Re: Digital Photo Frames - 16:9 Why?

Steve wrote:
Speaking of digital photo frames, do you run an up-to-date virus
scanner on your photo frame's memory if interfaces with your computer?

If you bought one from Sams Club, Best Buy, Target or Costco, there's
a good chance that it came to you, in the box, with a nasty trojan
horse already installed on it ready to infect your computer.

See story at:

http://www.enterprise-security-today.com/news/Digital-Photo-Frames-May-Have-Virus/story.xhtml?story_id=130000AVIIN0

Steve

Story below in case link doesn't work.

Digital Photo Frames May Harbor Elusive Trojan Horse
By Jennifer LeClaire
February 19, 2008 8:09AM

The Mocmex Trojan horse from China arrives from infected digital photo
frames or portable storage devices. The Mocmex virus may have been
introduced during manufacture of digital photo frames in China. The
Mocmex Trojan horse can avoid antivirus programs and the Windows
firewall when photo frames are connected to a PC.

Your digital photo frame could hold more than pictures, according to
security Relevant Products/Services vendor Computer Associates. A
virus on the device could steal data from your PC.

The recently discovered virus has been identified as a Trojan horse
from China that roots out passwords from online games. However, the
authors may have more on the agenda than free game play.

"It is a nasty worm that has a great deal of intelligence," Brian
Grayek, who heads product development at Computer Associates, told the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Mocmex Evades Detection

Computer Associates calls the virus Mocmex. It recognizes and blocks
antivirus protection from more than 100 security vendors. It also
passes through the security and firewall built into Microsoft Relevant
Products/Services Windows.

Mocmex downloads files from remote locations, randomly names them, and
hides them on infected PCs. The hidden agenda and the antivirus
blocking make it difficult to trace and rid the machine of the virus
that spreads through photo frames and portable storage devices plugged
into infected PCs.

Grayek called it the "nuclear bomb" of malware Relevant
Products/Services, noting the Trojan authors are well-funded
professionals who have designed the virus to capture information
without leaving behind any digital footprints.

The China Factor

This isn't the first time this kind of incident has happened -- and
it's unlikely to be the last, according to Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant at Sophos. However, he doesn't think hackers are
deliberately targeting digital photo frames. It's more likely, he
said, that an accident occurred during manufacturing.

"Today, most of these electronic devices are manufactured in China and
quality control may not always be all that it should be," Cluley said.
"My suspicion is that the virus was introduced on the conveyor belt;
perhaps one in every 50 devices is picked off the conveyor belt and
plugged into a PC to check that it works. Now, if that PC was infected
with a virus, that would mean that some of the devices are now
infected with malware."

The Good and Bad News

For all the product-manufacturing issues in China, including millions
of recalled toys making recent headlines, there is good news in the
photo-frame case: The virus has been around for years, ultimately
making it easier to remedy.

Infected frames appear to be coming from Sam's Club, Best Buy, Target
and Costco, according to SANS researchers. The challenge for retailers
now, Cluley said, is getting a message to people who may have
purchased the frames in the run-up to the holidays and may not have
the right protection in place.

"Our advice to computer users is to always scan any data-storage
device they are plugging into their computer with an up-to-date
antivirus [program] to make sure it is not harboring malicious code,"
Cluley said. "Think of it this way. You may buy shrink-wrapped fruit
in the supermarket, but you would still wash it before putting it in
your mouth."

First, I have a good firewall, and anti-malware application. Second, I don't connect my photo frame to the computer. I write the card, and plug it in. I access the card with a file manager (Not Windows Explorer). I am pretty sure that any such trojan would quickly be discovered, and the FTC would quickly require recall of all such units, and severe penalties on the company. I can't credit this report.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Digital Photo Frames - 16:9 Why?
    ... don't connect my photo frame to the computer. ... When Apple and Seagate shipped iPods and hard drives with a virus ... installed from the factory, there was no FTC recall or penalty. ... Is it true that there has been a virus installed on new Maxtor drives? ...
    (rec.photo.digital)
  • A New Form of Trickery
    ... into going to an unfamiliar site ... ... 'Jayson' although that probably does not matter, ... said "I accidentally found a photo of you at amd was wondering ... have inherited the virus. ...
    (comp.dcom.telecom)
  • AKVIS ArtSuite 3.0
    ... AKVIS ArtSuite is an impressing collection of versatile effects for ... decoration of photos. ... Edge Effects (Photo Frames) let you generate a photo frame for your ... Photo frames samples that come with ArtSuite can be easily tailored to ...
    (comp.software.shareware.announce)
  • Re: Slow startup
    ... There's as much chance of the photo infecting you with a virus when you view it in Internet Explorer as it is when you copy it into Word. ... we have repeatedly asked Norton (Symantec) to explain what the plug-in does in Office and they couldn't: ...
    (microsoft.public.word.newusers)
  • Re: Apple Spreads Firmware Virus To Disable iPhones
    ... "If a million people believe a foolish thing, ... Which is hardly a virus. ... I'll bet you'd say that to the portrait photographer who took your photo. ...
    (comp.sys.mac.advocacy)