Filed under: Computers, Web

Never let it be said that computer hackers don’t have a sense of humor. Masato Nakatsuji has been arrested by Tokyo authorities for authoring the Ika-tako virus, which replaces the files on a target computer with images of squid, octopi and sea urchins. The virus has infected somewhere between 20,000 and 50,000 computers through the Winny file-sharing network. The malware disguises itself as a music file, and, when a victim attempts to play it, works its way through the hard drive, replacing programs, family photos and vital OS components with images of marine life.

Cute, but dangerous, since this is not the first time Nakatsuji has been arrested in connection with the creation of malware. In 2008, the coder created a virus that behaved similarly to Ika-tako, replacing data with images from an anime called ‘Clannad.’ That stunt landed Nakatsuji in jail for copyright violation. This time, Nakatsuji got slapped with the more severe charge of property destruction. The files that had been replaced were sent back to a server that Nakatsuji ran from his home, indicating he may have had more nefarious motives than simply practicing his computer programing skills, which was his excuse to police. [From: Wired and Asahi.com]

Continue reading Ika-tako Virus Replaces Your Files With Squid Pics

Ika-tako Virus Replaces Your Files With Squid Pics originally appeared on Switched on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Computers

These are dark times for Dell. As we reported last month, the computer manufacturer has been under fire for knowingly selling over 11.8 million faulty computers, and is currently embroiled in yet another lawsuit. Now it comes to light that some of the motherboards it recently sent out were filled with malware. The company has admitted as much, saying that the problems have only affected a “small number” of their PowerEdge PCs. According to DigitalTrends, the malware is showing up in the server management firmware embedded in the boards, and is really only affecting enterprise-level servers, not consumer computers.

But, in even worse news, the company settled yesterday with the Securities and Exchange Commission for fraud charges — to the tune of $100 million. According to the SEC’s allegations, Dell misled investors by padding its quarterly statements with money it had received from Intel during back-room agreements to not use chips made by competitor Advanced Micro Devices. Investors were not made aware of the dealings, and Dell was able to project greater financial results than it had actually achieved. [From: DigitalTrends and New York Times]

Bad Day for Dell: Company Fined $100M and Gets Caught With Infected Motherboards originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Computers

Kolkata may be the land of elaborate Durga Pujas, cinematic legend Satyajit Ray and coronary-inducing kati rolls, but the Eastern Indian metropolis is also the land of a virulent phone scam that’s been quietly making its way around the world for the past two years.

As the Guardian reports, a group of scam artists based out of the former Indian capital have been calling random households, and posing as Microsoft technicians. The callers typically claim that they’ve detected a major problem with their victims’ PC and say that if the issue isn’t remedied, the computer will be rendered unusable. With a heavy Indian accent, the scammers then direct their targets to their computers, where they ask them to open ‘Windows Event Viewer,’ which displays a long list of technical jargon that, to the layperson, might look worrisome. The “technicians” instruct users how to fix the non-existent problem by directing them to a website and asking them to install “preventative” software (which, of course, costs £185, or about $283). If the user falls for it and installs the malware then, he or she instantly gives the scammers complete access to data on the computer.

Continue reading Indian Phone Scammers Pose as Microsoft Technicians, Plant Malware Across U.K.

Indian Phone Scammers Pose as Microsoft Technicians, Plant Malware Across U.K. originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 07:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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