and got mad at themselves for not detecting it, but also mad at Windows for not addressing the root issues with their OS. They do no such thing as deflect blame.

[Felix Torres]

Has the world of PC users just come to accept that viruses will always be there, and that nothing MS can do will change that, therefore the ownice is entirely on the user/consumer from here on in?

Exactly.
Anybody who is even vaguely aware of who creates the things and why fully understands that any computing platform with any significant market share is going to be targetted.
Just ask Nokia and the various cell-phone vendors.

It is easy to blame Microsoft because they just sit back and take it quietly.
But if you paid attention to the reports of device-drver malware and the dozens (if not hundreds) of known unpatched holes in OSX and Linux you wouldn't be so quick to give Apple a free ride.

MS is a big fat target and they've been fighting it for years; as a result, they have mechanisms in place to deal with these threats. A competent IT department uses those mechanisms.

Here's a prediction for you: Sony brags that the PS3 is not a gaming console but a computer. They are right. And now they are going to put out millions of these computers in the hands of inexperienced but afluent users and connect them via the wide open internet. They ever come with browsers. With no anti-virus and no malware detestion.
Over/under for the first malware reports?
I was guessing 2 years.
A friend of mine thinks 6 months...

Security by obscurity only means the users don't know how badly they are infected, is all.

[Chris Gohlke]

Over/under for the first malware reports?
I was guessing 2 years.
A friend of mine thinks 6 months...

I'll take some of that action, I say one month.

[Jason Eaton]

I don't know, I guess I would have blamed the virus writer. :)

May the pox of a thousand fleas invade their genital regions.

[Damion Chaplin]

Its in their corporate DNA to spin everything. Scratch-prone screens, dying batteries, sweatshop factories, stock-option malfeasance; its never *their* fault. Pass the buck and praise the reality distortion zone... Lying is second nature by now. (Besides, they're probably more embarrased to admit they use Windows PCs than they are to admit they don't know how to properly maintain a computer.)

Quoted for truth. Thanks, Felix! :D

[Felix Torres]

I don't know, I guess I would have blamed the virus writer. :)

May the pox of a thousand fleas invade their genital regions.

Oooh, that is one nasty curse!
I'll have to remember it for the next drunk driver I see... :lol:

[Phronetix]

Its in their corporate DNA to spin everything. Scratch-prone screens, dying batteries, sweatshop factories, stock-option malfeasance; its never *their* fault. Pass the buck and praise the reality distortion zone...



You can say that about anyone, though. Every company does this. It is a matter of perspective. My perspective is that Apple gets more than its fair share of knocks on this site just for being Apple. I am a dedicated user, and the reality distortion field to me is relative, b/c i have found that being loyal to Apple makes things the right kind of simple for me, tech wise.

[Phronetix]

It is easy to blame Microsoft because they just sit back and take it quietly.
But if you paid attention to the reports of device-drver malware and the dozens (if not hundreds) of known unpatched holes in OSX and Linux you wouldn't be so quick to give Apple a free ride.

MS is a big fat target and they've been fighting it for years; as a result, they have mechanisms in place to deal with these threats. A competent IT department uses those mechanisms.



I understand and agree with what you are saying, Felix, but in this story it is microsoft's OS that had the virus. I was being exclusive in my comments. I think that the story is being spun that Apple blames MS alone, but when you read their quote they come down harder on themselves in the same sentence.

Dennis

[Felix Torres]

Apple shipped an iPod, which doesn't run MS software, with a virus and blamed Microsoft.
Nobody from Microsoft created the virus, put it in the Apple factory, or put it on the pods.
So how is it their fault?
To what extent? Did they sneak MS ninjas into china just to sabotage Apple?
Or is the fact that criminals target Microsoft customers enough to blame them? Whatever you may say about MS they don't have to denigrate anybody to make a living. And they're pretty good at ignoring petty carping from penny-ante operators.

As for Apple getting dinged as liars; that is because they are.
They've been fined in several countries for libelous advertising and pulled the infamous "supercomputer Mac" ads just days before the FCC sued them to force them off the air.

There is a diference between hype and lies.
Between exagerating and fabricating.
Between accepting responsibility for what you did and trying to flip the blame on an innocent bystander.

The difference is merely a matter of scrupples.
And honor; especially honor.

Some have it, some don't.