Online Privacy Threatened by Downloadable Software…
Little did many Christmas shoppers know that they were giving the gift of malware to their friends and loved ones this Christmas. However, a well known brand name carried corruption into their computer files even as they downloaded their favorite pictures!
Windows Vulnerable to ‘Attack of Photo Frame”
Windows XP has been the stronghold of many PC owners, who steadfastedly campaign for the version to be kept up and running with full support years after it should have given way to newer programs such as Vista. Unfortunately, a specifically aimed worm virus somehow included in many digital picture frames has targeted the operating system and threatened the private information of thousands of internet users.
Amazon.com sent out a note last week warning customers who purchased models of a Samsung digital photo frame that an advisory had been issued for Windows XP users. “We have recently learned that Samsung has issued an alert. … Our records indicate that you have purchased one of the digital photo frames through the Amazon.com website and are therefore affected by this alert.”
According to Samsung, “a batch of Photo Frame Driver CDs contain a worm virus in the Frame Manager software. This is a risk of the customers host PCs being infected with this worm virus.” This refers to the driver installation CD, which must be inserted in the computer and run to load the digital photo frames with pictures.
Vicious Malware
This particular virus is a “downloader” — a malicious program that, once installed, downloads even more malevolent attack code. Symantec stated that it was extremely likely to delve into files and attempt to hijack personal information. However, Vista users are immune – a nice change of pace for Vista advocates, as the newer Windows version has taken a lot of the flack for being more vulnerable than XP.
The warning was issued originally for the Samsung SPF-85H, and was expanded to include the SPF-75H, SPF-76H, SPF-85P and SPF-105P. Amazon recommended that people who purchased a Samsung photo frame should download an updated — and supposedly malware-free — version of the Windows XP edition of Frame Manager from Samsung’s support site.
This isn’t the first time trouble has come crawling through the picture frame. Last year Best Buy admitted they too had sold infected photo frames during the Christmas season. In that case the frames were simply yanked – no recall was issued.
Check Out ‘New’ Software Online
Before running any new software on your computer, run a quick online check. If the software is even just a few months old, you should be able to Google the name of the product along with the word ‘problem’ or ‘bug’. If anyone else has had a problem, you should be able to see what happened, and keep the same breach of privacy from happening to you.
