IPod Attacks Windows!
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http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=102005WMLXGC
Only a minor WTF really -- but the irony really struck me as funny. Although my favorite quote: As you might imagine, we are upset at Windows for not being more hearty against such viruses...Huh? They're shipping viruses to people and they're mad at Windows for not stopping them?!?!
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My guess is that someone put a counterfeit license on one of the production line computers. Seen that happen.
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It happened before with Creative
I bet there are more WTFs in those Chinese electronics factories than we'd ever care to know.
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[quote user="djork"]
It happened before with Creative
I bet there are more WTFs in those Chinese electronics factories than we'd ever care to know.
[/quote]
You're assuming that it's not on purpose.
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...for not being more hearty against such viruses?
Normally I let this stuff slide in blogs/etc (I may be a spelling/grammer nazi, but I'm a lazy one), but in the story itself I have to scream "WTF!!!!" It's supposed to be more hardy!
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@themagni said:
[quote user="djork"]
It happened before with Creative
I bet there are more WTFs in those Chinese electronics factories than we'd ever care to know.
You're assuming that it's not on purpose.
[/quote]
Yes, I am. Something like 25 cases have been reported... and you're saying it's a conspiracy?
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Didn't this happen before with Apple hardware? I thought I heard a story that some time in the 80s, Apple shipped hard drive upgrades for Mac or Apple IIgs computers or something like that and they came with a virus pre-installed.
Can anyone link to a reference for this story?
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[quote user="BitTwiddler"]
...for not being more hearty against such viruses?
Normally I let this stuff slide in blogs/etc (I may be a spelling/grammer nazi, but I'm a lazy one), but in the story itself I have to scream "WTF!!!!" It's supposed to be more hardy!
[/quote]
I don't think you can classify the Nazis as being at all lazy. So therefore you must either be anal-retentive about the issue, or completely lax.
Judging by the fact that the word should be spelled grammar, I can figure out which one you are.
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iPod = source of viruses (virii?)
Tripod = defeated by viruses
(Thanks, 'Scary Movie 4')
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[quote user="Brendan Kidwell"]
I thought I heard a story that some time in the 80s, Apple shipped hard drive upgrades for Mac or Apple IIgs computers or something like that and they came with a virus pre-installed.
[/quote]
I can't find a good reference for this, but as I recall, Apple preinfected either hard drive upgrades or a product's installation floppies with a boot virus that displayed "happy new year" and on-screen fireworks on January first. The virus had no destructive payload, but reproduced itself on any floppies that passed through the machine and infected the hard drives of any other Apple computers that used those disks. Users did not find this anywhere near as charming as Apple had hoped.
I'd really like to link to the facts of this episode in computer history, but all the words that seem likely to locate it are turning up eight million false positives. Anyone having better luck? Perhaps someone remembers where the story was reported in mainstream news media or industry periodicals?
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[quote user="CDarklock"][quote user="Brendan Kidwell"]
I thought I heard a story that some time in the 80s, Apple shipped hard drive upgrades for Mac or Apple IIgs computers or something like that and they came with a virus pre-installed.
[/quote]
I can't find a good reference for this, but as I recall, Apple preinfected either hard drive upgrades or a product's installation floppies with a boot virus that displayed "happy new year" and on-screen fireworks on January first. The virus had no destructive payload, but reproduced itself on any floppies that passed through the machine and infected the hard drives of any other Apple computers that used those disks. Users did not find this anywhere near as charming as Apple had hoped.
I'd really like to link to the facts of this episode in computer history, but all the words that seem likely to locate it are turning up eight million false positives. Anyone having better luck? Perhaps someone remembers where the story was reported in mainstream news media or industry periodicals?
[/quote]Well, either you've got a lot of details wrong, or else it was a IIgs virus and not a Mac virus. (I went and looked at the manual for Disinfectant. For the pre-X Mac OS, there were only one or two virii which Disinfectant didn't catch, and both came in the late 1990s, so they can't be the ones you're thinking of. None of the ones in the manual do what you say.)There is a Mac virus that has a similar history, but it wasn't Apple that spread it. To quote the Disinfectant Manual:The MacMag VirusThe MacMag virus appeared in December, 1987. This virus is also knownas the “Drew,” “Brandow,” “Aldus,” and “Peace” virus. It was namedafter the Montreal offices of MacMag magazine, from where it originated.Unlike the other viruses, MacMag does not infect applications, onlySystem files. It originated as a HyperCard stack named “New AppleProducts.” The stack contained some exceptionally poorly digitizedpictures of the then new Apple scanner. When the stack was run, the virusspread to the currently active System file. When other floppy diskscontaining System files were subsequently inserted in a floppy disk drive,the virus spread to the System files on the floppies.Since applications are not infected by MacMag, it spreads much moreslowly than the other viruses (because people share System files muchless frequently than they share applications). Even though the virusoriginated on a HyperCard stack, it does not spread to other stacks, onlyto System files.MacMag was programmed to wait until March 2, 1988, the anniversaryof the introduction of the Mac II. The first time the system was started upon March 2, 1988, the virus displayed a message of peace on the screenand then deleted itself from the System file.Since MacMag was programmed to self-destruct, it is unlikely that yoursoftware is infected with this virus. Disinfectant will neverthelessrecognize it and repair infected files just in case you have some very olddisks which might still be infected.Disinfectant repairs both infected System files and infected copies of theoriginal HyperCard stack. If you try to run the repaired stack, HyperCardwill issue an error message.There were two slightly different versions of MacMag. The differenceswere very minor and both versions were programmed to behaveidentically. Disinfectant properly detects and repairs both versions.
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[quote user="shadowman"]
Only a minor WTF really -- but the irony really struck me as funny. Although my favorite quote: As you might imagine, we are upset at Windows for not being more hearty against such viruses...Huh? They're shipping viruses to people and they're mad at Windows for not stopping them?!?!
[/quote]
The real WTF is that anyone still uses Windows anywhere near a production line that will release a product which includes any kind of digital storage.
Maybe I'm still pissed about getting junkie on Win3.11 from a box of preformatted disks in 1995.
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[quote user="shadowman"]
Only a minor WTF really -- but the irony really struck me as funny. Although my favorite quote: As you might imagine, we are upset at Windows for not being more hearty against such viruses...Huh? They're shipping viruses to people and they're mad at Windows for not stopping them?!?!
[/quote]
That's not the full quote! The full quote shows Apple in a much different light. I REALLY hate people who quote out of context, it's aactaulyl a form of lying in my opinion.The full quote was "As you might imagine, we are upset at Windows for not being more hearty against such viruses, but we are even more annoyed with ourselves for not spotting it" (or something to that effect)
Bart.
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[quote user="BitTwiddler"]
...for not being more hearty against such viruses?
Normally I let this stuff slide in blogs/etc (I may be a spelling/grammer nazi, but I'm a lazy one), but in the story itself I have to scream "WTF!!!!" It's supposed to be more hardy!
[/quote]
I normally don't let this slide because I'm a prick. Hardy and hearty are basically synonyms. Either word would be appropriate here
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[quote user="campkev"]
I normally don't let this slide because I'm a prick. Hardy and hearty are basically synonyms. Either word would be appropriate here
[/quote]
Umm... no. Sorry, but you fail.
"Hearty" means vigorous, or enthusiastic, or nourishing, or healthy. It does not mean "resistant". You cannot be "healthy against viruses", or at least not in any standard variety of English.
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[quote user="voyager"]
That's not the full quote! The full quote shows Apple...lying in my opinion.
[/quote]
;-)
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um, if you are healthy, doesn't that pretty much mean you don't have any viruses? Also, isn't a healthy person generally considered to be able to resist viruses (such as the cold or the flu) better than a sickly person?
also, from Roget's New Millenium Thesaurus
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[quote user="campkev"]
um, if you are healthy, doesn't that pretty much mean you don't have any viruses? Also, isn't a healthy person generally considered to be able to resist viruses (such as the cold or the flu) better than a sickly person?
also, from Roget's New Millenium Thesaurus
[/quote]
These are near-synonyms. Hardy and tenacious, for instance, are clearly not close synonyms. I agree, hearty is clearly not the right word to use here.
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[quote user="campkev"]
um, if you are healthy, doesn't that pretty much mean you don't have any viruses? Also, isn't a healthy person generally considered to be able to resist viruses (such as the cold or the flu) better than a sickly person?
also, from Roget's New Millenium Thesaurus
[/quote]
These are near-synonyms. Hardy and tenacious, for instance, are clearly not close synonyms. I agree, hearty is clearly not the right word to use here.
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